Quoting Post Topic System Administrator Membername   Not a member? Sign Up Free (takes 20 seconds) Password   Forgotten your password? Post Font: Verdana Arial Black Georgia Comic Sans Impact   Size: Tiny Normal Big Huge   Color: Default Dark Red Red Orange Brown Green Olive Cyan Blue Dark Blue Indigo Black [ Check Spelling ] [ Post Preview ] [ LiveTags ] Quote: from [m]ElfQrin[/m] at 8:28 am on Aug. 30, 2007[quote]What do I need collage wise to become one? ComputerScience? Bussinness ADministration? A+ MCSE? Can someone that has expearince in this field tell me?[/quote] FAQ Keyword Search: Post Options Favorites Manager Notify me of new replies to this topic by email Notify me of new replies to this topic by private message Original Post ElfQrin Posted at 8:28 am on Aug. 30, 2007 What do I need collage wise to become one? ComputerScience? Bussinness ADministration? A+ MCSE? Can someone that has expearince in this field tell me?

Replies jamescoleman Posted at 8:25 am on May 6, 2008 thanks for backing up some of the stuff i put on here manicd i wasn't sure if some crazy person was gonna get on here and start to say some stuff that isn't true. also i've had trouble with microsoft virtual pc and linux. it just doesn't like the free stuff lol ManicD Posted at 7:22 am on May 1, 2008 Quote: from jamescoleman at 1:36 am on Feb. 27, 2008 if you can't goto college now then i (like some others) would suggest going with certifications. check out  www (dot) comptia (dot) org and look up the certs there such A+ Network + and Linux+ these are not vendor specific. Yet Linux+ is the basic. CompTIA qualifications are good for introducing you to Compter hardware, yet i think employers would rather something like Microsoft Qualifiocations to get you a real job in IT Once you get that you might want to check out LPI (linux professional institute)  lpi (dot) org and they aren't vendor specific. Once you get the Network + then you can move on to ccna then ccnp (cisco certified network associate / professional)  cisco (dot) netacad (dot) net but you will have to requalify for cisco every few years. Cisco Qualifications are good if you intend in going into networking, and designing network arcetecture This is different with comptia because you are qualified for life but its in your best interest to reread the new material every few years or when a new test exams comes out for it. Also the microsoft side for certifications are also good. i don't know much about them because i'm tired of microsoft and their terror (ohh nooosss) but i know that for a certain certification in microsoft you will need some electives and comptia certifications will count as them. it looks like alot of work and it is but when you go through the qualifications then its worth it because it will show the employer that you are willing to study on your own and have the drive to succeed in life. This Is very true, and is the way i got my current job also if you get a job working with information technology then some companies will pay for your certifications. you might have to explain why you want the certification if it is for personal reasons and they might reimburse you if you spend your own money on certifications. This is pretty rare, but possible. there are alot of people that didn't goto college and got into information technology with certifications and some without but its great if you can do it over a period of time and it is awsome if you can work on the certifications in college. I don't have alot of  experience in information technology but i've done some research and what i just told you now is mostly what i know. i'm also going for the comptia exams that i listed in this post and the ccna then maybe the ccnp. if you are going to buy the books  for the comptia then i suggest amazon.com. this is where i got my a+ network+ and linux+ books. i got screwed on the network+ book because it was supposd to come with a cd and it didn't. the mike meyers a+ book is really good. you will save alot on these books because in the stores its like fifty dollars per book for comptia certifcations. then for the cisco stuff, if you can then try to find a cisco academy around you. this will be best because you will be signed up for cisco.netacad.net and you can keep your account for a while. i still have mine after atleast two years. if you are in highschool for cisco then its free. if you are in highschool and can dual enroll into a college that has cisco then your school should pay for the course but not the books and materials. if the highschool wont pay for it then you should get a discount price for tuition becaues of dual enrollment. yet if you can't get the course then check out amazon for the ccna ccnp books. also if you have the money get the routers, switches, a few computers, and the other tools you need for a cisco lab. books are a great way to learn if you intend on teacching yourself, personally i looked at myself and realised i wouldnt have the motivation to keep up a good pace of learning, thus i enrolled on a classroom based course. I would reccomend you look carfully at yourself and figure out how you learn best. Another thing is to use free resources, Microsft Technet will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know for ANY microsoft exam. you just have to get the exam objectives and find teh articals on them. personally i use it as an additional resource for revision. people might suggest an emulator but its best you buy the equipment because for the physical feel for it. it'll be alot better for learning. check out www (dot) ciscokits (dot) com/ it might be more expensive than ebay but youll be more better off with this site because you can buy a router off of ebay and the ios is messed up or the hardware is messed. also superkiwi is correct. volunteer! even try to build your own system with dual boot windows and linux and network up a few computers. Personally i would say an emulator is fine, i have completed A+, N+ And MIcrosoft 70-270, 70-290, 70-291 (MCSA) all using Microsft virtual PC 2007. i've have no troubles at all. ManicD ECDL CompTIA A+ CompTIA N+ Microsoft Certified Systems Adminstrator nicoladi Posted at 10:36 pm on April 7, 2008 yeah, start with CCNA and MCSE jamescoleman Posted at 5:36 pm on Feb. 26, 2008 if you can't goto college now then i (like some others) would suggest going with certifications. check out  www (dot) comptia (dot) org and look up the certs there such A+ Network + and Linux+ these are not vendor specific. Yet Linux+ is the basic. Once you get that you might want to check out LPI (linux professional institute)  lpi (dot) org and they aren't vendor specific. Once you get the Network + then you can move on to ccna then ccnp (cisco certified network associate / professional)  cisco (dot) netacad (dot) net but you will have to requalify for cisco every few years. This is different with comptia because you are qualified for life but its in your best interest to reread the new material every few years or when a new test exams comes out for it. Also the microsoft side for certifications are also good. i don't know much about them because i'm tired of microsoft and their terror (ohh nooosss) but i know that for a certain certification in microsoft you will need some electives and comptia certifications will count as them. it looks like alot of work and it is but when you go through the qualifications then its worth it because it will show the employer that you are willing to study on your own and have the drive to succeed in life. also if you get a job working with information technology then some companies will pay for your certifications. you might have to explain why you want the certification if it is for personal reasons and they might reimburse you if you spend your own money on certifications. there are alot of people that didn't goto college and got into information technology with certifications and some without but its great if you can do it over a period of time and it is awsome if you can work on the certifications in college. I don't have alot of  experience in information technology but i've done some research and what i just told you now is mostly what i know. i'm also going for the comptia exams that i listed in this post and the ccna then maybe the ccnp. if you are going to buy the books  for the comptia then i suggest amazon.com. this is where i got my a+ network+ and linux+ books. i got screwed on the network+ book because it was supposd to come with a cd and it didn't. the mike meyers a+ book is really good. you will save alot on these books because in the stores its like fifty dollars per book for comptia certifcations. then for the cisco stuff, if you can then try to find a cisco academy around you. this will be best because you will be signed up for cisco.netacad.net and you can keep your account for a while. i still have mine after atleast two years. if you are in highschool for cisco then its free. if you are in highschool and can dual enroll into a college that has cisco then your school should pay for the course but not the books and materials. if the highschool wont pay for it then you should get a discount price for tuition becaues of dual enrollment. yet if you can't get the course then check out amazon for the ccna ccnp books. also if you have the money get the routers, switches, a few computers, and the other tools you need for a cisco lab. people might suggest an emulator but its best you buy the equipment because for the physical feel for it. it'll be alot better for learning. check out www (dot) ciscokits (dot) com/ it might be more expensive than ebay but youll be more better off with this site because you can buy a router off of ebay and the ios is messed up or the hardware is messed. also superkiwi is correct. volunteer! even try to build your own system with dual boot windows and linux and network up a few computers. also network with people and get with them and talk about cisco, comptia, or other certifications. there are more vender specific like sun os, juniper, red hat, novel, and others. techexams (dot) net also has alot of information on their forums and practice tests for some certifications they have on their forums. sorry its sooooo long but i just wanted to cover the most of it. they wouldnt let me post the links so thats why it has the (dot) in there and they didnt send an email to confirm it was me sooo ya. superkiwi Posted at 3:27 am on Feb. 24, 2008 try volunteering to build ur experience collegestudenthub Posted at 1:49 pm on Nov. 4, 2007 if you want to become a sys admin the honestly you need to go to a vocational school and get an mcse or learn cisco routers, it is good to have a certification plus a college degree these days, most jobs are strict on that. Getting actual hands on experience is so important, so whatever you do make sure to get that as well. futurestatetrooper Posted at 5:36 pm on Oct. 25, 2007 You can use more experience besides college. College is basically the non-active paperwork certification in a specific classroom, so it may or may not be useful in many different ways, however you might find out in your last two years that you might feel that college was an excellent experience for Technology anyway since colleges work with computers and man made products. MrRight Posted at 8:16 pm on Oct. 24, 2007 This right here is the best advice you will get. Experience is key. Companies want experience more then actual book smarts. vector3df Posted at 3:05 pm on Oct. 4, 2007 Just to reiterate what everyone else has said, experience is paramount. Buy six P2 boxes, and hook em together on a *nix. Practice administrating them. vitamin Posted at 1:41 am on Oct. 3, 2007 Quote: from Link01 at 11:50 am on Sep. 17, 2007 CCNA 1,2,3,4 CCNP 1,2,3,4 Basically networking to begin with. Then study complments etc I would disagree with that. Thats very vendor specific. Why not take a look at your Network+ etc this will give you a broad knowledge of Networks etc and it doesn't expire. lol Experience is the key though. You will learn more about systems administration/support/network support if you can get a trainee-ship somewhere. Link01 Posted at 3:50 am on Sep. 17, 2007 CCNA 1,2,3,4 CCNP 1,2,3,4 Basically networking to begin with. Then study complments etc iwashere85 Posted at 12:14 pm on Sep. 6, 2007 A Microsoft System Admin? or a MCSA? Well you need to take a test, and know a lot about what you are doing. You need to understand Microsoft to its full capacity, and probably write coding for them. It will probably take a collage diploma, if not masters. http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcsa/default.mspx soldierofjustice3 Posted at 6:48 am on Sep. 4, 2007 Comp sci is useless. Dont waste your time there unless you plan to be a programmer. Try to see if your college has an info and tele systems major. that way you get the major basics of comp sci, AND get to pick an actual concentration. So you can mix and match to fit what you really want. Usually the really good computer classes are under the Communications major. MrRight Posted at 11:24 am on Sep. 1, 2007 University computer science. swya Posted at 8:34 am on Aug. 30, 2007 You can get a bunch of bogus certs that have become so easy to study for because books are designed to help you pass the tests without actually knowing the rest.  However, if you have the grades (read: brains) then you should study computer science at a university somewhere. Most recent 15 of 17 previous replies displayed.