GO FOR IT!

Brent:

From my experience, many MSCEs/MCSAs and systems
admins/engineers out there are really not qualified for
the job. Most of the admins I've worked with don't even
have degrees remotely related to IT. Worse off, they don't
even have a basic understanding of how applications work
and couldn't even write a simple batch file to save their
lives.

To be frank, using MS products is cake. I'm often
surprised at how much they pay people, like me, to admin
MS systems. Right now there is a glut of sys admins, so
you really need to differentiate yourself. I would
recommend going ahead and getting your feet wet with the
MCSA and then upgrade to the MCSE. You should then
specialize in something, like SQL, Exchange, IIS, AD, or
Security. Also, since you have a strong programming
background, that will help with scripting to automate sys
admin tasks.

Sadly, there are too many inexperienced sys admins out
there who don't have a clue. The one guy I work with talks
a good talk, but really doesn't know what he's doing. For
example, there was a problem with users on one subnet not
being able to access a server on another subnet by name.
It's silly, but he thought the problem was with Routing
and Remote Access. It wasn't, because you could ping the
server and access it by IP address. Anyway, to make a long
story short, it was a WINS problem, which I easily
corrected. Any sys admin worth his pay should have
troubleshooted the problem along the lines of "Hmmm, I can
ping it and access it by IP address, so the network is
good. It must be a name resolution problem, and since we
only use WINS and not DNS, then it must be a WINS problem.
Let me go check the WINS server."

Anyway, the point is that you obviously have a solid IT
background. And setting up SBS by yourself shows that you
have some initiative to learn new things. Going from
programming to networking would not be a huge learning
curve for you. Just stay on top of your game and try to be
the best at what you do and you will not have a problem
getting a job.

For the record, I have 47 credits in CIS, an MCSE (NT
4.0), an MCSA (Win2000), and 6 years of IT experience.

MX

Do you know where I can find info on the security specialization. I looked
at the MS site, but it seems to be eluding me.

Thanks!

Randy




"MX" <> wrote in message
news:1892d01c44b08$e45bf5b0$...
> Brent:
>
> From my experience, many MSCEs/MCSAs and systems
> admins/engineers out there are really not qualified for
> the job. Most of the admins I've worked with don't even
> have degrees remotely related to IT. Worse off, they don't
> even have a basic understanding of how applications work
> and couldn't even write a simple batch file to save their
> lives.
>
> To be frank, using MS products is cake. I'm often
> surprised at how much they pay people, like me, to admin
> MS systems. Right now there is a glut of sys admins, so
> you really need to differentiate yourself. I would
> recommend going ahead and getting your feet wet with the
> MCSA and then upgrade to the MCSE. You should then
> specialize in something, like SQL, Exchange, IIS, AD, or
> Security. Also, since you have a strong programming
> background, that will help with scripting to automate sys
> admin tasks.
>
> Sadly, there are too many inexperienced sys admins out
> there who don't have a clue. The one guy I work with talks
> a good talk, but really doesn't know what he's doing. For
> example, there was a problem with users on one subnet not
> being able to access a server on another subnet by name.
> It's silly, but he thought the problem was with Routing
> and Remote Access. It wasn't, because you could ping the
> server and access it by IP address. Anyway, to make a long
> story short, it was a WINS problem, which I easily
> corrected. Any sys admin worth his pay should have
> troubleshooted the problem along the lines of "Hmmm, I can
> ping it and access it by IP address, so the network is
> good. It must be a name resolution problem, and since we
> only use WINS and not DNS, then it must be a WINS problem.
> Let me go check the WINS server."
>
> Anyway, the point is that you obviously have a solid IT
> background. And setting up SBS by yourself shows that you
> have some initiative to learn new things. Going from
> programming to networking would not be a huge learning
> curve for you. Just stay on top of your game and try to be
> the best at what you do and you will not have a problem
> getting a job.
>
> For the record, I have 47 credits in CIS, an MCSE (NT
> 4.0), an MCSA (Win2000), and 6 years of IT experience.

Have you tried these links:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcsa/default.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/default.asp

--
Mark Fugatt
Exchange MVP
http://www.exchangetrainer.com
http://www.msexchange.org
"WOW" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Do you know where I can find info on the security specialization. I
> looked
> at the MS site, but it seems to be eluding me.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Randy
>
>
>
>
> "MX" <> wrote in message
> news:1892d01c44b08$e45bf5b0$...
>> Brent:
>>
>> From my experience, many MSCEs/MCSAs and systems
>> admins/engineers out there are really not qualified for
>> the job. Most of the admins I've worked with don't even
>> have degrees remotely related to IT. Worse off, they don't
>> even have a basic understanding of how applications work
>> and couldn't even write a simple batch file to save their
>> lives.
>>
>> To be frank, using MS products is cake. I'm often
>> surprised at how much they pay people, like me, to admin
>> MS systems. Right now there is a glut of sys admins, so
>> you really need to differentiate yourself. I would
>> recommend going ahead and getting your feet wet with the
>> MCSA and then upgrade to the MCSE. You should then
>> specialize in something, like SQL, Exchange, IIS, AD, or
>> Security. Also, since you have a strong programming
>> background, that will help with scripting to automate sys
>> admin tasks.
>>
>> Sadly, there are too many inexperienced sys admins out
>> there who don't have a clue. The one guy I work with talks
>> a good talk, but really doesn't know what he's doing. For
>> example, there was a problem with users on one subnet not
>> being able to access a server on another subnet by name.
>> It's silly, but he thought the problem was with Routing
>> and Remote Access. It wasn't, because you could ping the
>> server and access it by IP address. Anyway, to make a long
>> story short, it was a WINS problem, which I easily
>> corrected. Any sys admin worth his pay should have
>> troubleshooted the problem along the lines of "Hmmm, I can
>> ping it and access it by IP address, so the network is
>> good. It must be a name resolution problem, and since we
>> only use WINS and not DNS, then it must be a WINS problem.
>> Let me go check the WINS server."
>>
>> Anyway, the point is that you obviously have a solid IT
>> background. And setting up SBS by yourself shows that you
>> have some initiative to learn new things. Going from
>> programming to networking would not be a huge learning
>> curve for you. Just stay on top of your game and try to be
>> the best at what you do and you will not have a problem
>> getting a job.
>>
>> For the record, I have 47 credits in CIS, an MCSE (NT
>> 4.0), an MCSA (Win2000), and 6 years of IT experience.
>
>

Thank you. I'm still not really clear on the security specialization, but
at least I now know what tests to take.


"Mark Fugatt [MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Have you tried these links:
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcsa/default.asp
> http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/default.asp
>
> --
> Mark Fugatt
> Exchange MVP
> http://www.exchangetrainer.com
> http://www.msexchange.org
> "WOW" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > Do you know where I can find info on the security specialization. I
> > looked
> > at the MS site, but it seems to be eluding me.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Randy
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "MX" <> wrote in message
> > news:1892d01c44b08$e45bf5b0$...
> >> Brent:
> >>
> >> From my experience, many MSCEs/MCSAs and systems
> >> admins/engineers out there are really not qualified for
> >> the job. Most of the admins I've worked with don't even
> >> have degrees remotely related to IT. Worse off, they don't
> >> even have a basic understanding of how applications work
> >> and couldn't even write a simple batch file to save their
> >> lives.
> >>
> >> To be frank, using MS products is cake. I'm often
> >> surprised at how much they pay people, like me, to admin
> >> MS systems. Right now there is a glut of sys admins, so
> >> you really need to differentiate yourself. I would
> >> recommend going ahead and getting your feet wet with the
> >> MCSA and then upgrade to the MCSE. You should then
> >> specialize in something, like SQL, Exchange, IIS, AD, or
> >> Security. Also, since you have a strong programming
> >> background, that will help with scripting to automate sys
> >> admin tasks.
> >>
> >> Sadly, there are too many inexperienced sys admins out
> >> there who don't have a clue. The one guy I work with talks
> >> a good talk, but really doesn't know what he's doing. For
> >> example, there was a problem with users on one subnet not
> >> being able to access a server on another subnet by name.
> >> It's silly, but he thought the problem was with Routing
> >> and Remote Access. It wasn't, because you could ping the
> >> server and access it by IP address. Anyway, to make a long
> >> story short, it was a WINS problem, which I easily
> >> corrected. Any sys admin worth his pay should have
> >> troubleshooted the problem along the lines of "Hmmm, I can
> >> ping it and access it by IP address, so the network is
> >> good. It must be a name resolution problem, and since we
> >> only use WINS and not DNS, then it must be a WINS problem.
> >> Let me go check the WINS server."
> >>
> >> Anyway, the point is that you obviously have a solid IT
> >> background. And setting up SBS by yourself shows that you
> >> have some initiative to learn new things. Going from
> >> programming to networking would not be a huge learning
> >> curve for you. Just stay on top of your game and try to be
> >> the best at what you do and you will not have a problem
> >> getting a job.
> >>
> >> For the record, I have 47 credits in CIS, an MCSE (NT
> >> 4.0), an MCSA (Win2000), and 6 years of IT experience.
> >
> >
>
>