Aloha everyone,
Let me preface my questions by stating that I am currently employed as a C4ISR Network Engineer, which is a fancy title for someone who loads, configures, and maintains any of a number of disparate computer systems. I support the US Army's Army Battle Command Systems suite of computer systems here in Hawaii. The majority of our systems run on Windows XP, and the Battle Command Server runs on Windows Server 2003 (the Army really likes the Active Directory option for maintaining their networks/directory services). It will most likely be some time before the switch to Windows Vista takes place, as one of the systems just switch to Windows XP last year.
I am in the process of getting my MCSE certs (yeah I know, but I had already started the certification training process before I bought my first Mac last August), and I became curious about Apple certs. How many people herer have them, and how useful are they if one seeks employment in the Apple IT field?
Also, I would like to ask how many of you are employed as Apple techs or work for a company that uses Macs. After having suffered through 16 years of Windows abuse, I finally switched to the Mac platform. While I think having MCSE certs are useful (especially considering how many IT departments are on Active Directory), I would much rather pursue Apple certs and work in, if not an Apple-only IT department, at least an Apple-friendly IT department. Currently, that is not the case - everything is Windows, Linux, or UNIX (the Linux and UNIX programs are particular Army programs, and are on only a few computers). Relocation is possible, although not at the present time.
My long-term goal is to relocate back to (or near) my home town of Tampa, Florida. With only a few months' experience and no certs, what is the best path to take, with the ultimate goal of obtaining employment as described above? I welcome and am grateful for any suggestions or advice.
Mahalo in advance for your responses,
HawaiiMacAddict
Let me preface my questions by stating that I am currently employed as a C4ISR Network Engineer, which is a fancy title for someone who loads, configures, and maintains any of a number of disparate computer systems. I support the US Army's Army Battle Command Systems suite of computer systems here in Hawaii. The majority of our systems run on Windows XP, and the Battle Command Server runs on Windows Server 2003 (the Army really likes the Active Directory option for maintaining their networks/directory services). It will most likely be some time before the switch to Windows Vista takes place, as one of the systems just switch to Windows XP last year.
I am in the process of getting my MCSE certs (yeah I know, but I had already started the certification training process before I bought my first Mac last August), and I became curious about Apple certs. How many people herer have them, and how useful are they if one seeks employment in the Apple IT field?
Also, I would like to ask how many of you are employed as Apple techs or work for a company that uses Macs. After having suffered through 16 years of Windows abuse, I finally switched to the Mac platform. While I think having MCSE certs are useful (especially considering how many IT departments are on Active Directory), I would much rather pursue Apple certs and work in, if not an Apple-only IT department, at least an Apple-friendly IT department. Currently, that is not the case - everything is Windows, Linux, or UNIX (the Linux and UNIX programs are particular Army programs, and are on only a few computers). Relocation is possible, although not at the present time.
My long-term goal is to relocate back to (or near) my home town of Tampa, Florida. With only a few months' experience and no certs, what is the best path to take, with the ultimate goal of obtaining employment as described above? I welcome and am grateful for any suggestions or advice.
Mahalo in advance for your responses,
HawaiiMacAddict