To be honest, the Apple certification isn't hugely sought after in the IT support world.
If you are looking at going down the networking and security route then I would start by looking at the Cisco certification for the networking side.
Plus I'd look at getting some Microsoft certifications. People may laugh at Vista but more and more companies are taking it on, so get an Microsoft IT Pro certification in it.
As for the security side, it's a very open field when it comes to certification. So a basic cover-all certification is Security+, now again some may laugh at this idea, but for somebody with no experience it's a very valid certification, even if it just shows that you understand security concepts and how all those bits and packets fit together. No company is going to let you loose on their security infrastructure on day one.
Your degree will get your CV towards the top of the pile when it comes to applying for a job, but most of those with degrees still have to go on specific vendor training courses. You having done that already will be at a big advantage and that will be more than worth the cost of the training and exams.
Now, if you really want a step up on the guys on your uni. course, have a look at becoming a VMware Certified Professional (VPC). It's pretty costly because you have to attend a official course and pass the exam to get certified but over the next 12-18 months VMware is going to explode and more and more companies are going to go down the VMware route.
Pass the exams off real knowledge and DO NOT use exam cheat sites. You will be soon found out if your knowledge is only exam base.
What a great answer!! This is just the thing that I am after.
Ok, so a Cisco certification is a great idea, I will look into that further.
I already have my M$ Certificate II/III in Networking, yes it may not be a big qualification but it is a start to get me into some pretty decent jobs with
basic pay.
A VMware Certified Professional you say?? VMware as in the virtual software?? That is very interesting, are companies these day's doing this kind of thing? I'd like to learn more.
And no (ha!). I am not going to be a slacker, I am going to be successful, I am going to Uni because it is my choice, and I am going to do the best that I can (got 55/60 on my last assignment yay!).
Hope it all works out.
Thank you Scott, great insight
P.S. the only problem that I can see is that I am in Australia, and probably the closest places to get an Apple/Cisco degree are in Sydney (about 1000km away). I guess it's a thing for the future when I finish Uni.
I wouldn't... not now anyways. Not unless you only plan on applying for jobs with select media/scientific companies. *NIX and Windows are, and will remain, for at least some time, the de facto OS in the business world. Even with the aforementioned media/scientific companies, a *NIX certification should be enough. I don't know how much help it is but my employer; a major financial institution that spans the globe, believes Linux/Unix, internetworking, network architecture & security are the most in-demand certs.
Hey jb,
That is exactly the reason why I want to get into networking/security. Because it is a very sought-after job, without network administrators/security people there would be no computers, therefore basically no world (we are so dependant on computers these days). I understand that it's probably EXTREMELY hard, but this topic is of great interest to me (even more so than being in a famous band), so I will continue to focus my studies on this.
Thanks mate
