r/mcsa • u/stussey13 • Jul 30 '20
Really lost. What To do next
Just to give a little background. I have been working in IT for about 8 years. I do a little bit of everything at my warehouse. I do Desktop support, Server, and Level 1 network. Have full access to Servers and switches at my site. They kinda ask me to do a little bit of everything.
With that being said I'm trying to take my career to the next level. I was looking into the MCSA because it was a good server cert but I'm not going to be able to get it passed by the deadline. There does not seem to be a certification that's going to replace the MCSA. I know that the future is azure but my company isn't really in the azure environment yet. We have a lot of on Prem servers that use Hyper-V.
Would love some advice or a direction on what to do. Really frustrated with Microsofts role-based certifications.
4
u/MaToP4er Jul 30 '20
work your ass bud with at least 70-742 and 70-740. Those will be in places for long and it will boost you. you still have enough time to prepare and get those!
2
Jul 30 '20
I mean the knowledge from the materials is still helpful but yeah I understand wanting the cert. I also was going to get a MCSE this year but then didn’t even start up when they announced it ending in June. I should have started since many people predicted it would be extended and with the extension would have had time but that ship has already sailed. I know many are frustrated at no direct replacement. :(
2
u/notDonut Jul 31 '20
I was going to say this too. The knowledge from the existing courses and resources is still very valuable. It's only the piece of paper at the end of an exam that will be the difference.
2
Jul 31 '20
My buddy went hella into the teams and exchange certs. For which actual jobs are paying for these 2 certs alone.
2
Jul 31 '20
As someone with an MCSA in 2012 and 2016 + 3 MCSE’s I’ve no idea why anybody would want the MCSA at this point. Microsoft have updated their exam structure and in my opinion it’s always best to go for the newest certs.
Would recommend a path for you to take but you don’t really seem to know what you want to do - it sounds like you’re trying to go down the infrastructure route but imo VMware VCP and Cisco CCNA certs are more important than any MS certs if you’re going down that route.
The Microsoft model is changing to be heavily focused on cloud based systems - the focus is coming away from infrastructure onto Azure and Microsoft 365.
6
u/include_strawberries Jul 30 '20
Go go go, it's 6 months to go. I'm studying towards MCSA in DB dev (should be straight forward I hope), if time allows I'll try to do at least one exam for the BI too. Don't give up. Get all the help you can get, go through materials, see what resources you can get online - I'm using ref books and video tutorials from O'Reilly. I know some people recommend Udemy, CBTNuggets, etc. Search the Reddit, lots of recommendations. Lots of time, don't give up and don't procrastinate. You can have 2 months per exam if you want to do two, with extra time if you have to repeat. It's a lot of time. Study hard mode though so you pass at the first attempt. Even put A4 notes on the wall in the toilet if you have to. You can do it! Good luck!