i might go back to school for computer stuff, anyone work in the field?

[drew]

i'm trying to figure out what certs i should go for first. a+,mcse, comtia, etc

what are some basic things i should go for first just to get an entry level job?

[MPowerKai]

I have no idea, the job market is a little wacked up right now. My friend has a BA in marine biology but she is one of those network security people for Bloomberg. She told me they trained her in everything she needs to know.

[Scapegoat]

certs are pretty much a joke anymore. get a BA or at least an associates. Companies pretty much just want someone with experience. My one buddy does computer stuff, makes 100k a year, no degree.

[MPowerKai]

Originally Posted by Scapegoat

certs are pretty much a joke anymore. get a BA or at least an associates. Companies pretty much just want someone with experience. My one buddy does computer stuff, makes 100k a year, no degree.

Thats not entirely true, my friend just got out of the Chubb Institute and they only give certs and he got a decent job at 26 dollars an hour starting.

[cburwell]

Scapegoat is right, for the most part companies want experience over Certs (There are exceptions). A bachelor's degree is going to be more appealing to a company then a general cert.

If you want to go with some certifications, I would say stay away from A+. It's a basic cert which will probably only get you something like a call center job. IMO the MCSE certs would be more appealing.

[Scapegoat]

do you have any basic skills/knowledges in programming?

[drew]

nope never got into programing, i did lite web design for my friend who was into graphics ( only html ) other than that, i am pretty good with all hardware and basic software ( most m$ operating systems and office ) some networking etc, i'm pretty sure i could sit for my comptia A+ today and pass it, that's the only reason i tossed it out there

when i was like 17 i played around with vb since i got a free copy from m$ but never anything serious

[Scapegoat]

I was gonna say that if you had a basic background then go out and find a job paying 10-15 an hour instead of going to school. You'll learn more on the job and being forced to figure stuff out.

I've got experience in HTML/CSS and basic understanding of java/jsp. Those three(kind of four...) things are what I'll be using at the job I applied for in KoP. I been messing around w/ jsp/mysql all weekend and am actually working on stuff for the car website I have planned.

Your best bet is to download the latest tomcat server and mysql server, or a PHP server, get those things running and start doing java/jsp/mysql tutorials that are free on the web.

Stick with open source, they're free to learn :-)

PHP/MySQL or JSP/MySQL are $$$$$$$$$$$

[drew]

i've been looking online a little bit, finding a lot of things like "computer technician" and stuff paying about 15-17 but they all want experience or A+ as a minimum. when i get home ( at work right now hah ) i'll check monster.com and some other resources and try to find something. At this point i'm just burned out in my field and want to do something else, I'd take any computer related job paying atleast $11.50 ( that's nothing too, I made near that working retail ) just to get my foot in the door and get work experience

[Scapegoat]

I recommend you start off doing some basic HTML/CSS sites yourself, pick a topic and create a site for it. I started by making websites for Warhammer 40k when I was 13. I simply looked at source code and copy and pasted till I figured out what did what. Now I bug my buddy and he teaches JSP/MySQl over AIM, lol.

I'm currently working on a little project and right now have a working MySQL connection between my JSP server and my MySQL server and am able to do some basic MySQL requests based off of getting a single row, instead of multiple rows with that meet the same criteria.

Eventually I'll having a working system for people to search through based off of either a Zip Code, or State. I'll also have an entry form for people submit items for entry and a program that validates the entry before submitting it to the database.

It all sounds complicated... its actually pretty simple. What I'm wanting to accomplish is very very basic. My only issue is that my knowledge is very limited due to how many classes are available in Java (that's a java object), and how little I know about them.

And the way I understand things, is honestly different than what things are. if that makes sense.

In short, just pick a topic and go for it. Purchase a cheap hosting plan from Godaddy.com... actually you get a free hosting plan through godaddy.com when you purchase a domain name through them. Once you do that, go here-> http://w3schools.com/

To get good at programming you really need to dedicate time to it. There is a lot to learn. But to be honest, if you spent a couple hours a night, and a little extra on the weekends, you could be doing just fine in about a months time. Read a lot about the basics, the terminology, the "rules" for naming stuff, etc. Practice, create working examples. Then apply for a job.

Its gonna be a bit of a squeeze for me to get the job I applied for because I have no working JSP examples, and only two examples of my HTML/CSS work online. I haven't been doing this stuff on the side in a long time and I'm kicking myself in the ass. I've got a shot at a 70k/yr job knowing what I know... but my lack of examples could be the death of this opportunity. Which is why I'm working on my JSP project