MCDST & HDI Help/Tips

[PrinzII]

Joshua: I already have CHDP (Certified Help Desk Professional)and I am working on taking the tests for my MCSE and MCDBA certs. I have already taken the A+ class and I am studying for the test (Got some prep from my build). If you have any help desk related questions, I will be glad to help you.

I am also interested in the ITIL stuff since I am seeing that is a big thing on the job market. My goal is to get into management but I want to be a manager/executive who can walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Other certs I am interested in are Cisco (CCNA or CCNP (CCIE if I can handle it)), CISSP/Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker, Linux+, and Apple.

I am also pursuing an Associate's degree in Information Technology and plan to go for my Bachelor's and (maybe) my MBA.

[ifoam]

Originally Posted by Joshua312

If you dont mind me asking, what do you do for the Law Office, and how did you get into those positions at the school and goverment? Through your college, just ads in the paper? They sound like great experience/offers...for some reason I just dont see those around here

I do everything related to IT for the Law Office. I got that job from a friend. Him and I went to consult and they ended up hiring both of us. He never showed up and got fired. So I became "the man".

the school and government, i went in and asked if i could intern. just ask to speak to the director of IT or MIS. i figure if they see you seeking a job, they might consider you. i'll be moving in 2 weeks and im already emailing the city, schools and the port of the city to see if they are willing to hire me on as part time.

[Joshua312]

Very interesting and useful information from both of you!!
Prinz, as you may know most degrees dont prepare you hands on for a lot of the help desk stuff. What did you do to get a good handle on everything. Did you read books, take courses (if so where) or what? I feel like Im going to have this degree, but get lost in figuring out how to *know* everything about Help Desk...what do you suggest I do now or in the future to prepare myself. I want to get started now in case I do come across a job like ifoam is talking about. ifoam; good luck to you on your move and future job opportunities. It sounds like you will have no problem at all getting into a position. I am going to go to my local highschool and see what is available.

[paradigm]

i've taken many cert exams (back to the NT4.0 days), but current certs i hold are A+, Security+, and MCSE 2003. i'm studying now for the CCNA exam...hopefully have it done in about a month.

definitely pick your certs carefully...having as many as you can will not necessarily be that helpful (i.e. getting any and every you can). certs will get you in the door, but know-how and experience will let you keep the job.

it also depends on what type of company you will be working at. it won't be worth your time getting Cisco certs if you will end up never working with it. nothing against enriching yourself, of course, but try to maintain focus on what you NEED.

i have my MCSE 2003 and am also working on Cisco now because i have to do it all in my current position...otherwise i wouldn't really care to study Cisco...i'm not that geeky. hahahaha

[PrinzII]

Originally Posted by Joshua312

Very interesting and useful information from both of you!!
Prinz, as you may know most degrees dont prepare you hands on for a lot of the help desk stuff. What did you do to get a good handle on everything. Did you read books, take courses (if so where) or what? I feel like Im going to have this degree, but get lost in figuring out how to *know* everything about Help Desk...what do you suggest I do now or in the future to prepare myself. I want to get started now in case I do come across a job like ifoam is talking about. ifoam; good luck to you on your move and future job opportunities. It sounds like you will have no problem at all getting into a position. I am going to go to my local highschool and see what is available.

Joshua, you are correct. However, the situation is that many Help Desk positions (Level II or higher) require a degree of some sort. One thing I learned in my early days was never to be afraid to ask questions. I learned early on that the only stupid question is one that is never asked.

As for preparing myself for my positions, I learned mostly on the job. Although there are some generally accepted practices, there are always going to be some unusual things that are just part of the environment and you won't know how to handle those things until you are in that environment. When I first started dealing with new issues, I kept notes at my desk until I felt comfortable. Over time, I was able to take calls w/o the notes. I also had to learn how to put as much detail into my calls as possible. This way, you want to ensure that if you have to kick it to another level, they can get a very clear picture of the issue.


Part of the problem is that many positions are looking for "paper" (Certs, degrees, or any combo thereof) along with experience.

[Joshua312]

Thanks for the help Prinz, I was looking at my Universities website and I seen a few programs that would fit well with the Help Desk.

If you go here
http://www.davenport.edu/tabid/662/Default.aspx I want to get either the Netowrking Security or Computer Networking Bachelor.


Then I want to for sure get my A+ Certification, MCDST, and MCSA. Even if I can get all the paper requirements I would still like to find a job or internship early on so I can get some experience in the IT field, even if it isn't with Help Desk. Prinz, do you feel reading the Microsoft Training Kits it will help me alot or will I actually need to take those 3 day courses that cram everything together?

If anyone else knows of some good books (in depth troubleshooting information rather than teaching you the conceptual side of what to do) please let me know. I want to learn more about what to do in real life situations rather than how to treat the end user and the tiers of the IT field. For example; a book that describes a problem then explains how you go about fixing it.

Thanks for all the help, I always look forward to reading the new posts here

[PrinzII]

Originally Posted by Joshua312

Thanks for the help Prinz, I was looking at my Universities website and I seen a few programs that would fit well with the Help Desk.

If you go here
http://www.davenport.edu/tabid/662/Default.aspx I want to get either the Netowrking Security or Computer Networking Bachelor.


Then I want to for sure get my A+ Certification, MCDST, and MCSA. Even if I can get all the paper requirements I would still like to find a job or internship early on so I can get some experience in the IT field, even if it isn't with Help Desk. Prinz, do you feel reading the Microsoft Training Kits it will help me alot or will I actually need to take those 3 day courses that cram everything together?

If anyone else knows of some good books (in depth troubleshooting information rather than teaching you the conceptual side of what to do) please let me know. I want to learn more about what to do in real life situations rather than how to treat the end user and the tiers of the IT field. For example; a book that describes a problem then explains how you go about fixing it.

Thanks for all the help, I always look forward to reading the new posts here

It will definitely help you because you will discover and get to practice things you never knew existed. The key thing to success in this field is that you have to be driven and part of that drive is to keep your edge up.

That is why I am pursuing my degree and certs.

[Joshua312]

Thanks again to everyone who has helped me this far in this thread. I went to Barnes N Noble today and took a look at a couple more books. I am going to be ordering the Supporting and Troubleshooting Operating Systems on Windows XP soon along with an A+ book as well. I figure I might as well keep reading until I reach some of the classes that interest me and just to build my knowledge. Ive never looked into networking/security and all that before...it sure does get confusing... But if I can come to understand it...I know it will help me greatly. Im going to try and get my messed up desktop up and running tomorrow and set up in my room so I can use it to practice on and follow examples in my books.

[Joshua312]

Well tonight I did some searching for job openings...and while there are a couple in the area - Should I be getting my hopes shot down and start thinking Im not going into the right field of study, I thought jobs in the tech field were growing and what not. Am I probably right in assuming not all the companies in my area are going to use these internet job postings and instead rely on college graduates and search for them and reach out to local universities...I dont want to feel like Desktop Support isn't needed and I'll be w/o a job

[PrinzII]

Originally Posted by paradigm

go to http://www.microsoft.com/support and look for topics that interest you...there will be more than you will ever want to read there. white papers, how-to's, troubleshooting, etc. (same applies to most major companies...Microsoft, Cisco, etc)

for general overview books you may want to try the "For Dummies" series. nope, i'm not kidding. i read MANY of them when i was starting out and they are great for getting the big picture of various technologies and a little in-depth on some. "Networking for Dummies", "Windows 2003 Server for Dummies", "Windows XP for Dummies", etc.

now, if you want to jump right in and get to it...check out the technical books by Mark Minasi. i love his writing style (not dry...throws in a joke here and there, etc). many refer to his "Mastering Windows 2003 Server" book as the bible. hehehe. Amazon has tons of books by him. oh, and the books are usually well over 1,000 pages. that'll keep you busy!

another idea for you. get two or three pc's set up so you can use them as a test lab. as you go through the books make sure to PRACTICE what they are describing. best way to learn, IMHO.

Case in point, I have a Dell PIII 667 that I maxed out for practicing Windows Server 2003. I am also working on a PIII 500 running Win2K and planning 2 more builds (Including 1 that will run Vista) so I can have a semi-network around the house.

[PrinzII]

Originally Posted by Joshua312

Well tonight I did some searching for job openings...and while there are a couple in the area - Should I be getting my hopes shot down and start thinking Im not going into the right field of study, I thought jobs in the tech field were growing and what not. Am I probably right in assuming not all the companies in my area are going to use these internet job postings and instead rely on college graduates and search for them and reach out to local universities...I dont want to feel like Desktop Support isn't needed and I'll be w/o a job

Jobs in the Tech Field are growing but they are looking for a combination of experience and certs. What you might want to do to gain some experience is to volunteer at some organizations or look for an internship.

[Joshua312]

Originally Posted by PrinzII

Jobs in the Tech Field are growing but they are looking for a combination of experience and certs. What you might want to do to gain some experience is to volunteer at some organizations or look for an internship.

Will do! Thanks I sent out a couple emails yesterday too some companies/organizations concerning internship availability or even just the possibility of shadowing someone for a day too see what it is like. Im going to be contacting my advisor soon for further information on internships available.