Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Job in computers/MIS but no offical training, where do I start?

I鈥檓 35 years old and excellent with computers. I can build a computer from scratch and haven鈥檛 encountered a problem that I couldn鈥檛 fix.



I am currently in a totally unrelated job field but would like to get into the computer field, possibly an MIS position with a corporation.



The problem is I have no official training in computers.



How would I best go about getting into this field? What would the starting salary be?



I would appreciate any advice you may have for me. Thank you.



Job in computers/MIS but no offical training, where do I start?anti virus scan



There are several paths you could take, but I'll focus on a couple that for most people are the quickest and the cheapest.



The first thing to consider is that some employers will overlook a lack of experience if you hold industry certifications. Companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle and many others offer certifications to people who can prove their skills by taking a test. There are also some vendor-neutral certifications that apply to general MIS skills. If you have experience building computers (and want to pursue a position building and repairing PCs), consider becoming A+ certified. You can check it out at www.comptia.org - they have several other certifications that you can learn about as well. The costs of the tests vary depending on the certification and the vendor, but most run between $100 and $150. That's just to take the test, and some certifications require more than one test. And, if you don't pass on the first try, you'll have to pay to take the test again, though some companies offer a discount on re-takes. You might want to buy a book to use as a study guide, and practice tests are available for most certifications as well. I imagine a study guide with some practice tests for the A+ exam would cost $100 or less.

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