The Big Picture Of Pursuing A Career As A Microsoft Networking Administrator

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Copyright © 2009 Frank Pines


Pursuing a career as a Microsoft Networking Administrator can be both rewarding and challenging.

There is a lot to learn in preparation for your career in this field, and you must be willing to upgrade those skills every few years in order to stay up-to-date on these ever-changing technologies.

Fortunately, there are many potential paths that you can take that will allow you to successfully become a Microsoft Networking Administrator. No matter which path you choose to follow, however, there are some basic skills that you must have in order to reliably handle your job.

There is no such thing as a typical day for a person working in this field. Every day brings both new challenges and familiar issues. Generally, you will need to ready to handle everyday maintenance tasks such as maintaining the domain accounts (creating new ones, deleting old ones and modifying existing ones) and ensuring the continual operation of your network's domain controllers along with all of the domain's member servers and workstations.

Diagnosing connection issues and addressing network security concerns will occupy much of your time. General maintenance of network components is essential to minimizing the impact of potential emergencies and staving off network service interruptions.

In order to handle your day-to-day tasks, you must first obtain the required knowledge. You must understand how Microsoft Windows 2008 Server and Microsoft Active Directory work together to manage a Microsoft network. This knowledge is not obtained easily.

If you learn well via self-study courses, there are a number of programs that may give you the required knowledge. However, many find that those courses lack the first-hand experience that is essential for a Microsoft Networking Administrator to address the unique issues that frequently occur outside of a classroom environment. For those individuals, there are accelerated classes available, which offer the hands-on option.

For a more measured and in-depth study of the necessary Microsoft technologies, a formal curriculum involving courses in Network Essentials, Client Operating Systems, Basic Microsoft Server Operating Systems and Advanced Microsoft Server Operating Systems is ideal.

Pursuing this sort of education will prepare you for the necessary certification exams that you must take in order for you to show your proficiency to potential employers.

There are a number of certifications that you can obtain to show that you are capable of understanding the technologies that you will be using as a Microsoft Networking Administrator.

You should expect to obtain a Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) certification in order to show that you have the skills needed to manage and troubleshoot network environments running Windows operating systems. The MCSA consists of two core exams on networking systems, one core exam on client operating systems and one elective exam.

You should also obtain CompTIA Network+ certification in order to validate your knowledge of networking principles.

The Network+ certification will prove your ability to describe the features and functions of networking components and to understand basic network infrastructure.

While certifications are very important to show your proficiency, the importance of a traditional college degree cannot be overlooked. Often, to save time and money, one might be compelled to forgo a traditional college degree in favor of focusing on acquiring the knowledge required to pass the certification exams.

It should be noted, however, that a college degree is still preferred among the vast majority of employers. Having a degree is seen as an indication that you are able to plan for and successfully pursue long-term goals. The degree also indicates a willingness to expand your knowledge into other areas.

For this reason, certifications should ideally be viewed as complementary to your college degree, not a substitute for it.

In conclusion, should you decide to pursue a career as a Microsoft Networking Administrator, you will be met with many challenges. So long as you obtain the required knowledge and learn the appropriate skills, you will be able to overcome these challenges and build a successful lucrative career.




About the Author:
Written by Frank Pines of CDI Communications Inc. - CDI Communications is a leader in implementation of instructional strategies for MCSE, AutoCAD, Sap, Skillsoft, CCNA, MCTS, Cisco, MCITP, MCTS, Microsoft Office, Oracle, Crystal Report, Knowledgenet, SAP, NetG, A+ Training and Microsoft Network Security Certification. Visit CDI Communications Inc. at: http://www.netwind.com/ OR follow Frank on Twitter at: @cdicomp


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The Hidden Costs of Freeware

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Anne Sych


You are tasked with looking for software and in your research you stumble upon 'free' software. Can this be? It sounds too good to be true! How can they do that? It is very tempting - most of us at least take a peak. After all, why would we buy something we can get for free?

Or perhaps you start out looking for a good solid solution that will meet all of your needs, but your budget is tight and you begin looking at trimmed down or free solutions that may be available. You think that it may be good enough to get you by for now, and you can just purchase something better at a later date when things improve.

While this is tempting, one must consider the hidden costs of 'free' software. In the end, you could be spending more for a 'free' version, than a reputable, well built affordable solution.

Here are a few considerations when considering free software:

1. Many 'free' software solutions are not actually free. Essential components needed to use the software are additional - sometimes the components are minutely priced, but when you plug in your volume needs the prices really add up.

2. Does it really fit your needs? - With 'freeware' there is no product specialist to guide you with your selection, so you are forced to figure out on your own if it will meet your needs. Often once implemented you may learn that it does not meet needs after all or that certain parts do not work the way you need them to. Time lost in business is money lost.

3. You are on your own - typically freeware does not include any implementation assistance, training or support. At best you may get a 'guide', but no one to answer questions or help you with your system environment.

4. No training is provided - how will your employees learn how to use the new software? There are no best practices to follow, and you are left to learn on your own. In addition to time lost, often mistakes are made along the way that are hard to correct because you have done so much already "the wrong way". Again, time lost.

5. Is it cross user friendly? - Some companies may have an employee smart enough to 'rig' a freeware to meet their needs. Once this employee leaves or moves on new folks can't figure out how to make it work the same way.

6. Will it grow with you? - What will you do when you outgrow your application or your needs change. Will you force your business tasks around the app, or be forced to start over? Many hours, weeks, months are spent implementing a "free" system, processes are built around it, training is conducted - much man hours and internal costs. Starting over can be very costly. All of the time spent and resources used are now wasted as you look for a solution to replace this "free one".

So be on guard not to get caught up in the "free" hype, which in the end can cost much more. Take the time to do the due diligence now and select what you need for both now and for the future. Choose a provider that has a quality reputation, offers assistance, provides support, and a solutions that is scalable and can grow to meet your needs long term.




About the Author:
Written by: Anne Sych, Marketing Manager for Novo Solutions, Inc. Novo Solutions, Inc., is an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) in Virginia Beach, Virginia specializing in Customer Support Software. Free trial versions of the Novo Help Desk Software, Knowledge Base Software and suite of web based Customer Support Solutions. Contact: sales@novosolutions.com for more information. http://www.novosolutions.com/


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