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Recommendations for certifications for a career in web development/PC Technician

Hey guys, so I want to get some advice on which certifications would be advantageous for a career in Web Development and/or a career in being a PC Technician/ PC build and repair business owner. I'm asking cause I want to plan my study journey accurately so that I can get the right stuff from the start. And any general career advice about being a Web Developer/ PC Technician is welcome too!

 

Certifications I have planned to get so far:

Comptia A+

 

Thanks for all the advice in advance!

 

Regards

Ya Boi Prime

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I don't work in the industry so I can't say what a certification is worth, but I did have a time in my previous job where I kinda ran parallel to it. Work paid me to do N+, which I passed without any problem. I met others while doing N+, who were doing A+. It seemed more like a basic level of knowledge. As a long time PC enthusiast, I think I could have passed the exam without preparation, but I wasn't going to pay for it myself. 

 

Web dev side probably requires looking elsewhere, but I don't know where that would be.

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Are you referring to front end or back-end web development?

 

Both tend to be portfolio/experience based in the UK

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Thanks let me know if I said something useful. Cheers!

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17 hours ago, TheFlyingSquirrel said:

Are you referring to front end or back-end web development?

 

Both tend to be portfolio/experience based in the UK

Both really, I'm aiming to be a fullstack developer.

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If you are going into and wanting to do web/dev honestly A+ is the opposite of what your doing. A+ Is a general PC/Mac basic level troubleshooting type thing. If yet get N+ it automatically gives you A+.

 

Honestly, the repair side as a business is not as lucrative as it used to be. You would be better off offering other services, maintenance contracts, server setups, etc. And then you would need to hire people, train people etc. For that you would want (need) to either take Business classes or hire people with business degrees to handle that side of things.


If you are really looking more to dev, then I would look into a computer science degree or at least certs in programming languages.

some of these might interest you https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/programming-certifications

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For being a web developer, I would suggest you to just start building projects. It is a better way of learning as it tends to show real problems and also helps you experience common problems firsthand. Start basic, like an online course and build the projects they show in class. Join their communities, it helps very much, as you get to communicate with people doing the same stuff, are on relatively same level and you meet people who have experienced such stuff. I am currently taking Harvard's CS50, and I think it can be a great course for you. It is free and the communities are very helpful.  Also reach out to people whenever struck on some problem.

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Just now, Yatharth Shah said:

For being a web developer, I would suggest you to just start building projects. It is a better way of learning as it tends to show real problems and also helps you experience common problems firsthand. Start basic, like an online course and build the projects they show in class. Join their communities, it helps very much, as you get to communicate with people doing the same stuff, are on relatively same level and you meet people who have experienced such stuff. I am currently taking Harvard's CS50, and I think it can be a great course for you. It is free and the communities are very helpful.  Also reach out to people whenever struck on some problem.

https://cs50.harvard.edu/

 

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20 hours ago, PrimeMinister said:

Hey guys, so I want to get some advice on which certifications would be advantageous for a career in Web Development and/or a career in being a PC Technician/ PC build and repair business owner. I'm asking cause I want to plan my study journey accurately so that I can get the right stuff from the start. And any general career advice about being a Web Developer/ PC Technician is welcome too!

 

Certifications I have planned to get so far:

Comptia A+

CompTIA is never bad to get, if you can justify the cost. I don't recommend doing PC repair AND web stuff. I used to and it gets tiresome, fast. You will deal with morons, and people that don't actually know what they want. I dropped web and went full IT-consult and builds/repairs. That part, if you are repairing PCs for the general public, does not need any qualifications - in fact most people won't even know what they are, or what they mean, in terms of ability or knowledge. Many people sign up to Microsoft's OEM/builder partner program (free) just so they can use that association - but it doesn't mean anything, it's just that Joe Public sees "Microsoft" and feels reassured. I don't bother myself, but there's nothing shady about doing it.

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1 hour ago, TehDwonz said:

CompTIA is never bad to get, if you can justify the cost. I don't recommend doing PC repair AND web stuff. I used to and it gets tiresome, fast. You will deal with morons, and people that don't actually know what they want. I dropped web and went full IT-consult and builds/repairs. That part, if you are repairing PCs for the general public, does not need any qualifications - in fact most people won't even know what they are, or what they mean, in terms of ability or knowledge. Many people sign up to Microsoft's OEM/builder partner program (free) just so they can use that association - but it doesn't mean anything, it's just that Joe Public sees "Microsoft" and feels reassured. I don't bother myself, but there's nothing shady about doing it.

Ok, good to know, I'll especially look out for the Microsoft thing. My main plan was to do like PC repair, build stuff as a side hustle (Gonna do a short course first where I can write the A+ exams as a bonus/optional thing) while I do a course in Web Development but it's more of a test run to see which one of the two I prefer more. (Thanks to LTT, I got super curious about the physical side of things in IT and inspired me to refurbish a cheap office pc I bought from school for my mom as a mini test run.) Thanks for the advice!

 

Btw here are some links to what I'm gonna study next year (for referencing and a bit of clarity maybe):

Short Course in PC Tech:

https://www.boston.co.za/boston-city-campus/qualifications/information-communications-technologies-ict/computer-technician/

Course in Web Dev:

https://www.aie.ac/tcp-2_30_374-it-systems-developer-nqf5-computer-programmer.html

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2 hours ago, Yatharth Shah said:

For being a web developer, I would suggest you to just start building projects. It is a better way of learning as it tends to show real problems and also helps you experience common problems firsthand. Start basic, like an online course and build the projects they show in class. Join their communities, it helps very much, as you get to communicate with people doing the same stuff, are on relatively same level and you meet people who have experienced such stuff. I am currently taking Harvard's CS50, and I think it can be a great course for you. It is free and the communities are very helpful.  Also reach out to people whenever struck on some problem.

I have heard of CS50 before but I was unsure if I should try it out, but I'll check it out again. Thanks for the advice!

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2 minutes ago, PrimeMinister said:

Ok, good to know, I'll especially look out for the Microsoft thing. My main plan was to do like PC repair, build stuff as a side hustle (Gonna do a short course first where I can write the A+ exams as a bonus/optional thing) while I do a course in Web Development but it's more of a test run to see which one of the two I prefer more. (Thanks to LTT, I got super curious about the physical side of things in IT and inspired me to refurbish a cheap office pc I bought from school for my mom as a mini test run.) Thanks for the advice!

 

Btw here are some links to what I'm gonna study next year (for referencing and a bit of clarity maybe):

Short Course in PC Tech:

https://www.boston.co.za/boston-city-campus/qualifications/information-communications-technologies-ict/computer-technician/

Course in Web Dev:

https://www.aie.ac/tcp-2_30_374-it-systems-developer-nqf5-computer-programmer.html

Seems good - I mean, having more qualifications isn't a bad thing. Re-furbishing office PCs is a good one, and if you can get a cost-effective system set up for it, it can be a decent trickle income for minimal effort. Most office PCs have digital windows 10 licenses attached to them forever, so you can easily install fresh W10 at no real cost to you except time - even then, you could create an image to copy to all PCs, to cut down on set up time.

There is an excellent tool called NTLite, that makes the process of customising and pre-configuring a Windows ISO very easy - far easier than Microsoft's solution IMO. It's not free, but has a trial period and gets regular updates. Even for personal use, it's a great thing to have.

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5 minutes ago, TehDwonz said:

Seems good - I mean, having more qualifications isn't a bad thing. Re-furbishing office PCs is a good one, and if you can get a cost-effective system set up for it, it can be a decent trickle income for minimal effort. Most office PCs have digital windows 10 licenses attached to them forever, so you can easily install fresh W10 at no real cost to you except time - even then, you could create an image to copy to all PCs, to cut down on set up time.

There is an excellent tool called NTLite, that makes the process of customising and pre-configuring a Windows ISO very easy - far easier than Microsoft's solution IMO. It's not free, but has a trial period and gets regular updates. Even for personal use, it's a great thing to have.

The problem is getting low-cost licenses for Microsoft Office, lol. But I'll check it out, thx man.

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2 hours ago, Hakemon said:

Suddenly I feel old.  Not only do none of my CompTIA certs expire because I'm that old, but I also had to take A+ and then N+ because N+ did not give you A+ when I took them.

Yea I wish I had taken mine back when they where lifetime certs. I let my A+ expire once I got the job I have now, and I have not needed to get another cert for any thing so saving money lol. (I'm honestly going to start at WGU soon and take their cyber security course, then turn that into the IT Business mgmt degree path they offer. They cover the cost of quite a few cert tests that way.)

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Just now, PrimeMinister said:

The problem is getting low-cost licenses for Microsoft Office, lol. But I'll check it out, thx man.

It is (currently) 100% legal for an EU citizen to re-sell those license keys (thanks Germany!). Use this information however you like 😉

Alternatively, there's always LibreOffice.

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14 minutes ago, TehDwonz said:

There is an excellent tool called NTLite

I did not realize that was still a thing lol. I need to look that up again.

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1 minute ago, TehDwonz said:

It is (currently) 100% legal for an EU citizen to re-sell those license keys (thanks Germany!). Use this information however you like 😉

Alternatively, there's always LibreOffice.

Nah, I'll rather stan for Office. And I think it's not illegal here either to sell those keys...

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5 minutes ago, DavidKalinowski said:

I did not realize that was still a thing lol. I need to look that up again.

Yeah the old XP one was NLite. It's sub-based (1 year), but unlimited updates within the major version. I just upgraded to v2 from 1.9, which I used for years.

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6 minutes ago, PrimeMinister said:

Nah, I'll rather stan for Office. And I think it's not illegal here either to sell those keys...

Ok, but to be clear, I was not suggesting YOU re-sell them, just buy them to include as part of the system price. ie, they pay you to install and set it up, and you are providing Office "free". ;) 

Another option is to have them as "Office Ready" PCs, and the links to sign up for Office 365 all set up on the Desktop. I believe you can even install it as a trial? Brings the cost down, and then they can choose to subscribe if they want. Offer LibreOffice as a free alternative.

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6 minutes ago, TehDwonz said:

Ok, but to be clear, I was not suggesting YOU re-sell them, just buy them to include as part of the system price. ie, they pay you to install and set it up, and you are providing Office "free". ;) 

Another option is to have them as "Office Ready" PCs, and the links to sign up for Office 365 all set up on the Desktop. I believe you can even install it as a trial? Brings the cost down, and then they can choose to subscribe if they want. Offer LibreOffice as a free alternative.

Oh, no, I know what you meant. I meant to just say that I don't think that buying and selling those keys are illegal here, XD. Saving links in one text file on the desktop with the name FREE OFFICE FOREVER.txt (as a mini prank) instead of installing Office would be pretty cool to do, lol.😄

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