What are the Certificates needed for IT focusing more on Hardware

[Mallarky]

Long story short, I am a small town guy who has a few friends who got me interested in computers as a kid (as I'm sure we all do). Years passed and I got more and more enjoyment from disassembling and assembling new hardware into my PCs. Living in Alberta Canada, Ive lost my job and am now thinking about taking my love of PC hardware and turning it into a career.

What are some opinions/advice on what steps to take, certificates to strive for, courses to take, and/or jobs to help with experience?

I wonder what is considered to be a good "starter" job. And I wonder what is considered to be a career goal for those who are only interested in installing and testing the newest hardware for PCs. Because if I were to pursue a career in hardware, I'd like to find a position where I would install and test the new and amazing tech that comes off the line.

[Guest]

I think A Plus is the basic "high school diploma" kinda expected to have starter one.

[Mallarky]

Thank you for the reply fpo

"What are some opinions/advice on what steps to take"

A+ cert is a step one. Any other advice on what other certs/courses to take to maximize my skill and knowledge to push myself to be the best I can be?

 

P.S.

Diggin the fat Thor pic

[rcmaehl]

A+

CCNA

Linux+

Certificate Redhat System Administrator

 

This step ladder should get you into the server space with a sizeable paycheck.

[Rolling2405]

Here is a cool IT certificate.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/m365-enterprise-administrator

[Jarsky]

Microsoft 365 has nothing to do with Hardware. It's Microsofts Azure & Office 365 Platforms. 

 

Really not sure what OP is after though, really need to define what you're looking to do as a job. 

If you want to work with building and trying out consumer hardware then you're looking more at the niche areas in either a retail job at a boutique system builder or a technology reviewer where you'd need writing skills as well. 

 

I work as a Systems Engineer, which encompasses predominantly Virtualization infrastructure (VMware / Azure / Hyper-V), Server hardware (Cisco UCS, IBM Blade, Dell servers, etc...) and Wintel (Windows Server & Desktop, Active Directory/DNS/DHCP, SCCM, Exchange, Skype/Teams, Print Management, Sharepoint, etc....). You'll find that most IT jobs don't really touch on getting to play with cool consumer hardware like the YouTubers you see. They predominantly got their starts from either working in boutique builders like NewEgg or NCIX or as reviewers/writers for Technology sites or be self employeed with platforms like YouTube to create ad revenue.