How specialise do you need to be in these places to get IT jobs?

Question

I am asking this question very abstractly.

If you work in the big corporates in the IT industry, you need to be very proficient and skilled in your IT knowledge. For example, if you work in Yahoo, you must not only be highly qualified, you must also be highly skilled.

However, if you work in more remote places, such as the Mid West or smaller towns, do you still need to be that highly skilled to get employment? For example, if you specialise in networks, do you need to know advanced routing or even telecommunications in these places to find a job? Do you even need to have your CCNA before you secure your job?

Answer 1

Well, I have been in the industry since (well a long time) anyway. Certs are only tools and no you dont have to have CCNA unless you are applying for a job that needs Cisco equipment, many dont.

Most of the IT jobs get targeted to specific needs of the company. If you are the help desk, hardware service, etc because you work in a smaller/midsize/large company that just needs general support, certs may not mean anything. *No one can be all things - even though we try.

If you really specialize in networks a Red Hat Cert / Microsoft Cert might mean more than CCNA - once the line is in the building the routers getting them there really are not the Major issue.

I guess what I am trying to say is get the Certs that match what you want to do and get started. You can always add more certifications. (Most places count experiance much more than Certs - I have met several certified folks that couldn't make a network function period - could certainly pass tests but who cares.)