ramping up on sys admin through certification

Question

I'm from a development background but have been hired as an all-round IT person to a company of 150 people approx. The expectation is that I will step into the sys admin, network admin and hardware support roles all of which have been outsourced to date. In addition I will be trying to do as much development as possible. I'm not afraid of the challenge (I've been around for a while) and there will be more in-house help down the line. But I need to ramp up on a lot of stuff. The transition timeline hasn't been decided. As part of growing into the role I am thinking of taking the following certification: 1) MCTS 70-662 - Exchange 2) MCTS 70-640 - ActiveDirectory 3) MCTS 70-669 - Virtualization for Windows Server R2 4) Comptia Network+

Q. Are these certifications (or at least covering the ground) worthwhile? If so, are there other certifications that I should be thinking about if I am responsible for Exchange 2010, Win Server 2008 R2 and other applications running in a virtualized environment?

Answer 1

You could probably save a lot of money just by jumping in and using MSDN / Google as and when it's required. Don't underestimate your own abilities - you don't need the paper unless you're trying to make your CV look good.

Answer 2

With your experience you'll probably have no trouble reviewing the materials and writing/passing the exams. The certs are a good review and you'll probably learn a thing or two along the way. The certifications are handy to have for your next job since you're already in and have established yourself in your current job. There are a tonne of good resources out there to help fill out what you have, if needed, and learn new things too. Whatever way you decide to go, good luck!

Answer 3

Additionally, Technet has some great material that is equally as good as the books. I am always browsing Technet on Exchange, Hyper-V and Active Directory.