Because I'm a (very) little computer savy, I've assisted in a lot of computer-related issues at work. We're small enough that we don't have (or really need) a full time IT professional. To expand my responsibilities (and hopefully pay), I'd like to learn more about operating systems as well as networking and office applications.

I have no idea where to start and I'm looking for suggestions. Microsoft offers a number of courses, but I'm not sure which are applicable. Also, I'd like to hear from other IT pros, what it is they do from day-to-day.

Quoted: Because I'm a (very) little computer savy, I've assisted in a lot of computer-related issues at work. We're small enough that we don't have (or really need) a full time IT professional. To expand my responsibilities (and hopefully pay), I'd like to learn more about operating systems as well as networking and office applications. I have no idea where to start and I'm looking for suggestions. Microsoft offers a number of courses, but I'm not sure which are applicable. Also, I'd like to hear from other IT pros, what it is they do from day-to-day.

There are a few certifications you can look into to start with (if you are looking to be an M$ tech):

A+ Computer General knowledge
Network+ Computer Networking General Knowledge

That's a really good start, beyond that are the Microsoft Certified bla bla bla which can take you down certain Carreer paths depending on what you want to do.  MCSE or MCSA are good ones to start with, but with all things microsoft, it can get pretty pricey.

Quoted: Quoted: Because I'm a (very) little computer savy, I've assisted in a lot of computer-related issues at work. We're small enough that we don't have (or really need) a full time IT professional. To expand my responsibilities (and hopefully pay), I'd like to learn more about operating systems as well as networking and office applications. I have no idea where to start and I'm looking for suggestions. Microsoft offers a number of courses, but I'm not sure which are applicable. Also, I'd like to hear from other IT pros, what it is they do from day-to-day. There are a few certifications you can look into to start with (if you are looking to be an M$ tech): A+ Computer General knowledge Network+ Computer Networking General Knowledge That's a really good start, beyond that are the Microsoft Certified bla bla bla which can take you down certain Carreer paths depending on what you want to do.  MCSE or MCSA are good ones to start with, but with all things microsoft, it can get pretty pricey.

Pretty much what he said...
You can pick up great self learning A+ & Network + books from Boarders or Barnes & Noble for under $100 each.  I honestly don't have a clue what the cert tests for those are, but I can't imagine they are more than $200 each (if even that, again, I really don't know)...

A bootcamp style MCSE or MCSA course & tests will run you about $5,000.  Mind you, that is 2 solid weeks @ 10 hours a day in-class learning.  You can also pick up self learning books and take the individual tests at your pace for much lest.

Yeah, I took those classes.

A+, Net+, MCSE, MCDBA (MSSQL), Linux Basics, Linux+, RHCT, RHCE and Oracle 9i DBA (PLSQL) classes way back in 2001/2 or so.

I learned a ton of stuff and it was a great springboard for personal goals I wanted to attain for myself and did some volunteer work just to gain experience.

Unfortunately, the IT job market totally sucked to no end back then and I was never able to get any actual paying work in the field.

My guess is that the demand for grads of those kinds of classes/certs kinda ebbs and flows with the economy at the time.

Good luck.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Because I'm a (very) little computer savy, I've assisted in a lot of computer-related issues at work. We're small enough that we don't have (or really need) a full time IT professional. To expand my responsibilities (and hopefully pay), I'd like to learn more about operating systems as well as networking and office applications. I have no idea where to start and I'm looking for suggestions. Microsoft offers a number of courses, but I'm not sure which are applicable. Also, I'd like to hear from other IT pros, what it is they do from day-to-day. There are a few certifications you can look into to start with (if you are looking to be an M$ tech): A+ Computer General knowledge Network+ Computer Networking General Knowledge That's a really good start, beyond that are the Microsoft Certified bla bla bla which can take you down certain Carreer paths depending on what you want to do.  MCSE or MCSA are good ones to start with, but with all things microsoft, it can get pretty pricey. Pretty much what he said... You can pick up great self learning A+ & Network + books from Boarders or Barnes & Noble for under $100 each.  I honestly don't have a clue what the cert tests for those are, but I can't imagine they are more than $200 each (if even that, again, I really don't know)... A bootcamp style MCSE or MCSA course & tests will run you about $5,000.  Mind you, that is 2 solid weeks @ 10 hours a day in-class learning.  You can also pick up self learning books and take the individual tests at your pace for much lest.

Wow...I always wondered why they never quoted pricing!  I'll be sure to check out those books.  I assume they're not the kind of text that'll put an insomniac asleep!

Thanks for the info, everyone!

Quoted: Wow...I always wondered why they never quoted pricing!  I'll be sure to check out those books.  I assume they're not the kind of text that'll put an insomniac asleep! Thanks for the info, everyone!

No, they are!  Toothpicks and tape are recomended for your eyes!

On top of all listed above, learn some programming, C# or VB.  Either can help you along with most "IT" positions.  

Experience actually counts for more than the certs. I don't know about the MS side of things, but in the Unix world its pretty easy to set yourself up with a network of Linux boxes and start teaching yourself. I would think that some of this would apply across the board:

* Learn the internet protocols like DNS, SMTP, HTTP, etc.
* Learn how a network works (TCP/IP, ARP, UDP, sockets)
* Learn exactly what happens at each step of sending an email from one client to another.
* Learn some bash shell programming
* Know a language like python, ruby, perl
* Become familiar with the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

The cool thing about all of this is that you can learn it all for free from places like The Linux Documentation Project and you can setup your own network for only the cost of the hardware.

There are Linux admin jobs out there that are paying over $90k (for senior level admins).