CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician HIT-001

[Totien]

Anyone done this? Know anything at all about it? I've been looking for a job in the healthcare IT field for a while now and had no idea that this was a thing until very recently. I've started studying for it, but seeing as it's not listed as a requirement or recommendation for any of the jobs I look at, I'm wondering if it'll be worth my time.

[Dantrag]

I've never even heard of it. Is it for something particular? Is it like A+?

[Totien]

http://certification.comptia.org/get...s/hittech.aspx

[Yabby]

Been in the field for about 5 years now, never once have my comTIA Certs even been brought up or required for a job. Two of which were side jobs at a local hospital.

[Dantrag]

I've been in IT for 8-9 years now. I don't have any CompTIA. I have A lot of MCITP stuff. I want to upgrade it to 2012(it's currently server 2008 level).

[xerodok]

Go for it only if an employer pays for it. Otherwise, pass.

[Dantrag]

I can agree to that and say that about pretty much every cert. Unless you're new in the business and have no experience, certs mean very little.

[Yabby]

I can agree to that and say that about pretty much every cert. Unless you're new in the business and have no experience, certs mean very little.

^ this. Certs are for a resume that doesn't have much experience.

[Meresgi]

^ this. Certs are for a resume that doesn't have much experience.

Except for government contracting shit, they love the FUCK out of certs and degrees. Even if they are pointless, helps to win contracts.

[Dantrag]

Except for government contracting shit, they love the FUCK out of certs and degrees. Even if they are pointless, helps to win contracts.

Degrees are far more important than certs. I've lost 2 opportunities for no reason other than not having a bachelors of any kind. Certs usually only matter for companies that are trying to get partner status with MS or VMWare or Redhat etc.

[Meresgi]

Degrees are more valuable but it all counts when contracts come up for renewal and your company can say "Well our SA's have x amount of years, x degrees and these certs for the shit you're using". Obviously if you're a RHEL Cert admin and the entire environment is Windows, no one gives a fuck though lol.

Getting my CCNA/CCNA security this month for my degree program, sucks because gov't is going Juniper over Cisco ;_;

[Darus Grey]

Yeah, it has nothing to do with whether the certs have any meaning or not. Many government positions and contracts REQUIRE certifications(either the certification or an equivalent experience/degree combo, sometimes all three). So in the case of government work, it's not "Oh, it's a perk" it's a "We immediately discarded your proposal".


Outside of government work, only ones I've ever seen matter are cisco and red hat, those are both "print money" certs in the right fields/areas.

[Totien]

Meh. I wouldn't be where I am without my A+. I'll continue to read on up the HIT-001 but I think having a MCITP would open more doors. Any recommended downloads for study material? I seem to remember a program called Labs...omething that I used going thru school. It had rediculous actors which made the content pretty memorable. Helpful reviews and feedback as well.

[Dantrag]

Groupon actually does a lot of sales for MS/Cisco training for huge discounts.

What are you currently doing and what do you want to be doing? Where do you live?

My history is as follows:

1) Help Desk
2) Sys admin - do all role, help desk, networking, building machines, firewalls, exchange role out
3) Exchange Admin
4) Systems engineer(Didn't really do much engineering in this role honestly, was basically a high level admin)
5) Senior Windows Engineer - Did a lot of VMWare related work and a ton of windows deployments and high level configurations
6) Senior Wintel Engineer - Current role

[Totien]

I'm currently in the help desk at a large software development company in south Florida. Started my career with lolGeek Squad. I'd be happy with a sys admin or exchange admin position, preferably in a healthcare setting. Community Health Systems and Arthrex corporate offices are in my home town, so I keep a close eye on their job boards for a foot-in-the-door type position. Unfortunately with two kids, the only downtime I have to study is while I'm at work or that hour or so after they're asleep before I pass out myself.

[Dantrag]

How do you feel progression is there? Are you able to transfer into another role within the company? Are you willing to relocate?

If you want to stick with MS, I would defiantly say go Sharepoint. They're in high demand and low availability.

[Totien]

Not wanting to relocate. My companies financial situation is pretty dismal, so a raise in my current position is not at all likely, but a transfer to a better role would be possible if I had higher qualifications.

[Dantrag]

Internal shifts are easier than coming in from the outside. If you have open positions that would be a move up in your career then apply for them and try to talk to the managers. Since you're in help desk you should have access to that. I would suggest if possible try to move into the positions even without a pay raise. As stated before, experience trumps all. If you're ok with your finances then this would be a pretty huge boost to your overall career. If that's not possible then I would start to study for what you want to move into and start getting some certs with the time you do have. Are you down in Miami area or further north?

[Totien]

Naples.

[Dantrag]

I used to live in Naples :D. I know it's grown a lot. I have no idea what the market is like down there. Market in Tallahassee is awful for IT.