A question about employment, qualifications and so forth

[faded_glory]

I'm 51 and currently out of work (in the UK). I've worked in IT, sort of, before. I have 14 or so years of experience using Linux on the Desktop at home, plus as many helping friends and family with Windows PC's. I switched to Macs for a year, a few years back, went back to Linux for a while and then back to Macs a year or so ago. I've tinkered - swapping drives and RAM on older machines, upgrading/installing the OS, fixing the odd Mac for friends and family, so am not afraid of going under the hood.
My questions are - I've just bought the OSX Support Essentials book with the intention of working my way through it and then taking the exam to get the CAPT qualification. It's very expensive to do this, so a first question might be 'is it a waste of time?' (given my age and the fact it was nigh on 10 years ago that I worked in IT). A second question is, I note that OSX Server is surprisingly cheap on the App Store - is it worth getting that and putting it on my spare iMac and learning that too? Instinct tells me that a home learned working knowledge, without the actual qualification, though useful, is likely be of no consequence when applying for work.
I notice that the current qualification is for El Capitan, yet Sierra is being pushed now - would the El Capitan qualification be likely to become obsolete in a few months time (presumably when the books and exams have caught up with the latest release. This applies also to the Server qualification and books - all currently on Server 5.0, whereas the App Store is on 5.2). I realise no one has a looking glass. It's more of 'general feel for the industry' type question.
Apologies if I've posted this to the wrong forum. This one seemed most appropriate.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Sorry, just to clarify, what are you hoping to do with this training? Find a job at ...?

 

[faded_glory]

Anywhere that Macs are the machine of choice/local company/the local Apple shop - whatever I can find, as long as it's working with Macs.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

If it's a local Apple shop, I wouldn't bother with the certification. Not that it won't come in handy, but it's unlikely to be a requirement for them, unless you're wanting to work on the repairs side.

I am currently working in the IT field, and have 0 qualifications. My journey started with many years of retail, which resulted in a job at an Apple Store. I was there for about two years but became disgruntled with the atmosphere and lack of hours, and moved to a small, third party repair shop that was horribly managed, and stayed a year there. From there, I went to an Apple authorized reseller, that was reasonably well run, and commission based, which was interesting. After a year there (moving from sales to assistant manager) I was somewhat suddenly offered a sales assistant position on their corporate side, which I did for four months. This position was fantastic because, while the pay and treatment I received were terrible, I got a lot of hands-on experience at clients' businesses, which led to my current, much better paid and treated position in a proper IT position, in a business that runs mostly Macs.

My point is that certification was never a hurdle for me, however, it certainly will never hurt to have - in my opinion, it's just a matter of trying to determine if the cost for each one will make itself back by a job you receive.

We use Mac OS Server, and it's relatively straightforward to use, but doesn't receive the best support from Apple.

 

[maflynn]

Anywhere that Macs are the machine of choice/local company/the local Apple shop - whatever I can find, as long as it's working with Macs.

Before undertaking the expensive certification tests, do a market research regarding what companies use Macs. The enterprise is almost completely on Windows, other then apple authorized dealers/repair centers, I'm not sure there will be too many places that use Macs in place of PCs.

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I wanted to remind you of the fact that Macs have largely not made it into the enterprise sector.

 

[faded_glory]

That's OK, I never wanted to work on the Enterprise. Never been one for uniforms.

 

[lowendlinux]

Remember employment is different in Europe IME than it is in the states.

Last year when I realized that I'd actually have to go back to the states I spent a few hundred and did A+, Net +, Security +, and RHCE. None of these things will help me much in the States but they're required for every server driver job that I looked at here. My wife and I have since decided that when my time comes I'll head back but I don't regret getting any of the certifications even if they are of no use currently.