There’s a big difference between the “server admin” sorts of tracks and the “network admin” sorts of tracks.
Server admins can get value out of an MCSE, and good solid knowledge of Linux (or full-on Unix). They manage the servers, software, databases, storage arrays... the hardware that sits on the network.
Network admins need Cisco certifications, period. CCNA is a good start, CCNE will open doors. They manage the routers, switches, firewalls and all the cloud-hitting stuff that gives people ~access~ to the servers.
In either track, the hip thing ~right now~ and for the forseeable future is “Security”. That’s the thing that everybody is worried about.
But nomatter what, experience and ability trumps schoolwork and certs. I.T. is an industry that moves and changes too fast for much of the schoolwork to have any practical application in the working world. By the time somebody gets a BS in Comp Sci, much of what they learned is obsolete. The basics still apply, but much of the advanced stuff will have changed.
I think I would advise to get an entry level job in I.T. first, and get the rest of the education and certs along the way. That’s a way to get the experience clock started, and still have the coursework be useful during the ride.
My .02 (from a Director of IT in a publicly held company).
I’ve been a MCSE since 99 and have way too many certs. I would focus on one of three technologies, MS, cisco or vmware. Vmware is a bit more advanced and does require a well rounded understanding of ms, network and some unix.
I know a lot of high schools offer tech training and quite a few state colleges have cheap classes as well.
One of the best places to apply at bigger companies is their help desk. They usually have a high turnover rate because any good company will train them up and promote from within. I routinely hire from our help desk.
“Network Systems Administrator” is a bit confusing. There’s Network Admins who do the networking (routers, switches, cables, etc.) and there’s Systems Administrators who handle servers and services. These are two separate career fields.
In a nutshell if they are strong in logic skills they would do better in networking. If they are better in reasoning (multi-variable problem solving ) they will do better in systems.
Cisco for networking and Microsoft and COMPTIA for Systems. Cross-trained is also important and will distinguish and advance them beyond their peers as each field must know the other field’s capabilities and needs. When one engineer can deduce what two IT departments and the supervisor are trying to accomplish it’s easy to get ahead.
Now, I’ll give the advice as others and say they should join the military in an IT Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). This will give them the all-important US SECRET security clearance which will open a great many opportunities once their 3 years are up. US SECRET IT jobs cannot be outsourced and draw from a limited pool of applicants.
-Only for a FReeper....
A better question would be, for example, "what career path in computer industry is most valuable?" Instead you picked a position of menial labor (roughly speaking) and proceeded from there. Sysadmins are janitors of server rooms; they fix old software, they talk to ISVs, they crawl under desks to connect cables, they fix broken computers... why in the world would you want your children to go into that job? Besides, IT departments are outsourced to India by thousands. Today's Internet allows Indians to manage your network from Bangalore, securely and reliably. You only need one local IT guy to, basically, replace the hardware when it fails. A monkey (untrained) can do that.
A bunch of earlier replies in this thread talk about Cisco and other router jockeys. Those jobs may be more lucrative... and at the same time they are more rare. How many companies you know that have a need for a Cisco router? If you just look around, most businesses (incl. small businesses) don't need any of that stuff even if you give it to them for free. I work in computer and hardware industry for a long time, and I can count all the Cisco routers that I saw on one finger of one hand. It's like going into general auto industry in expectation that you will be driving F-1 or Indy cars but getting an old pickup truck for delivery of groceries instead.
If I were to express an opinion, I would say that the best one can do in computer industry today is to become a developer. The absolute best if you have mastery of both hardware and software, and can do system design. That is not required, though. There is plenty of room for software development. You can write a program, post it on a Web site and collect revenue as it comes. The easiest, of course, is to write for smartphones - and that market is wide open and growing. Today's software for smartphones is laughable, compared to what it may be. But most is rushed to the market, with a generally correct idea that money today is better than more money tomorrow.
The reason why I think this is a better investment is because you as a programmer are not easily replaceable. You are an inventor, and inventors are unique. Sysadmins, on the other hand, can be replaced overnight. A sysadmin can't easily open a business and sell his product - he has no product, he has a service, and it's hard to sell it in the age of "clouds." A programmer can *always* set up a small business and code for fun and profit, be his own boss. A programmer is mobile, and if he is good he will be in demand. In the end, only the intellectual contribution is valuable in today's world. You can't beat Indians or Chinese on price, but you can invent better than they do, or invent in a way that US customers value more.
Bookmark.
BM