Certifications?!?!?

[Black99transam]

Are certifications worth it? I have alittle over 5 years experince in the IT world and I got most of that from the military i am now out in the civilian sector and I'm currently working as PC/network tech. I am getting allot of good experince here and will eventually be moving on, my question is should I get my MCSA and or MCSE relitivly soon? Are they worth the tiem or is my cirrent expernince equal to these? How should I go about getting my cert? Technical college, self study though books and CDS or one of those online streaming viedo things? Thanks in advance!

 

[dieselfrog]

Hi, Black99transam, I can say from experience that certification is definitely worth it. I do the interviewing and hiring for our company (IT/Software shop) and see the same type of resumes over and over again. Everyone claims that they know [[insert buzzword here]] technology or networked a [[insert buzzword here]] system. However, I find that when they are being interviewed they either just scratched the surface of the technology they claim to know, or have simply flat-out lied to just get the interview. If the person isn't certified I really don't know if they are worth my time or not. However, if I see the MCSE or MCSD or CCNA letters after their name I know that they probably know what they are talking about and move them to the head of the line. Bottom line is that certified candidates are more likely to get the interview than someone who isn't.

Furthermore, It is best to make sure you have at least a year's worth of HANDS ON experience working with the technology you are getting certified on. All the education in the world doesn't do you any good if you can't APPLY what you know.

HTH

 

[dbailey]

agreed..

Certs can help.If your using the cert just to get you in the door for an interview, there's no need to go and spend $5000 on the classes. Self study is fine. You can go to brain-dumps and see most of the questions they will ask you on the exam. I got my mcse for nt4.0 in 5 weeks, with an average of 3 hours studying for each exam of the six. But if you do this... your a "paper" mcse.... but it's better to be paper than plastic if you ask me.

 

[MrControversial]

Currently, I'm a maintenance/network tech with about two years experience. I manage a network consisting of five sites and around 150 staff members. I have a BS degree in Computer Science and I'm working on my certifications. I started with my A+ certification and now I'm moving on to MCSE soon. It's expensive though. My A+ certification cost me $300 and I know the MCSE will be MUCH more expensive. So the only issue for me right now is money. After I'm done building my rig, I'm going to start saving up for my MCSE. So we're in the same position. You've got hands on experience and that's VERY important, but the certifications are what's going to get you through the door and add zeroes to your salary.

Right now I'm making a little over $30,000 a year for what I do. I could have gone into programming with my CS degree and earn twice that, but I hate being in a cubicle for 50 hours a week staring at code. I like to get my hands dirty, so I took a pay cut to do something I love more. But I'm working on the certifications to pad my resume so that I can make as much or more than I would be making programming military software.

 

[dieselfrog]

You've got hands on experience and that's VERY important, but the certifications are what's going to get you through the door and add zeroes to your salary.

Exactly. Certs will get you the interview - Experience will get you the job.