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!

 

[n0cmonkey]

Don't cross post. :|

CISSP
Cisco

 

[ColKurtz]

Depends on the cert. Cisco certs are still worth quite a bit, and Linux certs are becoming more valuable. A+ is fairly worthless. MCSE isn't what it used to be. By that I mean you used to be able to write your own check with one. These days, having an MCSE is a ticky-mark on resume - it might put you over the top if you're evenly matched with another similarly skilled person that *doesn't* have one, but it's not going to wow anyone. I've hired people with and without them. The bottom line is experience is what people look for... Certifications are gravy - proof that someone isn't totally BSing their way through an interview. (Admittedly, some job postings require an MCSE as a prereq just to apply, so keep that in mind).

As for how to get a cert - that really depends on how you learn. If you're not good as a self-paced learner, take a class. Many classes are oriented at passing the test more than pure eductaion. These are usually a good idea if you can afford it, as your score on MCSE exams aren't a reflection of *correct* answers but rather the "Microsft answer" (often there are several potentially correct answers to a question and you have to choose the one that M$ preaches).

Good luck.