IT Certifications

What certifications would you deem most valuable at this time?  Taking into account your own personal job history and I. T. experience.   Functionally, I am a Windows sysadmin but I only have an A+ cert.   I need to get a certification and am undecided between CCNA and MCSE.

With MCSE (2003) I see a never-ending process of studying to re-cert as Microsoft continuously evolves its OS.  With CCNA I see less frequent changes.

I have nothing against learning and training and I have taken several of the MS courses.  But in my work I have had to focus primarily on learning and training in a wide variety of I. T. areas and never had the need to get certified (like many of you):

Learning how to configure an ODBC setup so the client can talk to the SQL server.

Learning the enterprise antivirus program inside and out in order to fully understand and maintain its most effective use.

Learning how to access and configure a router for optimal performance.

Learning though day to day hands-on experience to immediately recognize that a subtle symptom on a PC indicates the presence of malware.

Learning the ERP so I could troubleshoot it when needed.

And on and on.  So this makes one an I. T. "Generalist".  But there's no certificate for that.  So, if you area a sysadmin and were faced with the need to get a cert, what would you get?

The first question to get answered is why do you need the certification?  If it is for job retention / advancement what will benefit your employer the most from you getting the education and training?  If it is personal, what area do you enjoy working in more?  If you need a cert - some cert - any cert, and there isn't a direction then pick one that may enhance your employability in an area you enjoy.

If you are in a world of Unix and Nortel, The MCSE and CCNA really won't do you any good, unless you are looking to get out of that arena.

Now the next question is it the skills and chops in the area or the certification certificate that you need?  This may impact the course directions you take.  We use to talk about the paper CNEs that we had.  They memorized enough to pass the test but couldn't practically implement anything.  Like wise I was in a training class taught by a certified VOIP instructor, that was completely clueless how to begin to set up a particular type of connection since it wasn't in the course material.  (I had been impressed with the guy until then)

Any certification you are going to have to jump through hoops to stay current, and even Cisco revamped a bunch of stuff a few years ago so unless you are making an ongoing investment in the certifications, think of it as a marker in the sand and things will be shifting around that marker.

Dave

Thanks for the input.  I need the certification because I was recently laid off and I feel it will provide me with one more criteria to land in the "yes" stack on a hiring authority's desk.

I am aware of the "paper certs".  I once was in a class with an MCSE as my lab partner.  I was  impressed with this person's certification and assumed they were light years ahead of me in skills.  That was until we encountered a problem getting our lab PC connected to the network server.  I immediately went into troubleshooting mode while my partner got quiet.  I quickly figured out the problem, determined the cause and resolved it.  My partner took out her pen and paper and asked me what the command was that I typed while troubleshooting.  It was "ipconfig  /all" and it seemed she'd never heard of it.  I was stunned but said nothing.

Over the next weeks there were additional instances like this.  One day she told me she'd gotten her cert via a bootcamp.  I made up my mind then that certs were not important.  And I never pursued certs after that.  But lots of employers (I think) look for certs.  I am worried that my experience will not be enough and I regret not getting certs because of it.  So now I study for Network+ and then will study for either CCNA or MCSE.  I stand the best chance of getting the MCSE due having worked primarily as a sysadmin.  But I thought I'd ask since some recruiters recommeded getting CCNA.

Again, thanks for the feedback,

Mary

Hello Mary, a CCNA is only going to be good if you plan on working with Cisco routers and switches as your primary job function.  I do not have any certifications because it won't give me any added benefit at my current job.  Like your A+ certification, the Network + certification will not expire.  The CCNA expires after 3 years.  Have you looked on Monster.com to see comparable job requirements to jobs you'd be interested in?  2 year degree with experience versus 4 year degree and wet behind the ears?  Sometimes they will mention certs that would be helpful, or certs that are preferred. 

Certification is a tool for employers during the hiring process. And a tool for people who produce training materials for certification tests.

If i see on a resume that a potential hire has certification in ANY field, it suggests to me that the candidate can be trained, and actually retain some of that information. I really don't care what field or subject the certification is in. It demonstrates to ME that I can train them in MY business and expect it to sink in.

Technology changes so quickly that a specific certification is obsolete in a remarkably short period of time. Therefore, using the certification as a suggestion that they are proficient in today's version of a given technology is suspect. Demonstrating that they are trainable is more valuable to me.