My apologies for the poor spelling in my first post. The brain was working faster than my fingers. My love hate relationship with Microsoft does that to me sometimes.

I think some college or university continuing education certifications might be a better investment than a vendor specific certification. They dont expire over time and are often cheaper than doing something through a private school. Some will also give you the option of writing the vendor exam at the end of the course, so you get the best of both worlds. George Brown College in Toronto does this. They offer CCNA and A+ certifications along with their college credits.