Is it worth it??

Well I can see where the people who downplay it get their thoughts from, I never needed it and neither do MANY people. It also was not required for me to obtain my position, I lucked out and fell into mine and THEN was trained as an MCNE, this doesn't happen everywhere though, I simply got offered the right job with the right company when I wsn't even looking, circumstance and all that.

If you are in a firm where you have a CHANCE to enter the IT department, ask the company what is expected of yu. MANY people take a cert and hope that it will get them into IT, only to find our their company only hires specifically certified staff.

I also say the whole MCSE path is a waste of time, only because MCSE's are a dime a dozen and earn about that much too. WHERE I LIVE, there are too many unemployed MCSE's floating around here who are deperately asking similar questions regarding the best cert for them.

A+ is a good start for getting basic helpdesk work, hardware knowledge and a basic A+ cert is a good beginning if you have no formal experience.

I think you WILL benefit from it, even f it isn't a reason for someone to hire you, most people who downplay A+ are those that never took it, they often know less than an A+ cert would offer them and YOUR A+ cert will win you the job over them.

Lok at the market in your area, not just the paper or recruiters (they don't count and don't work)but call some companies and ask around, explain that you are not really expecting an interview but just doing some market research.

Good luck, and always follow the path YOU choose.

My feelings are that you need to get knowledge and experience somehow. If you have the experience and knowlegde then taking certifications solidifies your knowledge.

If you don't have the knowledge and experience then how are you going to get it? Certifications to me is a structured learning program.

Do you have to get certifcations to get knowledge and experience? No.

Do you have to read books and do your own research? Yes.

Why not start learning with A+ books/training and get a certification while you are at it? It won't hurt you would it?

First - what do you want to do - now if you were talking to JAVA programmers about transferring into the IT department. Then stated you were going to get your A+ then yes they would look at you like you had 3 eyes.

If you were talking to the Support people and the organization is running OpenSource products and little if any MS - then yes A+ would get the Your Crazy look.

So - an A+ my be a waste of time at your organization - they maybe running Novell networks with OpenSource applications - on Linux OS.

Find out what the organizational standards are - if they are MS then A+ is an OK to start, but if they aren't then you are crazy to get A+.

Do you see where I am coming from - find out - what is going to be the best fit for the organization - and what part of the IT department do you want to be in - Application Development, Web Support and design, Portal support, application support, desktop support... Where do you want to go -

My position involves desigining solutions for technical operations. So part of that job is giving HR the positions needed. I almost always have the candidates provide, "An technical certification within a similar area (MCP, etc.)" This at least weeds out a few people, wether I'm weeding out better people is yet to be seen, but at least I know the person is familair with the Microsoft, A+, Cisco or Novell lingo and jargon.

Anyone can take a test and pass, it is hard to show experieince from testing. BUT, a certification at least shows someone went the extra mile, and THAT is what I look for.

It doesn't take much, so why not obtain one as a resume booster, and as I like to use them, a "First Cut Criteria."

Good Luck! and oh yeah... even though I moved from Technical to Business, I still have my cert.