Hi all,
I am at a crossroads. Starting seven years ago I worked up from Junior LAN Admin to Sys Admin and then IT Manager. I’ve been IT Manager for four years now and want to move on (I know it is not the best time but need a new challenge).
However I have no certs. I know and have lots of experience with NT, Windows 2000, XP and am sure I could get the MSCE 2000 if I spent the time and money. I also am very familiar with Cisco so am considering the CCNA also. I thought of CISSP but am not sure I want to dedicate myself to security. Do I need to get these certs in today’s market or is my genuine experince sufficient? I have many other real world skills in LAN, WAN, Notes, some SQL and IIS and Linux etc. without certification. Do I need to go back and spend money to take tests to get certs for skills I already have, or have many employers realised that many certs are not all they are cracked up to be. Are there any other certs I should consider if I do go down this road?
Also since I’ve been managing three staff in three different offices for the last few years and several projects do I need to obtain certs for these skills too?
Sorry for the long message, any advice whatever would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
John.