IT Employment

Yes, it is some what difficult to find a job becuase the recruitment industry cannot find one for me.

All existing skills should be developed and reapply where and whenever the situation calls for that 'level' of the 'KSE' set.

With your passexperience, I believe that your skills should be applied in the "External Relationship" slice, ie, vendor support, integration and all other such relationships like outsourcing.

Certifications are not necessary, hence, in your case. The companiesemploying, do have budgets to use "in-house" training platforms.

Opinionated: the financial markets have caused IT departments' budgets to decrease, but cash flow is still there.

TSP

The IT job market remains tight, and both certifications and experience will help get you that interview. Experience will count more than certifications for most jobs.

Gain the experience with volunteer support to non-profit organizations. You can do this while working on your certifications.

Networking and computer programming are not very close in terms of the work or skills. I suggest you give more thought to what you hope to do in this job you are hunting for, and concentrate on the skills and experience related to it.