I remember when I had Computer shop and my partner handed me a 3 inch thick book and said "You want to be Novell certified?" I looked at him from the accounting ledger I was working on at the time and said "When will I have the time to read THAT?"
This was also when many of us considered Windows(3.xx) a virus.

Now it seems that the Cert market is really just that, a way to make money, not really to insure quality technicians. I deal with many level of users and IT professionals in my little tech corner of the world [url](http:\\www.sundialtime.com)[/url] and it has seemed that just because some one has MSCE or any other such alphabets just means they could read a book and pass a test at worst, at best you are dealing with some one who really knows his stuff.

-D²

I've heard that too, but everyone I've talked to who has multiple certs says that Cisco is valued for a reason. Apparently their tests are much more comprehensive than average, and I know firsthand that their minimum passing score is very high (near perfect in my opinion). That's why I chose CCNA over other certs. I may go for Network+ after CCNA, but I'm focusing on this one right now.

I have a lot of industry certs. I find that if I include all of them on a Resume I don't get called. So I figure out what the position is and what they want and put just those down.

And basically all they do is get your foot in the door, which is what you want. They show a basic knowledge of the Vendor's product line.

I find that since the GOV'T have all the rules on equality in hiring and has a much higher chance of getting in trouble, they require a minimum so they have those requirements. Much easier in the private sector to find a position without a cert than the public.

My current position doesn't require any certs to get hired. It gets an interview-e a shot at being called, but we don't care if you have certs or not, we care if you have the knowledge and experience to do the job.

Two of our strongest new hires have absolutely no certs, but they are very strong in what we need them to be strong in. So they were hired.

I have found in my 25 years in the computer industry that the cost of entry level certs are worth it, but more advanced certs are not. The payout from salary vs cost of certificates is equal or greater for entry certs but no so for the advanced ones.

But then any person working in the private or public sector should be spending approximately 10% of yearly salary/wage on education in their chosen field. Statistically speaking, those who do this, tend to be more valuable to an organization. Certs are a good way to do this [edit begins] if it makes you study and do research. The actual classes for the certs are usually a good investment to this end. I usually just use the money to purchase the gear to recreate the environment I'm going to learn about (E-bay is great for this).[/edit]

[Edit: Clarified my statements on the certs]

Until recently, I never put much stock in degrees and certs. After moving away from the area where I'm known, however, I'm now in the situation of being the first resume in the trash. When you have 500 applicants for a technical job, you can't interview them all - so you cull the stack by pitching all the nondegreed, noncertified applicants. It makes sense from their point of view. And while *I* know that A) I wouldn't be applying if I couldn't do the job and B) I'm the kind of employee that smart companies want, I can't convey that on a resume. I have loads of people who will tell you you're crazy not to hire me, but without degrees/certs I never get anywhere close to the question of references. That's why I'm changing my major (again) to a newer CS-related major so I can finish sooner. And that's why I'm testing for CCNA. I know I can do this stuff, but this part of America is no longer a place where a man's word is trusted.

Same here in the North west, when the lay offs start, resume's go into the trash unless they have certs, I was lucky to get this little job I have now though I barely make ends meet. the Tech industry is not what it used to be and now a days if some one can turn on a computer and get their router configured they consider themselves "techs" and start applying for Tech jobs over their head, thus flooding an already saturated market up here.

The devs here tell me of the nightmares they went through with people who had certs, said they had experience but when it came to fixing an issue and working remotely with other IT/Clients the skills were lacking.

A skill which seems to often overlooked but is a requirement for our type of jobs is Critical Thinking and Problem solving. This skill is sadly lacking in the general public as well I believe. This can be taught but it requires actual teaching and learning not memorization of steps and settings.

Oh I rant on, sorry guys.

Dennis

I've got my VMware VCP 3.5 and 4.0 certs, but that's it. Generally, within the IT industry (on the tech support side of things, that is) Cisco and VMware are the only certs that seem to be of value nowadays. The Cisco is valued 'cuz their testing process is fairly tough and they have some hands-on sections to them. The VMware is of some value 'cuz it's a big focus nowadays. In reality, though, it's not really all that significant unless you have your VCDX cert--and that's mostly because there are only 65 people with that cert in the world.

I feel for ya, man, but keep trying. And don't get discouraged by whatever further testing requirements Cisco has for you to keep your CCNA current in future years.