IT certs "worth it".

zazzz

Are IT certs heading the way of the dinosaur, or will experience be the only thing that really matters when applying for jobs.

NullZer0

Well, when you say "jobs" I would say IT Certs apply only to IT jobs.
What certs do you want to know about?

There are many "IT Certs" from the ECDL to the CISSP - they all cover something different. Which ones are you refering to ?

egan007

I dont hire without one

EL_Loco

cynical response sorry in advance:

if you have them, but no degree, it'll be "well you've no degree"
if you have a degree but no certs it'll be "you've no certs"
mix that with 3rd element experience for the joy of trying to get paid in IT this weather.

experience still wins, the other stuff may or may not affect salary scales a little but you're still within a certain band of wages for the job you're going for anyway.

example: you're going for a job for 40-45k, you've a raft load of certs, they're not going to offer you 50, you may just get closer to 45.

dario28

If you are a contractor they are essential for getting your foot in the door...but ya better be sure ya can do the work that ya have the certs for unlike the whole of India in the NT4 days !

NothingMan

I started off in a tech support job 4 years ago with an engineering degree and since I did the A+ (very basic). I'm currently working way above my level with a lot of MCSE's and CCP's. I know i'm getting paid for 1st/2nd level and I know my employers wouldn't hire anyone into this job without an MCSE.

I may be getting a lot of experience but I won't get much further without doing some exams and if I lost this job my experience won't be worth much without the certs to prove it.

I just find it hard to get motivated cos I have a job already. But anyone I work with who is serious about progressing is always doing exams and keeping their qualification up to date, even with a secure job.

EL_Loco

All part of an overall picture I suppose. I lack the certs therefore would like to lessen their importance. Now that you know the agenda please continue.

axer

zazzz wrote: »

Are IT certs heading the way of the dinosaur, or will experience be the only thing that really matters when applying for jobs.

It depends on the job. I was working for myself for about 4 years but it is very hard to verify that experience. I did a CCNA and an MCP in Vista and Server 2003. I think not only did these certs help when I went for a Junior Network Admin position but they did actually teach me a lot.

Certs matter more for lower end or starting IT positions, after that its probably 80-90% experience. Certs are good at a higher level to show you still care about learning.

_CreeD_

With my dept. if you aren't certified in the areas we need you won't get your resume read (it's not just about the paper, you have to prove you can go above and beyond the expected day-to-day in the field). You won't get the test lab if you cant discuss your knowledge, you need to show you understand it rather than just know it. And lastly you won't get the job unless you can pass a technical lab with some far off the norm elements that you won't get without either decent experience or enough genius to make up for it . Those 3 barriers are on a sliding window of cert to experience.

There is no one magic bullet, but you need to start somewhere and Cert's are usually the easiest one to accelerate. And you know you actually do learn a lot along the way

mickman

obviously the best way to go is degree, certs and experience.

no reason for not being able to get degree and certs. experience will come then