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Greetings all,

I was hoping to get everyone’s take on certs.

I’ve been in IT unofficially and officially for a little while now and wondering if anyone thought it would be useful to get certified? I would be paying on my own and it’s not currently required by my employer however my contract ends in a couple of months and I will be looking for a new job.

It seems most of my IT friends are split on it so any info and advice would be helpful and I would really love if you had reasoning as to why or why not.

Thanks everyone.

8 Spice ups
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The “Should I certify” topic keeps coming up here in the community. A quick search will likely yield many results.

As I see it the general consensus is split pretty evenly on certs vs experience vs education vs a combination of all.

1 Spice up
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If you have no certs and only little experience, the ‘+’ (CompTIA) ones are an ok start.

From there, see what you wanna do.

Networking? CCNA / Cisco area
Sys admin? MCSA/E Microsoft way
Security? CISSP / RedHat etc

Really, it depends where you wanna go.

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Definitely a topic that is revisited weekly. In your situation, with only limited expereince, it may be benficial to get the

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Yep, a quick search of “Should I certify” came up with almost a 1000 posts.

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If you already have a job and are happy there, certifications are nice to have as it will allow you to negotiate a higher raise when your performance review comes around. If you are searching for a job, you want the major certifications on your resume. The first person to look at your resume is usually someone who has no IT background. They will spend 5-10 seconds going over the checkboxes and if you are missing one you are put in the trash. Even though someone may have 5 years working with Server 2008 they will probably lose to a 1 year fresh certification.

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It’s a popular topic!

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Now this is only my own perspective…

I currently have 1 cert and that is the standard A+. It is not necessary for my current job, but if I want to move on up through my company, I do need to properly certify myself. That being said, I can firmly say that if I were to stay with this company and prove my usefulness, the smart thing to do is to certify myself in things that don’t necessarily interest me, but rather I should certify in things that help the company. That is one reason.

Depending on where you want to go, a company may require the experience or the certs or both, and you won’t know until you ask and find out. Experience is wonderful, and it’s even better if you have proof of projects you have completed that show your expertise; however, for some employers that just doesn’t cut it. They want the experience, but they also want the official certs that back you up.

How I feel I should live my life (and what I’m suggesting to you) is to cover your bases. Know where you want to go and prepare for that destination to the best of your ability. I know it sounds counterproductive, especially when you feel that you’ve wasted money and time on something. However, there is the equal chance that the opposite could be true where you don’t have anything for the job you want because the employer wants it.

These are just my thoughts. I hope I may have helped you in anyway.
However, good luck to you in your endeavors!!!

1 Spice up
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I too have always been torn about this (with the info that Luigi The Cat gave us I assume many people are.), however I highly recommend that you at the very least get your A and Net. (some would argue Sec+ as well, but that’s really dependent on your field.)

In my case for example I have 4 years IT experience from everything from being a desktop support agent, to a applications analyst, and a college degree (Associates In Information Technology). Yet i still found it hard to find and secure a non-contract position. In truth I’m currently working in a contract to hire role. But no matter where I’ve gone or how many interviews I’ve done one thing has remained constant: people with the basic Certs and less experience were favored over me.

That’s not to discredit my work ethic, quality, or integrity, but rather a statement showing that those with certs have an advantage. I’m unsure as to why this actually is, as having a piece of paper in my opinion is nowhere near as valuable as having the hands on Experience, however it is the current way of the world.

My former supervisor once told me I was the best candidate of all the applicants by miles (apparently some of them were unsure what a GUI was believe it or not), and still admitted if he had noticed I didn’t have my A+ before scheduling my interview, that I wouldn’t have gotten an interview at all (even though I wound up getting the position). The facts remain.

I’m Very against wasting money and I believe whole heatedly that that is what paying out of pocket for a Cert is unless your just getting your start, however due to the shifting demand in the IT world now, I know much like most people who think like me know, that at least having A and Net is an absolute must. That’s why despite my beliefs i am currently studying to take the A and Net myself and if I were to offer advice I would recommend you do the same and go ahead and take it. In the long run it will make your financial burden greater but job security much more realistic of as goal.

Take at least the basics and go from there. If you want to survive in this field you’ll have to do just that, especially as a contractor.

2 Spice ups
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Here is an admittedly over simplistic, but very zen way to answer the question.

Imagine yourself sitting in an interview with someone technical, and a specific technology comes up, you have one of three choices.

  • Prove your knowledge by having been certified on the technology.
  • Prove your knowledge by being able to articulate why don’t need to be certified on the technology.
  • Unable to prove knowledge of technology.

This is the way that I select what things I want to be certified on, especially when I am paying out of pocket. If I am a subject matter expert on a technology I don’t feel a need to be certified. If I am interested in a technology, and the certification is reasonable obtainable, I will work towards that goal.

2 Spice ups
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You said the magic words… You’re looking for a new job (or will be). So yes, a certification would be beneficial. Often times certification will be the difference between getting called for an interview or not. And if two candidates are equal in just about every way, but one is certified and one is not, guess who’s more likely to get the job?

Just be sure you have relevant job experience related to your certification. Otherwise, this is a red flag for most hiring managers.

Of course, this is my opinion. I expect you’ll hear from others who disagree.

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Thanks everyone. I think I will look into getting my A+ and Network+