1

I am an IT Director that manages several local medium sized businesses. I solo handle about a hundred users and several hundred devices from Macs, to PC’s, to Linux boses, tablets, phones, VOIP, networking, just about everything. I am going to be job searching here again soon but I know certifications are a bit of a big deal now. Am I severely hurting myself by not getting certifications? Which ones should I focus on getting as a generalized IT tech? I avoid programming like the plague, it is my IT kryptonite, so I am really only suited for Network or System Administrator.

78 Spice ups
2

I’m in the same situation as you minus the managing Linux and Mac devices. I do have the CompTIA A+ and Network+ certs, but I question how important the certs really are vs true work experience when applying for a new position?

10 Spice ups
3

Certifications are proof that you have been exposed to certain technologies and have applied yourself to learning them. If you can prove that you’ve done the same thing with your work experience, there is no reason you couldn’t get a job without certifications.

Since you aren’t really clear on what you are aiming to get, it is hard to say what certs would help. What you are “suited for” and what you want to do could be very different. I wouldn’t dedicate the time and energy needed to attain certs until you are clear on your career goals.

20 Spice ups
4

Experience tends to trump certs when it comes to general IT positions.

Once you start specializing in certain things (such as being a high-tier network tech), then they start to become a bit more important.

31 Spice ups
5

It really depends on how much experience you have, and how varied and diversified that experience is. If you have 4 years working at the same position where you took over the systems administration duties from another administrator that had already put all policies and systems in place; then yes, there is a fair amount of value to be found in obtaining certifications. If you have 10+ years experience with the majority of that working as a Network/System Administrator across 3+ companies; then no, certifications will probably not offer much more value than your current level of experience.

6 Spice ups
6

They aren’t that big of a deal now. No more or less than they ever have been.

I have 0 certifactions, no degree, and i have no issues.

30 Spice ups
7

I would think your experience would trump most of the base certifications you could get, maybe looking at the higher end certifications may be a bit helpful but honestly you seem to have a good base for experience already, I would personally just highlight that in my resume, including a few big tasks as “volunteer” work to show I’m a motivated person, and then express interest in furthering your education and I think you’ll probably be pretty golden anyway.

8

Certs get you past HR, that’s about it. are they worth the investment or can you get past HR in other ways? if you can talk the talk, then once you past HR you are good to go. if asked why you don’t have certs, tell them why! If you can’t get past HR without said certs, then you are boned.

8 Spice ups
9

Don’t forget that these days, information like your list of certifications is first going to be found by a search on the database information about you is in, then eventually a human will get it as their search gets pared down to a list of possibles.

5 Spice ups
10

Also, stop avoiding programming. If you are going to stay in Systems Administration you’re at the very least going to need to cut your teeth on some Powershell and BASH scripting at some point. With the way that all services are moving toward the cloud now, you’re going to want to be able to look at Python/Ruby/Javascript and have some idea of what is going on in a program; strictly from a troubleshooting standpoint. There are a ton of great free courses out there to get a running start.

Here are just a few:

If you’re looking for basic certifications for Systems Adminstration, CompTIA Network+ and Security+ are the generic paltform independant baseline standard. Once you have those you can specialize and get MCSA/MCSE for Windows, RHCSA for Linux, and the various Cisco certifications for networking.

23 Spice ups
11

I feel they are a necessary evil, unless you shoot for something in management, they will either get you through HR or give you the needed edge and ‘proof’ over a competitor.

I like to get them for myself as motivation to learn something new, if there is no motivation I’d rarely get my a$$ down to study lol

8 Spice ups
12

I recently experienced this same issue. I have 19 years IT experience with the last 12 in IT Management. I have my Bachelors Degree in MIS but kept getting opportunities taken away from me simply because I do not have certifications. What I did, and I’m sure you’ve been told this before or may have done this before yourself, was I contacted each organization or recruiter that I submitted my application and resume. What I looked for was finding a recruiter that would take the time to speak with me on a professional and personnel level. Going this route, I was able to secure 3 interviews of which one of them landed me a second interview and job offer a couple days later. It takes a lot of time and effort but it is definitely worth it. Best of luck!

12 Spice ups
13

Like all things IT, it depends:

With varied and deep enough experience, you should be able to find something new that still moves you forward.

Certs are with experience to back them have value, certs without experience have little value.

Often HR professionals assume all certs are created equal and by extension cert holders are also equal, if the hiring manager wants to see a cert, then you miss out on that opportunity. Most IT managers worth their salt will weight out experience vs certifcation when looking for the right candidate. If Non IT folk are doing the hiring, then you could be in for a rough ride.

Good luck, a good recruiter can work wonders, they are just hard to find.

5 Spice ups
14

To answer some questions, I have been here for 5 years, there basically where no policies or anything. I rebuilt both of my companies IT from the start essentially. I don’t really care where I end up job wise, as long as it pays well enough, though I would prefer system administration to anything.

@Rambling Biped - I can code, I just really really dislike coding. It’s not fun for me, I don’t enjoy it at all. I understand it is a useful skill, one I have, I just refuse to get a job where coding is a big necessity, I won’t do it.

3 Spice ups
15

AKC registered Dog

Mutt

What do you rich people tend to pay more for?

6 Spice ups
16

Since you have solid experience I wouldn’t bother with the basic certs. Go for the MCSE, VCP, etc types instead.

The bigger question is why don’t you have any certifications?

1 Spice up
17

I don’t have certifications because it was never required. I took over this job right out of college and pretty much got thrown in the fire from the start. Never really had the time nor necessity to get them. All of my companies I manage are manufacturing companies, so while they have lots of IT needs, they aren’t IT companies and tend to not care about certifications.

7 Spice ups
18

Experience generally trumps certs. Just make sure your resume is on-point. Be sure to give good detail of your knowledge areas. I have even had interviewees provide ultra-detailed supplemental documents about their knowledge in specific areas. I found that very impressive.

4 Spice ups
19

Experience trumps certs, at least from what I’ve seen. I’ve worked with people that have been doing this a long time and don’t even have their A+. Certs are good when you are starting out, as they do show you have some of the knowledge, but once you’ve got experience, they matter less. This has been my experience, I am sure others have seen differently.

1 Spice up
20

It’s better to have them than not have them. And some of them open more doors than others. (CISSP being a current HR trend for security folk.) They’re kind of annoying because we all know paper monkies who study for 40 certs, pass and then are USELESS in the field, but they look awesome paper… but… a needed evil I suppose. It’s like a licensed plumber vs. that guy who said he can install a sink for $20.

3 Spice ups