Career advice: 2 year degree vs IT Certs

[imrazor]

TL;DR I'm a college dropout looking to increase my earnings potential and move on to some interesting work. I've got 20 years experience in IT, with mostly help desk experience and a smattering of network and admin work. I'm about 3 or 4 courses short of a 2 year degree, but college courses are expensive and inconvenient. Would I be better off getting an IT certification? If so, which one?

My background – Dropped out of college years ago, became a computer hobbyist and got sucked into IT – which I loved. However I've been doing the same help desk job for seven years now, and it's getting old. My potential for advancement at my current company seems limited due to my lack of education, and a preference to hire/promote those who are good at office politics (which I stink at.)

Money is in very short supply, so I can't afford to quit and go to college full time (mortgage, natch.) I've also found it nearly impossible to work full-time and study even half-time, so I'd have to take one course a semester, so I'd be looking at a multi-year investment of time. However, that may be the best course of action.

If I were to go for an IT certification, which one would return the most on my investment in terms of time and money? I already have a lifetime A+ cert. Should I try to capitalize on what I know already, and try for a basic MS Windows cert? Would such a thing even be worth getting? I've been studying for the Windows Server 2012 R2 exams (70-410, etc.), but there are lots of new concepts and it's very slow going. A Linux cert is another possibility. I have plenty of hobbyist experience with the OS itself, but not much pro experience with things like Apache and PHP. I should also point out that I don't have thousands of dollars for 'boot camp', but I do have sufficient resources for a few self-study books and a spare computer to use as a VM lab. The exam prices are discouraging – if you fail that's a couple of days of pay wasted and lost.

 

[Swinginking]

I wouldn't try to go for the traditional approach to a degree, however, as an IT specialist with tons of work experience, you are better off doing a Open University course or some sort of course which doesn't require you to be present at the campus. They are relatively cheaper to pursue, especially if you look for some sort of diploma.

With a distant learning course you can stay at your desk at work while reading up or even doing your university work right there. Which would be more suitable to you.

But, ( you don't have to answer ) have you been specifically rejected from a promotion or a new job application because of your 'lack' of qualification? Since this day and age experience is regarded as something more desirable than a degree.

My two cents.