QOTD: What IT Certifications Do You Possess?

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I have been working in the IT sector for a long time now and even though i do a lot of freelance i never needed a certificate.
Back in the day when i started they would hire any one that owned more then one computer had an internet connection at home and got at least 3 swirls a day at school preferable by the captain of the football team.
If you don't play sports have a hard time getting noticed by girls and play ADnD your where fit fort he job (playing nintendo was in those days as geeky as ADnD so i counted double).

From there all i needed was reputation and even though i wish i finished school for several reasons my career never been one of them.
Don't get me wrong the world changed and if it was not for having a lot of luck i would not have had the jobs i had and have.

On the other hand all i ever wanted was to be able to work with the really cool stuff and the nifty gadgets the cutting edge and for me at least up till now that came true.
 
Well I do not have any certs as of yet never needed them. I have worked for a few companies mostly small computer shops. I have 15 years into doing this as a living & I can do everything from build system's from the bench up to software trouble shooting. I also seem to be doing a lot of system cleaning lately with all the viruses & spyware running around. I also setup & manage large networks in our area. The big companies back east call me when their clients need computer related stuff done & they pay very well for my service work. I also do a lot of online support by going remotely & trouble shooting problems most people don't mind giving the credit card numbers to me so I can do the work needed online & those that do well lets say they always come around after a few days..lol

So I have done pretty much almost everything computer or network related & all without any cert's so maybe i have been lucky so far.
Oh & if I was to ever go to bestbuy & seek a job from them & they told me no because I have no cert's under my belt I will ask them to bring out their smartest tech with cert's coming out of his ying yang & ask him some simple questions & when he can't answer them because he don't know the answer's I'll look at the hiring person & say ummm yea right & you would not hire someone with over 15 years in the field but you did hire a moron because he had computer cert's real smart their don;t you think.lol
 
The old CNA from Novell, and A+. Plan on getting a few more from CompTIA, Cisco CCNA, CCNP, and MCSA.

Have an Appled CS degree, Networking Minor. Also haven taken Industrial Electronics and Computer Technology at a vocation school.
 
I never hired based on certs. I've got so many I can't remember them all, and none have helped any of my jobs. Only experience is worth anything. Cisco CCIE is the only cert I would respect. Though eia/tia has some good stuff, my fiber certs were at least entertaining.
 
I have a MSc in Engineering and currently on the final year of my PhD. Specializing in the radio interface of 4G systems.
I have done CCNA (probably expired) and SCJP(1.4 and 5.0). Currently studying for Linux LPI-1 examination and before graduating I hope to finish CCDA.

I believe, especially in this economic climate that on needs to be very diverse in what they know to get a decent job.
 
[citation][nom]edwilson[/nom]A+ / Net+Certs & Diplomas may get you the interview, but proof that you can do the job and real world experience get you hired.[/citation]
That and who you know.
 
[citation][nom]mcnuggetofdeath[/nom]currently working on my A+ which im almost done with. From then gonna get my N+[/citation]

+1 😀 I just know what i need . i`m going on a different path later.
 
A+, Network+, Security+. Currently studying for CISSP.

The bottom line is the value of a certification is exactly what the job market says it is. In some job markets, these CompTIA certs are required to get the job. That is thanks to DoD Regulation 8570 which requires DoD IT contractors to be certified to a minimal level. My job market tells me Security+ is required to make more than 50K a year (help desk wages). If you can pull down 100K+ in San Francisco with no degree and no certs then more power to you. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a high paying job thrown at them despite being unqualified (on paper). That brings up the question of what really qualifies a person to do a job. In my view, nature either qualified you to do the job or not. I'm talking about intelligence, personal energy levels, and character. If you have these elements at the right level then you can probably do whatever you want in life - IF someone will give you the chance.

CISSP is gold right now. The average CISSP is making 90K+. That tells me the CISSP is worth getting.

A CCNA with minimal experience (6 months to 1 year) can hop between 6 month contracts at $30-$40 an hour. That tells me the CCNA is valuable.

As for these other certs people mention, I'm not so sure. They seem more like ancillary support for your resume than real stand out winners.

A college degree is only enough if you are going to be working outside of the government/contracting realm and went to a good school. Programmers and web developers are two people I can think of for which certifications would be pointless. You either have the intelligence and interest to keep up with your field or you don't in those cases.

Keep in mind there is a great deal of age discrimination against younger IT workers. The elder geek does not benefit by giving you a chance to prove yourself. If you fail, his judgment is now in question. If you succeed, management might just replace him with you for half the pay. It's lose-lose.
 
I've been working IT since the late 1990's and believe that a certification just opens doors for you. Being old fashioned, I believe in opening my own doors - so I've refused each and every opportunity to become certified.
 
A Certifications implies that the holder has a level of knowledge at least equal to the cert. It servs as proof that some of the experiance on your resume is not false. Certifications like CISSP are not very technical in nature but are more related to security as it applies to business overall and not the configuration and implementation of a certain technology. CISSP is valued by allot of companies because the candidate will have a understanding of security business perspective and not so much from a operational standpoint. Things like regulatory compliance.

Certs are just to begining and are a way to get in the door. the goal is really to develop depth and that can only be done by experiance. If you are getting just getting started, figure out if you want to work on systems, networking, or security. Based on what you want to do you cert path to get going will be different.

 
A+ and several oem certs from Dell, HP and IBM mostly just certs to work on their gear. I've thought about MCSE/A but I hate MS's pricing and renewal policy on their certs. Working on Net+, learning PHP and MySQL, and may go for a Linux and security cert soon after.
 
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