How do companies/employers view certifications?

What good are certifications? I know different certifications have more prestige and such... A+ is pretty basic while MCSE is a much more involved cert.

I think this info is important... how do employers view this info alone or in conjunction with work history and other more formal education?

Lets say someone is starting from scratch and would like to manage a small office network of say 15 to 30 users, maybe a few decent workstations, for good measure. Everything on Microsoft OS's...

I only use this as an example because I worked in a small office of about this size doing what part time college students do. It was a software company, but mainly just a sales/support office for a larger foriegn company.

so, yeah... what would be the approach for something alone these lines?
thanks

Alot of companies will blindly look at whether or not you have a cert as one of the only requirements. Mainly because whoever is doing the hiring doesn't have any technical experience.

I agree with Calhoun. Most companies will ask for certs but don't know what they are for.

I know that many like to see MCSE, and my personal opinion is because of the first letter in the acronyme: Microsoft...

The certs you want to have are the ones that are linked to your field. If you know that your going to work with Cisco equipment, get your Cisco certs, the same if your going to work in a Microsoft environement, you'll probably want your MCSE's....

Certs also show that your willing to sacrifice and have the determination needed to go thru with all the tests and stuff. It looks good to your employer, even thought they might not know what it means.

Thanks! That's exactly the kind of info I was wanting.

One of my goals is to start and finish college, but that's more of a personal goal than an occupational one. My two major interests are technology and international politics. The two are hardly related and I have to admit that I'd rather work tech and eat steak than do liberal arts and eat (if not work at) McD's.

If I had a second question, it would be about how one might get some general experience in this area, as that's often a requirement for such a job. I am currently working for... umm... *cough* hp compaq *cough cough* building systems. With little doubt I'm sure I could put myself into a possition running diagnostics or building custom systems. I think that might apply as good experience for someone interested in an entry level possition as a network engineer, but it's definatly not the same thing as networking experience.

I can only tell you what happens where I work. You can get hired without the certification, but you make less money. However, once you are certified, you get an increase in your salary, automatically.

So, if you have been working at the company 5 years you now make a minimum on 63k (this is based on minimum starting salary +3% increase each year. If you impress you could make more). You are not yet certified, but are taking classes to get a degree. Now, John comes in. He is certified, but has no experience. He is automatically starting at around 60k and in 5 years will be earning 68k.

Then the company says to you "Hey, you are really good, you could make more money and if you get certified, why don't we send you to classes." You take the classes(they pay), you get certified, you get 5k more in your check and work more hours. You have your degree and now you are certified. If you quit and go to another company you could make about 10k more than the one you left.

I know this because it happens all the time here. And when people leave, they usually take a few others with them.

Originally Posted by snajo

I am currently working for... umm... *cough* hp compaq *cough cough* building systems. With little doubt I'm sure I could put myself into a possition running diagnostics or building custom systems..

Damn m8t, I'm working for them too... except with the cut-backs chances are I'm being laid off. I'm in the Canadian branch.

I would say that building systems and if your going to be running diags and stuff, that would count as experience. You are working on the computers, and probly have to t-shoot and stuff all the tiem. As well as your learning on how they are built...

If your looking for experience you either need to know your stuff by
buying the MCSE training materials for Windows Server and Pro and install Windows Server and Professional on a couple of computers (120 eval versions come with the training materials). Follow the exercises in the books.

Or

Get an entry level job making crap money and gain experience on the job.

Basically, the only way your going to learn it, is by using it and that will take time.

So, I am getting the impression that a college degree isn't a deciding factor for a network tech? Or is it taken for granted that everyone has one? Eventually I will get a degree, but that's years off at best.

Being single and in my early 20's, I would be more than happy with myself if I could pull 30k a year somehow. I think I'd like to be making more along the lines of 50k or so after several years of experience.

yeah, this is great help. It's hard to get anywhere without a direction. crap money you say... haha... I think every college student makes crappy money no matter what they do.

I'm heading in a computer science direction as far as school. This will make it easier to get into a low level job and get the experience I need. As far as the certification is concerned, I have a few semi-modern(less than 5 years old) machines at my disposal I could use for following examples and all. At work there are enough displaced techies to fill in any gaps I might have. These boards work well too!

One thing I have working for me is mobility. So far I have nothing holding me to any one particular area(girlfriend, family, probation > , etc.). There are several well qualified individuals working at Compaq doing some pretty mundane things because they don't feel they can uproot their family.

About Compaq-
I've heard that the Ontario and Indianapolis brances of Compaq are run differently than ours. I'm not sure though. This may just be a rumor. Almost all of the people where I'm at are placed my temp-staffing agencies. While some of those people do go full time, it's really no advantage to do so. Same pay and only benifit is health insurance. For me it's just a job and the experience is better than say restaurant or construction work.

thanks again guys... this is great feedback