Certs + NO exp = jobs???

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hi all. I am new to the IT world. Looking for a career change, someone pointed me in the direction of cisco certifications. (That person is a CCIE) so i started studying for the ICND1 exam. I found this forum and have read through a lot of posts and what i have read worries me. I have read that there are people that got the CCNA but had no exp and had a tough time getting a job since the CCNA is considered a advanced cert. I thought the CCNA was considered a beginner certification. So now i have started studying for the comptia network+ exam and then i will take the ICND1 exam since i still desire to go the cisco route. My concern is will i be able to get an entry level job with both the ICND1 and network+ certifications so that i can get in the door and then work on getting the CCNA and later the CCNP?

I do not want to spend time and money in doing a cert and then not end up getting a job.
any advice, help will be greatly appreciated.

thank you

 

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I'd only say that certs are not some kind of golden ticket into employment - but certs + no experience > no certs + no experience.

Basically...

 

I'd modify that slightly:
Entry-level certs+ no experience>no certs+ no experience

 

If you do the certifications it does help to get into a job it shows potential employers that you are willing to move forward and that you are interested in bettering yourself. If you dont have any certs then how would you stand out in the crowd?

 

Oh, I quite agree.
Any kind of personal development is going to look good in the eyes of an employer when compared to doing nothing.
Even better though is to do the right kind of personal development.

It's also not all about gathering certs, which seems to be a common misunderstanding. There are other ways of improving your knowledge and skills.

 

I would agree that having entry-level certs + no experience is better than having no certs + no experience. Getting the A+ and/or the Net+ will help a future employer realize that you understand the basics and know the terminology. I would recommend holding off on the CCNA certification until you're able to get some experience. The Cisco certifications are intended for people who have some previous experience with Cisco products.

 

my attitude is if you bothered to study for the exams then you can be bothered to do the job. you may have no experience but that means that you dont have any bad habits and you will do the job properly and the way you have been taught. also the relevant material used in the newer exams is up to date so you have the advantage over the person who has an old cert and been there for a while. that is not to say that the person who has the old cert dont keep up to date but it seems in the IT industry you need to prove you are up to date on new tech. just my opinion and please dont think i,m putting anyone with experience down.

 

Experience beats certs any day of the week. Any employer will look seriously at a CV if the person has experience There's also the fact that most businesses aren't that up to date with technology. If a potential employer uses primarily XP, then a cert in newer tech isn't going to help much in proving your competency.
You're right about the certs giving you an edge over some people though. At entry-level where experience isn't, by definition, necessary then certs at least show you have the desire to learn and have a basic level of competency. Couple that with a well thought out CV and cover letter and you may just edge out some people with experience for an interview slot, especially those who just threw together a generic CV without spell checking it.

 

This is wrong on so many levels I don't know where to begin.

 

Being exposed to systems in a live enviornment is 10x different.

So for example - i've worked with Active Directory on a daily basis for over 4 years - and your saying somebody who has studied over the last 3 months and passed the exam would be beneficial in a job role over me, just because they're learning it fresh? I'd put my house on it that wouldn't be the case