HELP Where to start?? SysAdmin with no certs

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Ok...reading around on this forum and bloody scared me! You are all seriously certified!

Ok, here is the thing.

I have been working as Sys Admin for a company of 200 users, alongside the IT Manager. (exchange cluster, SANs, hp procurve, esx) I have been doing this for 3 years now. My previous jobs were 1st/2nd line IT support for clients.

In all that time I haven't got any certificates!! (I do have a degree in IT)
Now I am looking for a new job and I feel like my experience is worth nothing without the certificates.

I don't know where to start....I think I have enough experience to try something more advanced, like MCSE but this is something I need to pay for myself as my company are not going to pay.

any ideas?

 

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I think the first thing you need to decide is on which area you want to get certified, is it Exchange, ESX, Windows Servers or Networking? Once you can answer that then we can offer you better choices.

Off the top of my head I would probably aim for something like the MCSE, MCITP (Exchange or SA\EA) or VCP but again it depends on what you want to get out of it and what kind of work you are looking for.

The thing to remember is that certification is there to prove your experience rather than getting you a job.

 

Your experience is worth EVERYTHING, even without the certificates (called "certifications").

That said, it'd be even better if you could add some certifications to your name. I would recommend this: certify on whatever you have experience doing. Since you've been a server admin for more than 12 months, the MCSE is a fine certification to get... perhaps with an Exchange exam thrown in the mix as well, as you have experience administering it.

Doesn't matter if your company pays for it or not - just get some self-study books and, if you feel you need them, some practice exams from legitimate companies. That (and some hardware and software) is really all you need to study for the exams.

 

Well I like the sounds of ultimately having MCSE but now you've mentioned MCSA: Messaging, that sounds good too. Which is better? Is there any easy way to find out the hierarchy of these? I have plenty of time to study at home, what I need is some sort of syllabus i can follow and then how to book the exams myself. help much appreciated.