I believe you do need certs to progress...

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I've tried to get by and have not done a cert in 5 years.. I basically took a couple of certs as a strategy to get my CV past HR, which worked.

I now have 5 years exp in IT support but I believe I am competing with people who also have 5 years experience (maybe less) but also have a number of certificates on their CVs..

I have had my A+ booked for ages but kept putting it back, I have just started my commitment to studying for it.

Plan is to get A+ and N+ on my CV then probably move into something more specific.

 

What sort of next role are you looking for? That can shape the certs you go for.

If you have 5 years experience A+ and N+ may not boost your CV too much although from a knowledge point of view still good to do. A

 

I'm looking more for infrastructure technician role and to get out of helpdesk, however realistically I'm looking for a a company that has a desktop/helpdesk role with a path to infrastructure. One role I do not want to do is "Service Desk Analyst" as I have learnt that this means phones and nothing but phones.

I couldn't sit down and pass the A+ right now so I am finding the knowledge beneficial and N+ I'd stand even less of a chance.

 

This is key for me. When I'm interviewing people, I want to know that they're ambitious, motivated and technically curious. They don't necessarily have to have a degree or certs, but I want to see evidence that they're passionate and want to learn. That kind of thing can be evidenced by labs they've built, projects they've worked on, certs etc.

WRT the A+. Honestly mate, I wouldn't bother. Do something more challenging. An A+ won't do much, if anything at this stage in your career imo.

If you really want to climb the ladder fast, do an associate level cloud cert. Any of the big 3. You'll have interviews coming out of your ears.

 

I don't think Comptia certs impress anyone but better to have them when CV's are looked at by ppl not having a clue.
Whether you do N+ or not, I'd strongly recommend reading Mike Meyers N+ book, I've learned a lot from it back in the day and it was the easiest and most enjoyable material I've ever come across.
Azure fundamentals is quite easy to do, training course is free (I think, used to be), MS was giving away vouchers for it last year, maybe they still do. Then maybe something o365 related if you are interested/experienced in it.