Microsoft Certification Programs

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My MOUS got me several good jobs, all of which laid off the majority of their workforce within six months.

So there you go.

I've got two sides regarding certifications. Some companies can use certifications as equivalent to 6mo of work experience, and some treat it like any other piece of paper.

Any of the CompTIA certs aren't too bad to have (fairly simple, and not a major hassle to write) plus the MOS cert (formerly MOUS) for MS Office - if you're into an office environment.

I'm a seven-year veteran of IT (Hardware Technician).

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Life is a journey, let's ride

These company dependant certifications are great... for the company. They will not do you any help, avoid locking your career into them...

I considered the same route, and looked at computertraining.com. For various reasons I decided against paying 25k for 6 months of "training". I've been looking online and many employers are specifically asking for CS degrees.

I have a liberal arts degree with some minor experience working in a school when I was teaching.

Considering A+ cert, then maybe tech support while I sort things out. If I start at a junior tech support position, I can possibly learn while on the job and work to get in school again.

Does anyone have pointers for A+ prep? I've done my own hardware work at home and some at the High School. What texts are good? Online sources?

I worked for MSFT for 6 years and, ironically, they never asked to see my MCP transcript in the interviews or at any other time (no, most MSFT employees can't look it up, either). Didn't stop me from meeting everyone from BillG on down. I did have MCSE+I, MCDBA, and MCT but the only people who ever asked about it were other geeks who wanted to tell me how many more tests and certs they had than I did.

Get the certs if you want, but spend as much or more time talking to the business people, especially in sales and accounting, and solving their problems. Do a seminar for them on security or "tips and tricks" with the latest software, mobile device, whatever. Volunteer to be the "IT liason" for one of their projects so you can be part of developing the solution. Every cool job I've had has been because someone I helped in this manner moved up and then put in a good word for me, too.