I am a telcom engineer by education and I am specialized in the networking field. I am actually studying for the CCNA certification to enrich my CV for getting a job.
Nowadays the telecom and IT markets are a bit down, so recruiters are looking for people with experience, which unfortunately I don't have, so it is quite difficult to get into the market. I was wondering if after CCNA, getting the MCSA could help me to get in the market or should I do something else.
Please I would like to you answer this question because lot of students like me we don't know how to start our careers, and we spend more time and money trying to get certification that may not really be required.
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You raise some very valid points in your email. Alas, both CCNA and MCSA are really "first-step" entry level certification that, while they can lead to other credentials, seldom by themselves lead to jobs in the field. A CCNA is more likely to lead to a CCNP or specialist certification than to a job, and an MCSA to MCSE or beyond and likewise. Better to look for ways to garner some experience, in my opinion -- such as volunteer or part-time work, internships, and so forth -- than to invest too heavily in more entry-level IT certifications. On the other hand, if you were to go from these credentials to other more advanced certs, your odd of employment might improve somewhat, but nothing beats experience in finding work, as you yourself observe in your own posting. Hence, my advice to find some creative way of obtaining and claiming some so as to improve your odds of finding a position.
Good luck in your career planning and development.
This was first published in June 2006