Best strategy for getting an IT job

rob7278

As someone who is fairly new to IT, I am by no means an authority. Additionally, I still haven't figured out the most effective strategy for getting the best, highest paying IT job. But I did struggle with the same questions I see others asking day after day - is a college degree better for getting an IT job or are certifications? What certifications do employers look for the most? etc.
What I have come to realize is, these questions are similar to asking - which is the best present under the Christmas tree? the biggest one or the smallest one. The answer is - you don't have enough information to determine the answer. What if the smallest present is a Rolex and the biggest present is a box of shipping peanuts.
Which do employers value more - a college degree or certifications? depends - perhaps the hiring manager has every certification you can think of and thinks the people that spent 4 years and tens of thousands of dollars on a degree are idiots, or maybe the hiring manager has a 4 yr degree and thinks the people that only have certs are a bunch of brain dumpers - every situation is different.
Some people will claim that job experience is the most important. If you were a hiring manager would you hire: applicant A with 5yrs help desk experience - but pretty much all they ever did was reset passwords or applicant B with 9 months IT experience that was expected to troubleshoot issues through Level 3 tech support, set up VPN accounts, create new user accounts in ADUC, support Blackberry's, set up email accounts in Exchange, configure network access and distribution lists, etc.
My point is - a certification, a computer science degree and even IT job experience is just the packaging - the knowledge that we gain is the real value.
Is the A+ certification a waste of time? if you don't know much about the components inside the case and how they interact - no ; if you have built dozens of computers - yes
If you try skipping the "easy, useless" certifications when you don't have strong fundamental computer knowledge, this is going to cause you great frustration and will probably unintentionally (or intentionally) cause you to spend more time memorizing (aka brain dumping) than actually learning. Besides getting an MCSE without any IT experience is still only going to get you a help desk, maybe a desktop support job and by the time you are ready to advance to a System Administrator job you will have probably forgot 90% of what you learned to earn the MCSE.
So what is the answer? In my opinion - learn how to create a really good resume, learn to interview really well, read a book on how to provide great customer service and when you get in front of a hiring manager stress to them that IT is your passion and if they give you a chance you will work your butt off to be one of the best employees they have ever hired - all of which has nothing to do with IT. In my opinion, it's once you get your foot in the door that you can start to focus on which certs are going to help you take your IT career to the next level.

Akaricloud

I agree for the most part but there are a lot of companies that will only let you get so far without a degree.

My personal opinion is go for both. I've been working as a Desktop Support Technician for a 4-year university while finishing my degree and working towards certs.

A good resume only works if you have something decent show on it. With all the people looking for jobs right now why would an employer choose someone with no credentials and just a resume?