Is this worth the $$?

[silencio]

23 thousand would buy a great lab and a lot of books.

[Ya_know]

Originally posted by Cleetus
Yep, my college degree, liberal arts at that, opens more doors than the certs do these days.

Wait a minute; Cleetus went to college…Now I feel stupid!

[Cleetus]

Originally posted by Ya_know
Wait a minute; Cleetus went to college…Now I feel stupid!

With two equally useless majors at that!!!!

[kato2274]

Originally posted by silencio
23 thousand would buy a great lab and a lot of books.

true but I doubt that PHEAA sallie Mae and AES would lend you the money to buy all the stuff

[Humilliation]

Looking at this school here in San Diego. It has been around for quite a few years. For $23K I will be able to get the following certifications:

MCSE
MCP
CompTIA A+
CompTIA Net+
CompTIA Server+
CCNA
LPIC

There are 3 practicums in the following areas: CompTIA, Microsoft, and Linux.

Exam costs are included and I may take each exam up to two times. The school has close to 600 or more computers. A kick-*** server room for the networking and server courses. From a "first" impression point of view The facilities were remarkable and up to date. A maximum of 16 student in any class. Individual course Cds for home study.

Bill

I'd take the advice that everyone else is dishing out, go for the college degree. Certs are only nice if you have years of experience behind you. Besides, you can always go for a cert while working for a company that's giving you experience in the field you're trying to get a cert for. I've been bouncing around from one company that's gone bankrupt to the next. I've just about run through them all except the big companies, companies which require BS degrees in computer science. It's become a tough market to get employment doing, that's why I'm thinking about selling my house and moving where houses are cheap and anual property taxes are cheaper then what I pay for just a quarter. So if I really had to, I could survive pumping gas. Go to college, ask if the college has an internship (they send you off to a company that will allow you to play on their equipment and not pay you, they'll even teach you stuff + hands on) some companies, if they like you, will even hire you if they liked what they have seen from you when you were doing the internship.

[dddwarp]

I paid about $9000 and spent a year getting my CCNP about 2 years ago. It was worth it since I got a better job. The rest of certs (MCNE and MCSE) I just got through work experience and home lab. It is cheap to buy the books or videos, set up a lab and learn it. My advice, get a degree, basic certs and then a job. The basic certs I mean is A+ and Network+ and the degree should be a 4 year if you can. Then while working and gaining experience, work on your certs. In five years you will be ready to go with a degree, certs and experience. I would never go for the MCSE without experience, you could look like a fool when starting. Also, the best way to pass the cert test is through experience. THanks!