I read a fantastic article on Tech Republic about the CCIE certification and was it losing its value. There were points in the article brought up about getting the certification and getting experience.I wanted to touch on this a bit overall as it relates to many jobs and certifications in the IT world.
Its the age old catch 22. The IT professional studies for a certification, hoping he can move up in the field to a better paying job, or a section of the field she is more interested in, and has little experience in. Then they apply for the positions and get turned down due to lack of experience in that area. Next person comes in with experience in the area, but no certification, and they get turned down for the position also. Eventually the position goes to someone who has just a little bit of experience and a college degree, and that person proceeds to prove they have no clue what they are doing.
The world of IT jobs is a tough world to live in. You need the experience and the certifications, and the college degree to become close to being wanted. Most companies force us to go through HR departments which have no clue about the actual position, and go by pieces of paper. If you can get around that, then you have to deal with the real tech interview by someone in the department you are applying.
It sucks, and it makes life difficult. Those of us in lower paying jobs can’t afford to get equipment to practice on, and practicing on a client is frowned upon. So we study for the exams, we use the virtual labs, we do whatever we can to get the knowledge. Its too bad that the experience factor is so much more difficult. If you want a job you need the experience, but how do you get the experience without a job? I know I am still searching for an answer.