why get certified in something you have no experience
with?

I saw this question in a mailing list and it was a retorical question.
I have no experience with Cisco but I am trying to get certified for CCNA.
I am studying for it to get my footh between the door. (sorry for the dutch expression).

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You need to start somewere

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I think a lot of people do this and although some people would balst them for this, I have considerable sympathy for their position. In a way, it kind of devalues a cert if too many people get it who have no real-world exeprience, but then again, noone starts off having experience and getting experience is difficult with no job. Unfortunately for the newbie, exeprience is of much more value than certs are.

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I think one also has to look at the purpose of the certification. Obviously, A+ and N+ are not meant for individuals who have tons of experience in the field, and their other certs seem to be intended to give a person some general exposure to IT issues.

Also, think of your individual purpose in pursuing an exam. I am CCA, CCNA, and CCDA certified, and have worked with that equipment some, but certainly not enough to be an expert, rather I took the exams, so that when I see them in the wiring closet or troubleshoot a desktop issue, I have a better idea what a "published application" is or why the LAN is set up the way it is when the Admin asks me.
My purpose in pursuing these certs was to broaden my exposure, hence my knowledge. I plan on upgrading my MCSE, and I have had lots of NT 4.0 experience, but I will have had limited hands on with W2K in a LAN/WAN environment. I don't expect the cert to make me an expert with W2K (though the cert title may indicate it), but I do hope the learning curve will be much shorter when my company changes to W2K.

Of course, if you are using certs to land that perfect job, I think it is important to emphasize to your prospective employer those systems you have extensive experience with and those with which you are less familiar.
Integrity at the interview will count in most cases.

No matter what the certs, none of us can be experts in it all. The main thing is to keep learning.

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In short, the experience is better but if you work on certifications you will learn in the process of getting them.

Go for what you can!

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The definition of Certification is to improve your technical skill and knowledge that u already have.

However no one will listen what it mean. As long as they get certified and will get a good salary. That's it.

Everything want to be in the IT field....

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Hey bencher,
I agree with Kasor. When someone is certified he has knwoledge about a certain subject. By the way, if you are going for CISCO, I would recommend starting with Network + since you have no experience. It will make your certification route much easier.

Good Luck,
XF

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Yes, I did Network+ and learnt a lot from it. Now I am working towards CCNA, like it a lot and learning a great deal. But other than Network+, CCNA much more focussed on specific knowledge (dont have to explain that). I will go ahead with it. But still it is strange that I will be certified in a month or two from now and never touch a real router. It is something I have to explain in a job interview.

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Hey u guys wise up I have put in 100 resumes and have finished tech school in computer network administration and I have gone to various interviews, and on the last interview the question I was asked was are you A+ certified? I told them that I was working toward it, even though the interviewer stated that they are going to pay for the A+ exam for the techs that are employed with the company. You had better get certified if you want a job in Richmond Virginia, maybe in the IT early years you could not have a cert, but in Richmond, Virginia you'd better have a cert or years and years of experience. Don't even come to Richmond, Virginia unless you're certified period. Happy IT hunting.

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