A+ Certification and Other IT Certs Question

[The_Professor]

The CCNA I think is a bit of overkill unless you know you're going into a Cisco house, though the fundamentals are useful anywhere, you'd get pretty much the same info from going after the Network+.

I do not use much the knowledge gained from my CCNA in my daily activities as a Project Manager at a data center and colocation provider, however, I can say with relative certainty that this was the cert that got my foot in the door and differentiated me from my competition. Even if I don't use it much in carrying out my daily job functions, I gain respect from being able to walk the talk with the hardcore techies in the company and with our customers. Also, Cisco as well as Microsoft, HP (and others) certified personnel are desirable for companies that maintain channel partner relationships as there is direct monetary value gained in having certified employees on their rosters. Additional food for thought in planning one's certification track and strategy.