You need four things to land a job in IT and then move on up in the organization. Education, experience, certifications, and those intangible personal qualities. Experience is always good. Employers want it because it tells them they do not have to retrain you the first day. You can do the work when you walk in the door. The problem with experience is it does not age well. I am highly experienced in restored the Novell bindery. Today this is of no use. Certifications are similar to experience in that they tell an employer you know the basics of the job whether or not you have done it before or not. Also like experience certifications do not age well. My Novell CNE Version 3 is not very useful either these days. Education is the foundation. It tells the employer you know the basics as well. It is different from the other to in that it also tells the employer you have the drive, the perseverance, and the ability to manage a long term project, you know how to learn, and you have a suitable level of intelligence. Unlike the others education prepares you to learn new things when your experience and certifications wear out from old age. None of these three will help you if you have the personality of a twit.