Linda Bartlett

"As a recruiter, I look for actual work experience first and then look for certification," said Linda Bartlett, a recruiter with Intellimark IT, an IT business solutions and recruiting firm in Baltimore, Md. "Having actual work experience to back up the certification is crucial."

And just as experience is more important to Bartlett, other recruiters also emphasize education over certificates.Certification critics will always tell you to get the degree, arguing that it pulls a lot more weight within the IT community than just a certification.Most colleges offer internships as part of their course requirements.This can give you that leading edge of having acquired "real-world" experience when applying for competitive IT positions.

As a newly certified professional coming into the industry, placing your faith in certification alone is unwise.Some liken it to reading a couple of medical books and expecting to get hired for surgery.

"As a recruiter, I look for actual work experience first and then look for certification," said Linda Bartlett, a recruiter with Intellimark IT, an IT business solutions and recruiting firm in Baltimore, Md. "Having actual work experience to back up the certification is crucial."

And just as experience is more important to Bartlett, other recruiters also emphasize education over certificates.Certification critics will always tell you to get the degree, arguing that it pulls a lot more weight within the IT community than just a certification.Most colleges offer internships as part of their course requirements.This can give you that leading edge of having acquired "real-world" experience when applying for competitive IT positions.

As a newly certified professional coming into the industry, placing your faith in certification alone is unwise.Some liken it to reading a couple of medical books and expecting to get hired for surgery.

"As a recruiter, I look for actual work experience first and then look for certification," said Linda Bartlett, a recruiter with Intellimark IT, an IT business solutions and recruiting firm in Baltimore, Md. "Having actual work experience to back up the certification is crucial."

And just as experience is more important to Bartlett, other recruiters also emphasize education over certificates.