Skankhunt420

Definitely a fair point, I'm not here to disagree with you mate, just talking from my own personal experiences. I've definitely had more interviews where, as you've described, the people conducting the interview have no clue and have instead been asked to just review the person as a whole and ensure that they have experience/education in subjects x, y or z. Having said that though, the interviews that I've been for where people haven't just asked if I have X cert and instead asked me to demonstrate my knowledge by working on a particular system and performing certain operations have been the ones where I've found the company to be much more engaging and interesting. 
 
You're right in saying that most people will just ask for the certificate and use it as a way to pit you against other candidates, otherwise everyone would just say that they have the certs and be unable to provide evidence to back it.. I've just found previously that the businesses I've worked for have wanted me to practically demonstrate a working knowledge of their system's basics. It's ridiculous to think that someone will sit there and challenge you on every part of your cert, that's way out of the scope of the interview, but I've definitely had multiple people setting up practical tests which specifically cover some of the content within the CCNA and other courses such as MSCA.
 
 
I think we should agree to disagree here, it's totally down to the interview and again, it's the previous experience that we've had through applying to different businesses.

It was mentioned when I did N+ that CompTIA try to be vendor neutral.
 
N+ does expire. I don't know where my certificate is right now, but I think it is something like 3 years from the exam.

My first step to a new career! 
 
The original price is £999 (97% off) so I "think" it might include any exams for the final piece of paper, but will delve into it when I get home and report back. If not, it's £29 for a lot of learning resources!

Damn that looks like a hell of a deal for £30!!!
 
Thank you for posting it! I've never pushed the button when it comes to switching careers, but I think now is the time, so getting a couple of certs under my belt would be great. Thanks again!!!

I have spent enough time lurking, about time I helped out at least a little!  

Hope this helps you out, you'll need to pay for your exam but cheap books/videos are always nice!
 
 
 
 
Comptia Groupon Code: £30
https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/it-careers-online-63
 
Includes:
CompTIA A+ 220-901 course modules include:
Introduction to personal computers and it certification Internal hardware components Storage fundamentals Expanding hardware capabilities Working with peripheral devices Mobiles devices Computer networking Hardware and network troubleshooting CompTIA A+ 220-902 course modules include:
Introduction to operating systems Installing windows operating systems Configuration and management in windows Utilizing alternative operating systems Virtualisation and cloud computing Managing mobile devices Understanding system security Troubleshooting and operational procedures Full course details can be found here
CompTIA Security+ SY0-501 course modules include:
Threats, attacks, and vulnerabilities Technologies and tools Architecture and design Identity and access management Risk management Cryptography and PKI Full course details can be found here
CompTIA N10-006 course modules inlcude:
Introduction to networking Networking standards Network cabling and transmission Understanding TCP/IP Network devices Wireless network Wide area network Remote access Network security Building scalable high performance networks Monitoring and troubleshooting networks Full course details can be found here

I'm in the UK (touchy subject... I know...) but all of these certs are transferable here, EU and US as a minimum. At the end of the day, if you know your stuff, you know it. Any good interviewer will get that out of you whether you have the paper to show it or not.

WOW thank you so much for the help i really appreciate

It's a lifetime cert which gives you a solid grounding in case you need to hop jobs ina  few years and previous certs are now expired. It's also just like a electrician getting through their RAGS, just shows that you have basic competency for the umbrella of IT and can understand technical concepts. Companies like to build employees up the way they want them to work, this basically shows them that you're ready for it!

As other people have pointed out, COMPTIA A+ (and further extensions) are a very good grounding for getting your foot in the door with a company, and from there a business is more than likely to encourage you to get your more complex and bespoke certs such as Cisco for networking and MS certs.
 
Getting your basic knowledge in the COMPTIA certs is definitely a good start and a good way to test the waters. I found the materials all for super cheap on a Groupon code for every COMPTIA cert currently in circulation, if you're interested I could try to find it for you later on, let me know!