Why Get A+/Net+ Certified?

A lot of techs out there today who aren't certified yet often ask "Why get certified?" Truthfully, it is a good question, because if you get certified you ought to have some background on why you are getting your certs, so you can proudly back them. Certifying is ensuring consistency - atleast between the fact that you are capable of complying to a set protocol for safety and technical ability. It doesn't in anyway negatively say you "can not" do something.

Here's my Top 4 Reasons to get Certified:

1. Increase your Salary - Money. We all need it, and you can attain more with certifications. Certifications are 'insurance' for someone to trust you to take care of their technical issue, you are then a rare tech, and able to charge higher for better quality services.
2. Beef up your Resume - Certifications are accountable, actual certificates of achievement. Be proud to list them in your resume. Employers will be happy to ask you about what your certifications entail, be ready to discuss them.
   
3. Maintain Job Security - Be in demand, some average PC techs are a dime a dozen, but certified technicians are skilled and showed the maturity in learning a process and testing it.
   
4. Increase your Knowledge - Whether you admit it or not, everyday there is new technology, and mastery in the IT industry is critical on learning new information. The more information you challenge yourself with, the more you know. Even if A+, Net+, etc are "Entry Level" certifications, you are welcome to challenge yourself to go for CCNA, CCNP, MCSE, MCP, etc. We all gotta start somewhere :)