Thanks for all the help so far. I'm fairly inexperienced in the IT world as well. I'm attending Ohio University for their Technical and Applied Studies degree. I have an associates in Networking Software from a community college. Over the past 6 years, I have about a combined year of tech experience with low level apple support and some backup software. With just these things, it's really difficult to break above the glass ceiling. I'm getting my bachelors in May and I'm studying like crazy for the mcsa 70-740. I failed my test 2 days ago with a 427 and I needed 700 to pass. My real question is whether I should even be attempting this cert. I don't think that I'm gonna give up, but this cert is clearly for people that have 5-10 years in the field. Those are my thoughts at least. For the most part, technical and applied studies is like a glorified halfway house to something. My degree will show that I have a degree and I want the cert to be specialized. Am I setting myself up for a huge disappointment though? THAT is the question that I ask myself. If anyone knows what I should be doing with a real degree of confidence, then please let me know. I will stop this nonsense with the MCSA immediately if I feel like its reasonable enough. I'm a quitter when something is worth quitting.
Ouch... no. An MCSA is considered an entry-level certificate; the key to passing those exams is usually to take a bunch of practice tests, and use flashcards or something to memorize the questions and answers in the back of the exam prep guide(s). Failing on the first try isn't uncommon, but it comes down to prep strategies, and people with entry level certs are... common. On the other hand, in a professional situation, nobody expects you to retain that information (yay?) - it's in the books on your shelf, and will be obsolete in a year anyway. (And that's why the certifications expire.) You know the knowledge exists and where to find it if you need to, that's the important bit.
Once you have 5-10 years experience doing X (whatever your speciality is), you don't need the certs because you've proven that you can do it.
Good problem solving and research skills are what allow you to integrate and apply the contents of the reference manuals you have to memorize in order to pass the stupid tests. That's also what you should be able to demonstrate in a job interview.
Most bachelor's degree programs don't prepare you for an exam, they prepare you in more general terms, building the aforementioned critical thinking, analysis and problem solving skills, stuff like that. If
this is the one you're in, it honestly looks like something intended for a person who's trying to go management-track in a company that requires a 4-year degree to get into the cool kids club. Not an uncommon situation.
But having a bachelor's degree will open doors too, even without a cert. To a lot of people - including the "cool kids club" of nontechnical management, process weenies, and HR professionals - it means you're a Real Serious Person™. So even if you learn nothing, there's some value there. (And ideally, of course, you learned some cool things!)
Getting a job comes down to networking, mostly - most jobs get filled behind the scenes, not through public job searches. You should probably be applying for internships already, and (scolding time, sorry) should have been doing summer internships the last couple years - you meet a lot of peope that way, and have multiple opportunities to impress them. Check out meetup.com for IT-specific networking opportunities in your area, too.