BlvdKing said it best, real world work beats any Cert. Certs mearly complement.
A few random, blurbs.
1.Now, that being said, if the employer requires the Cert, well, guess what, no matter how easy it is, you still have to get it.
2. Its lifetime, it never expires. (CompTIA)
3. Have you ever heard of someone that got refused from a job because they had a A+ cert? Prolly not, so it won't exactly hurt.
4. Most entry level jobs, the guy doing the hiring person might not know the difference between RD-ram and Serial ATA, so it might just seperate you from the guy that didn't get it because he thought it was worthless. "Well you both have degrees, some experence, but HEY! this guy has a cert in something!" Remember the reason that your getting hired is that they need help figuring out how to work the workplace desktops, so that being said, A+ might seem like rocket science to your local HR boys.
5. Go ask the same question in a Industrial Management forum or an HR forum, and you will prolly get a different answer..
6. Old stuff can get you more cash. Now this isn't always true, but of the few that i knew from my high school that got jobs outside of college. The one that got paid the most.
Plays with a new thing called COBOL for a living.. Y? No one else knew it that, entry level, that applied.
EDIT: Added rant 6, per inspiration from bdomin