You are only desired in the job market once you get 2 years experience.
Alot of people get a job dealing with a simple network such as a high school for resume experience.
Their are way to many CCNA's avalible today..
But many do not have the common sense to think when they are around actual equipment.
This has pushed empoyers to want people with 2 years experience.
Once you get the experience you have an edge over most ccna's out their.
Going up to CCNP/CCIP/ or CCVP will boost you a lot especially if you get 2 yrs experience to put on your resume.
Start from the bottom, work yourself through the mess to the top.
I think that certification when they first came out were great. But I would rather have an employee who has the experience I need. I think that just because a person is vertified in a particular area does not mean they can perform the job.
Certification certainly has some advantages, especially at the higher levels.
Those with CCIE's can usually demonstrate very solid understanding of a large number of networking concepts, and have good knowledge in a variety of areas. It also shows a level of commitment to complete.
However, as has been mentioned above - nothing speaks like experience. From all the people I have interviewed over the years, you can easily tell the difference between someone who has a good solid foundation knowledge, and someone who has just done enough to pass an exam.
Also, mostly many companies do want you shift to some remote place. I will say experience cost lot, when competing with others. Though some people don't want to get shifted in random world.