So, they’re a good baseline from a generalist perspective. If you’re going for entry level helpdesk, it proves you have a base level of technical ability.

The A+/Net+/Sec+ trifecta is a good starting point and give you a strong fundamental knowledge base to pursue other vendor specific certifications.

Past that it is very dependent on what you’d like to do, there are a lot of Niches to fill. Interested in networking? Go for Cisco certs, you might not even encounter a lot of Cisco gear because it’s starting to fade, but the certs look good on a resume.

Though at the end of the day, experience and references are key. I personally have a reference list included in my resume going all the way back to my first IT job.

A degree helps but isn’t necessary.