fivefm - Your question did not get a direct answer because no-one can answer it directly. There is no silver bullet with respect to certifications that will guarantee you anything, other than a piece of paper that you can hang on the wall. Having a CCNA will not guarantee you a job, nor will not having one mean you won't get the job. As far as what are the best qualifications for the future, it all depends on what you envision that future to be. What are your career intentions? Where do you want to be next year, five years from now, ten years from now? As dogbert2 said, a certificate is good only for a specific skill set, which may nor may not be useful in the future. I agree with SPguru in that pursuing a college education is most likely your best bet because it will provide you with a much broader education, a better foundation for many aspects of the IT industry, and will prepare you better to adapt yourself to vicissitudes within the future of IT. Having a degree will not guarantee you a job, nor will not havnig one mean you won't get a job, but it will considerably improve your chances and most likely, your income as well.
Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein