Certifications : Yes / no / how / where?

[Trevoke]

It's my understanding that a job above help-desk pretty much requires certifications.
I'm holed up in a great entry-level job where my title is Systems Administrator, though I'm better off calling myself the IT bitch (not on the resume though). It's got a decent/good salary for my age but there's no chance of advancement and I'm getting tired of the place.

I've been approached by New Horizons; they want to make me pay some high four-digit value to train me for certifications, and they don't even offer the price of the test (but books are free, there's web training, and so on).

I can pay a much lesser four-digit value to buy all the best books and training available online, I've been told, and just do it on my own. Here's my question:

Where do I go to get the stuff?
I have the knowledge, I think, for A+ / Net+, though I don't really have all that I need for TCP/IP (easy enough to find that info online though). I'm looking at the MCSE 2000 (maybe /2003) and CCNA certs.

Thanks in advance!

[warriorfan808]

A bachelors degree is the way to go. Get that out of the way, and then work on the certs. I was an IT Manager for 2 years and then finally got my BSCS. Afterwards, my pay doubled. No joke! Then again, I was getting paid peanuts for a small company before jumping ship