I guess it just depends where your looking. Regardless experiance is always better than any certification or degree. But now, in present day your not going to get an IT job without one being new to the field. If your lucky and got in a few years ago, or even when the IT Field first started blooming then your set and for the most part certifications wont and are not going to mean jack shit to you or any employer, but over the past couple years certifications are a big plus to newer people in the IT Field.
Honestly I’ve had the knowlegde to be in help desk/networking since I was 14, I always found it extremely interesting and always kept up and taught myself things. I taught myself how to set up domains with 2 computers and a server in my room. And when I turned 18 and started looking for IT jobs even when I could show them what I could do they would not have it, now that I have certifications I am getting looked at by jobs, I do get responsces as before I wouldent get a damn thing