I think this may lead to a petty argument.
It is all very well us saying "get another job" because we do not know the
circumstances, but more generally it is true that there are other options. So
I would say get the certification if you really need it but keep in mind that
it is just a certification. If you are a clever person then this is
defeinitely not the last chance, so to speak. I would say consider all
avenues and courses of action, and naturally the one that favours libre
software (I am assuming this is a computer science or administration job
based on the fact it needs a certification from the Cisco corporation).
If you are a student, then get involved with computer science clubs. See if
there are any talent scouts from employers (Some are probably better than
others; Red Hat and ironically Google are quite good for this, although I
would personally feel like I was working in some creepy born-again cult, and
Silicon Valley ideals are pretty vile, like a lot of sickly-sweet stuff
there). You might find a path in research and teaching is more compatable
with this, or even journalism and running your own business.
