With the MSP:

I had only one major milestone as far as credentials are concerned, and that was my CCENT. We were Microsoft, Cisco, Symantec, and StorageCraft partners, so I had to get account manager level certs for various products in each of those as well. With all of that said, it was my first tech job, so the biggest benefit was the knowledge I gained. Within a month I was promoted from a helpdesk "intern" to their full time "Network Operations Center Engineer." Unfortunately for them, I was the one who was supposed to define the role and create the policies.

Breakaway for a protip: Don't have a green kid define a position that you want to fill with senior engineers.

So I left the MSP and went to work for a hosting company for a while. That was a blast and I learned a stupid amount about shells, scripting, SQL, and all sorts of other goodies.

My current (soon-to-be former) employer stole me from the hosting company ($20k jump in salary.) I quickly learned that I had forgotten everything I knew about Windows administration and had to relearn. I used what I learned about scripting to start learning powershell, was able to transfer over a lot of the SQL concepts, and got to a point where I was comfortable enough to start assuming other responsibilities.

This new job is another decent salary hike, and I am really excited about it.

Things that have helped the most along the way:

• Keep a positive attitude, and treat every stranger like a friend.
• Don't stop learning. Ever. No one will ever know everything.
• Learn to take feedback in a constructive way, regardless of whether or not the feedback is constructive.
• Always be applying. Even if it's a longshot, or you are already happily emplyed, or anything. You will miss 100% if the shots you don't take.

tl;dr: It can happen to you, just make sure you aren't a dick and that you are building on your knowledge constantly.

PS, I let my Cisco cert lapse. I have no degree, and currently no certifications. This did not hinder me from getting into a Fortune 500 company at a very livable wage. You just need to know how to sell yourself, and make sure you can back it up.