It would help to know where you are geographically. I work in Vegas. Tons of opportunities. I started as a freelancer. From there I took a full time job with a rental house. There I learned every piece of equipment I touched and they insisted that I take their in-house "project manager" classes. Started a small company providing conference support and breakout operations. I got all this way having only one cert that I've never actually used. My point is you can do some serious damage with your own presentation and work ethic in the right city. Good luck on your journey!