Definitely not pointless, as there is a lot of hands on with the cert, and even if you don't have equipment you can use you can use dynamips/gns3 for all the layer3 stuff. For layer2 you can probably get away with Cisco's packet tracer, just make sure you use the latest version as older ones have issues with spanning-tree and there is a fair amount of it in CCNP (especially in the Switch exam). I am finally pulling my finger out and getting mine done and probably going to move straight on to CCIE (not looking forward to taking the lab exam). It typically goes experience > certs > degree, however with a CCNP there are a number of entry level networking positions that are just asking for CCNA or equivalent that you should be able to slot in to. You have a slight disadvantage without the experience so make sure you study and know the material, rather than studying for the exam, paper CCNA/CCNP/MCP/MCSE (basically people that just use exam dumps to pass an exam) etc are a dime a dozen and you will get asked technical questions at most interviews so ensure you have a thorough understanding of every layer (at least the first 4) of the OSI model as well as a good understanding of TCP/IP. Other good skills to have in networking are unix/shell scripting/perl and if you're really keen you can start diversifying and learn more about data centre tech (you can do a CCNA data centre) which will really help you out. Data centre and networking go hand in hand and I see a future where the two roles are basically merged. From there you can study towards certs in wireless, voice, security and then even expand on your data centre knowledge and learn more about VMware and even go for a VCP. Also learning more about layer7 switching, DNS/DHCP (typically anything using bind/dhcpd and MS DNS), VPN (especially Cisco ASA's), as well as looking into other vendors like Juniper, Brocade and even HP (more so their data centre stuff like the flex fabric).
Having said all that, just start applying for network related roles while you're studying for CCNP, that are just asking for CCNA, and attend a few interviews, at the very least it's great experience but you may even land a job. It's so easy to get bogged down with certs, the sooner you can get your hands dirty the better.
I thought that stopped in February, might be wrong.
edit: WHATWHATWHAT, VLR free for psn+ man I have been getting awesome value out of this sub lately, Sony really are starting to get their shit together.
