I have to disagree with you guys. In my experience you cannot get a helpdesk job without an MCSE. It may be a lot of reading and learning, but it is a basic baseline upon which other knowledge is built.

MCSE may be a complex cert to get to compared to other beginner certs, but everyone has one and if you don't you won't get far. That said, it is NOT a security cert. ...but there is knowledge that it encompasses that is important to have to begin to know what to do in security.