Okay I can help here, my knowledge is a bit dated but the key to any cert is the resume behind it.
That fact that you managed to touch an exchange server without killing it is in itself a either a miracle of sign of your adeptness. Seriously, most exchange admins tiptoe around the exchange boxes in the server room cause these things are prone to fall over if you sneeze too hard.
Now to the real answer though;
The first question is are you doing this to upskill and change jobs or upskill to validate more pay in your current role? Get the boss to pay for your {insert low level sert here} tell him you'll stick around for x years, then keep getting him to upgrade it and slowly work toward the MSCE/CCNP. If it's to move on save a few grand take a week off and hit up some study place, like Dimension Data. Or alternately if your lifestyle can afford, do one of those study with us and we'll find you a job within 6 months or give half your money back training centres.
The second is where you want to go? If it's servers then the MCSE has a few paths and several stages of MCP, MCDA, MCxx before attaining the big MCSE itself. If it's networking then things beyond the basics of theory become significanly more specialliazed, Ethernet, PDH, SDH, Cisco, Huawei, Nortel. But not in itself a dimishing role, there's good work out there for good people and the right job pays a packet, we got some solid guys at work and honestly I've heard people openly attempt to poach them.
Selecting from a industry known vendor ie Microsoft or Cisco is of obvious benefit, you get your feet wet it's well documented, and you can pickup a job cause everybody runs it. However from there you can move around easily as you are willing to to either specialise or switch vendors.
Third how quick you want to do it? You can throw down $10K and have a MSCE by the end of the month. It's worth just as much on paper as the guy who spent a year at TAFE getting his. These institutes are all about the pumping students out with the cert. Seems you have one key which is a bit of experience, which at the end of the day is a massive plus backed with a cert. If you went the MSCE route, I'd begin the study apply it to your current job solidifying the experience then go to maket and see what you get for your skills.
John and I did a Cisco based course ut QUT I would recommend for someone with a keen interesti in networking it takes a year you get good practical and theory skills. However the same can be done in a week and not for someone who wasn't looking at specialising in Cisco and making a career out of it. The first two semesters are great general networking knowledge the rest is Cisco patented learning.

Doble, How long have you been where you are now?
"On the other hand, Linux is great for small business and seems to be growing in popularity." Are small businesses using it because they don't want to spend the cash? It might be more useful and respected if you get a microsoft over linux cert?

mastercyl:
The first question is are you doing this to upskill and change jobs or upskill to validate more pay in your current role? Get the boss to pay for your {insert low level sert here} tell him you'll stick around for x years, then keep getting him to upgrade it and slowly work toward the MSCE/CCNP. If it's to move on save a few grand take a week off and hit up some study place, like Dimension Data. Or alternately if your lifestyle can afford, do one of those study with us and we'll find you a job within 6 months or give half your money back training centres.

I'd like to stay where I am currently, but skill up to improve my pay grade, and so that if I am forced to leave I'm not back where I started a year ago.
mastercyl:
The second is where you want to go? If it's servers then the MCSE has a few paths and several stages of MCP, MCDA, MCxx before attaining the big MCSE itself. If it's networking then things beyond the basics of theory become significanly more specialliazed, Ethernet, PDH, SDH, Cisco, Huawei, Nortel. But not in itself a dimishing role, there's good work out there for good people and the right job pays a packet, we got some solid guys at work and honestly I've heard people openly attempt to poach them.

From reading up on the MCSE it sounds as if it encompasses a lot of what I would like to learn, as from what i understand it teaches you how to build a network to suit a business's needs. If the MCSE is fairly comprehensive then I expect it will cover enough of the other aspects (ie networking) to keep me satisfied. I like the idea of planning, building and deploying solutions as opposed to simply working with networking all the time - I enjoy problem solving.
webberist:
Doble, How long have you been where you are now?

I worked as an IT assistant for about a year, and then I took over the role of IT Coordinator, and have been there for 9 months in that role. Both have been with Qantm
webberist:
"On the other hand, Linux is great for small business and seems to be growing in popularity." Are small businesses using it because they don't want to spend the cash? It might be more useful and respected if you get a microsoft over linux cert?

This is true, I guess I just like to be versatile, but I think you are right, Microsoft is the way to go.

I'd suggest thinking a little outside the 'box' and concentrate on learning 'life skills' like management, business development, consulting basics, etc.
Any of the stock standard IT courses will be outdated in a few years. If you slog it with your MCSE and get it, you'll have to refresh it in another 5 years.  Same with RHCE.  
To me, unless you have a specific need for these courses I wouldn't waste your time with them.  
Troubleshooting and being able to learn fast on the job are your best assets in IT.  Things are slowing down to what they were a while ago.  But the future of IT support is something very, very different to what we do these days.  
Unlike a trades person (chippy, sparky, etc), your knowledge of how to fix a Computer today won't really be applicable in the near (5-10 years) future.  
If you want to stay with Tech then I suggest having a look at the network side of it like Mastercyl suggested.  Cisco are the microsoft of the networking world, and what's best they innovate at a snails pace so a Cisco certification is good for a lot longer then other certs.  
<!-- m -->http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_certification<!-- m --> 
Also if you're good there is always Ciscso contracts to help boost your income.

Yep John is pretty much spot on in what he says but i think he missed the point, being able to learn on the job is the most important thing. However the thing is you're looking to increase your pay right, and things like degrees and certs are usually the best way to ask for a pay rise.
Although from the sounds of your position doble I don't see why you wouldn't be able to easily move into a lower management type position if you wanted, but keep in mind you don't really get to put your technical knowledge to as much use there.
 

Actually it just occured to me I dont know if qantm is govt, if it is your pretty much up shit creek if you want to both stay where you are but get more money, only way to get more money is to a) be there longer or b)change position.

Yeah i'd advise cisco more than any other cert.
RHCT/RHCE is much more respected (and higher average pay) in the industry than MSCP/MSCE  but along with that, it's harder to get.
Join industry associations like SAGEAU.. they'll keep you up to date with gigs and the skills in demand
 
and yeah, the most valuable investment would be leadership and management courses as with them you're targeting a higher pay average.

webberist:
"On the other hand, Linux is great for small business and seems to be growing in popularity." Are small businesses using it because they don't want to spend the cash?

I program in Linux, Windows sucks :P So much more power and I don't even need to turn the box off... Not that this has anything to do with Doble's question, just saying that there are those of us that use Linux for a living.
(can't do half the stuff you can do in Linux in a DOS prompt, though the new Windows Powershell thingy is meant to be nice...)

This is all very interesting. I've been looking at how to increase my own IT career. I don't have anywhere near the experience mentioned in this thread. I had enrolled in a MCSA 2003 course but haven't made it through very far on account of it being F*CKING BORING! I think I'll be looking into the steps needed to get to CCNA.

Belthor:
So much more power

Do you go mad with that power?   I know I do.
not many designers who compile their own creative suite daily

 
Andy:
Belthor:
So much more power

Do you go mad with that power?   I know I am.
not many designers who can waste that much time to compile their own creative suite daily

 
Fixt.
 

bwaaahahahahahaah
did you know we can play with computational geometric math that has only just been invented as a design tool?
stuff that would take years of patent negotiations with software vendors before it shows up in propietary design tools but gets released for free under GPL?
elite elite elite ...  the MSG has gotten to me over here