Breaking into the IT Field Question

snow

A question here on entry level career track. After nearly 15 years with the same company, my department is "consolidating" What this means is my job is no more. I am currently a personnel analyst using the MS office products. I have no IT certifications. I have a general question on what would be the best way for me to break into the IT field.

From browsing the boards here, it looks like I should go for A+ certification. With a little brush up, I feel I could pass this cert test fairly quickly. My question is, where does one go from there? I will receive 4 months severance from my previous employer so should I use that time to persue more training or get A+ certified and go to work? As I mentioned earlier, my only hands on experience currently is with MS Office products. I wish to move into a network admin type role. In addition to my MS Office experience, I have a BS in business administration.

Thanks in advance for any tips.