IT Certifications.

What is I.T Certification

Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, or assessment. One of the most common types of certification in modern society is professional certifications where a person is certified as being able to competently complete a job or task, usually by the passing of an examination.

Professional IT certifications are non-degree awards made to those who have achieved qualifications specified by a certifying authority. Depending on the particular certification, qualifications may include completing a course of study, proof of professional accomplishments, achieving a specified grade on an examination or some combination thereof. The intention is to establish that an individual holding a certification is technically qualified to hold certain types of position within the field.

Certifications, generally, need to be renewed periodically, or may be valid for a specific period of time (e.g. the life-time of the product upon which the individual is certified). As a part of a complete renewal of an individual's certification, it is common for the individual to show evidence of continual learning — often termed continuing education — or earning continuing education units (CEU).i.e Cisco certifications are valid for 3 years

Certifcation Duration

There are two general types of professional certification: some are valid for lifetime, once the exam is passed. Others have to be recertified again after a certain period of time. Also, certifications can differ within a profession by the level or specific area of expertise they refer to. For example, in IT Industry there are different certifications available for networking, software testers, developer, hardware. Certifications can further be categorized as vendor-specific programs and vendor-independent programs.

Vendor-specific Vs Vendor independent Certification:

Vendor-specific certifications are provided by a specific vendor for example i.e. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE 2003), the Microsoft Certified IT Professional MCITP which is available in a number of area of expertise database developer, database administrator.These vendor-specific certification programs are oriented toward specific technologies, and are managed by the vendors of these technologies. These certification programs are tailored to the institutions that would employ professionals who use these technologies. Microsoft provides a wide range of popular certifications. All major vendors in IT which includes Adobe, Oracle, Cisco, HP, Jupiter, Sybase, have their own academy which certifies candidates.Vendor-oriented certification tends to focus on how to implement that vendor's technology, rather than providing any sort of context around the technology. Since some vendors are leading in their field and their products are widely used around the whole world in various companies from small, medium and large enterprises their certification is usually a catch to experienced professionals and to enthusiastic IT students who are still building their careers since it increases chances of employment. This resulted in these certifications becoming so popular and famous making other certifications look worthless.This kind of certification serves plenty of useful functions. For the vendor, it's a way of ensuring that customer implementations are done correctly and reasonably consistently. A small investment in time and money for certification can pay large dividends for both the vendor and the customer in a correct and standard implementation.

Vendor-independent certification programs are mainly targeted at the standards or different technologies but its not oriented towards a specific technology used by a certain vendor. Usually these certifications are managed by a professional board or an institute i.e The Linux professional Institute. Vendor-specific certification programs provides a qualification that shows an individual is competent to a certain level. CompTIA is another example of a body which provides certifications which are vendor-independent. i.e their CompTIA PDI+ certify individuals installing, servicing and maintaining printers. It also includes an element of customer services, according to the Computing Technology Industry Association. Usually the vendor –independent certification is supported by the major vendors in the case of the CompTIA PDI+ its supported by major vendors in printers, including Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, Canon, Brother International, Lexmark, Ricoh Americas and Konica Minolta.

Technology professionals generate much debate over just that question. Many claim vendor-specific programs best measure a candidate’s skills, while others propose vendor-independent exams are the only worthy way of measuring real-world expertise. Still other observers believe the highest-level accreditations — Microsoft’s MCSE or new Architect Series certification, Cisco’s CCIE, etc. — are the only credentials that truly hold value.

Myself, I don’t fully subscribe to any of those mindsets. The best IT certification for you, after all, is likely to be different from that for another technology professional with different education, skills, and goals working at a different company in a different industry. For that reason, when pursuing any professional accreditation, you should give much thought and care to your education, experience, skills, goals, and desired career path.
Once a career road map is in place, selecting a potential certification path becomes much easier.

CERTIFICATION VS DEGREES, DIPLOMAS, CERTIFICATES

From an industry point of view, vendor certification provides a measurable amount of accomplishment and ability that college degree programs in engineering, computer science, Information Technology no longer convey. In many cases, companies take new college graduates and spend months or even years training them in the practical aspects of ICT. Companies may also have to update the skills of new graduates. This is because a number of ICT fields move so quickly that university and college curricula rapidly get out of date.

In the realm of I.T, vendor certification could benefit a new graduate, or even someone without formal ICT education. It can help either one to gain a toehold in an industry that badly needs more capable and proven people. With no degree and no documented skills, it's difficult for entry-level people to show what they're capable of. In these situations, a vendor-specific certification can open doors that might otherwise stay closed. For companies they are tempted to recruit a person with proven expertise in the technologies they use i.e a company which uses Microsoft products tend to prefer to candidates with Microsoft certification to a candidate with a degree which in most cases is more broad.

Disadvantages of Certification

One big con with certifications is that you have to continually recertify in-order to get the recognition since the certification expires after a certain period of time of which it depends with different vendors. This is unlike degrees which are valid until cows have horns. Those trained only in a vendor-specific technology may be less capable of evaluating alternative approaches to a problem. An engineer with Cisco-specific implementation training would understandably be reluctant to recommend a competitor's switching model. This holds true even when there are clear technical merits in the alternative. A balance between professional or tertiary qualification and professional certification will make candidates more marketable in the job market

BENEFITS OF CERTIFICATION

Some of the benefits are specific to certain certifications.
• Higher Salary
• Proof that you are serious
• Money Saver
• Money Maker
• Benefits to your employer

Satisfaction
Knowing that you have the knowledge required to pass the IT certification exam can be a great moral booster. You can be assured that new employers will take you seriously and your current employer will take notice.

More Career Options
The possibilities for advancement are almost endless once you begin your career in the IT industry with the Certification.

Higher Salary
On average, certified professionals make 5-15% than their non certified peers.
Proof that you are serious
While not all employers require certification, having the vendor’s logo on your resume says more than enough about how motivated you are as a professional

Get Proven...

• Increase your confidence and build credibility
• Move from individual contributor to strategic technology advisor in your organization
• Boost your productivity (and your free time in the process)
• Differentiate yourself in a market clamoring for skilled professionals
• Take advantage of exclusive benefits aimed to make your job easier

Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge Sharing is a platform for certified professionals to share expertise, unique deployments, best practices or any relevant topic of interest. Written only by Proven Professionals, anyone can learn from these Knowledge Sharing articles and webcasts. If you are not a Proven Professional then take the next step, get certified! You, too, can publish your work, receive industry recognition, become eligible for a free pass to IT World and cash.

Get Logos
After getting certified the vendors would have confidence in you, your customers have trust in you, the organisation will have belief in you. As a certified professional you are formally allowed to use the Logo of the vendor. Since the certifications are universally recognised, you will get the respect you deserve in your area of expertise.
To the customer IT certifications boast numerous benefits. They bolster resumes, encourage higher salaries, and assist in job retention. But which IT certifications are best?

Check you in the next issue

Compiled by
Onias Simba Dhedheya

Sources. Wikipedia,techrepublic.com,