Need some Help! New Associate Design Specialist

[geremyd]

Good afternoon,
I am looking at taking the new cert. path to become a Site Design Specialist and had a few questions.

New Design Specialist Cert.

The foundations exam is only on the

Site Development Foundations* Module within the Foundations exam.

How long would it take to study and take that part of the exam?

Then from there you move onto the Site designer test. How long would it take to study and take that part of the cert? is it hard? did you buy the study guides?

any info or advice would be great.

I have been doing web design for about 6-5 years now.

thank you.

Geremy

[geremyd]

no one has any advice?

[JonnyMX]

Hold your horses mate!

Basically it looks like 2 of the modules that CIW have pretty much always done, so without reading it through in more detail, I'm not sure what the crack is.

They may just have re-named the CIW Professional cert to make it sound more relevant in the industry.

CIW certs aren't too difficult when compared to the rest.
When I did them, it took me about a month to prepare for each exam - although that will depend on your background and how 'studious' you are.

Tricky thing with CIW has always been getting hold of the course material.
In the UK they only seem to sell it through their academic partners - colleges or TPs.

For the actual design element, I'd say that as long as you know the basics of web design or have read a fairly basic book on the subject, you should be fine.

however, the foundation does throw some basic networking questions at you. You'll need to know what the various bits of kit are, and have a very basic understanding of IPs and transmission speeds etc. Nothing like the requirements for A+ or N+, but what the difference between a hub and a switch is etc.

They also have a section on 'business'. Unfortunately there's no helping you with this one as I haven't seen it outside the official curriculum. Mind you, you could always chance it and blag those questions...

[JonnyMX]

Originally Posted by geremyd

I have been doing web design for about 6-5 years now.

In that case you're probably over-qualified for the cert.
It's the most basic one they do.

Have you looked at some of the others they have?

Why do you feel that you need a cert?
Surely you must have some kind of portfolio by now?

[geremyd]

I want to further my career in my current company, and a cert will help with that

http://www.ciwcertified.com/certific...specialist.asp

it requires the foundations exam but, only on one of the books the

Site Development Foundations* Module

According to the lady on the phone at the CIW place it will take about 6-7 months to study for the site designer test.. That is why I was asking how long it took to study and take these tests.

thanks.
Geremy

[JonnyMX]

Originally Posted by geremyd

I want to further my career in my current company, and a cert will help with that

http://www.ciwcertified.com/certific...specialist.asp

it requires the foundations exam but, only on one of the books the

Site Development Foundations* Module

According to the lady on the phone at the CIW place it will take about 6-7 months to study for the site designer test.. That is why I was asking how long it took to study and take these tests.

thanks.
Geremy

Right.

No problem. I appreciate your thanks for responding to your question.
You're welcome.
It's a pleasure to do your research for you.

Does your company specify which cert you need to 'advance' yourself?

Why have you posted the same link in both of your posts?

What's with the 'Foundations*' thing?

You've annoyed me now.
You've complained that nobody answered your question on the day that you posted it, and then you completely ignored the one response that you did get.

[BosonMichael]

Originally Posted by geremyd

I want to further my career in my current company, and a cert will help with that

Not really. All you need to do is show an employer an e-portfolio of sites you've designed. I've yet to meet a single employer of Web designers care two bits about CIW certifications.

That said, if you're dead set on taking a certification exam despite the advice, go for it. If you've been designing Web sites for 6 years, you should be able to study for the exam in no time at all. I'd be surprised if it took you more than a couple hours skimming the official CIW guide.

[geremyd]

Originally Posted by JonnyMX

Right.

No problem. I appreciate your thanks for responding to your question.
You're welcome.
It's a pleasure to do your research for you.

Does your company specify which cert you need to 'advance' yourself?

Why have you posted the same link in both of your posts?

What's with the 'Foundations*' thing?

You've annoyed me now.


You've complained that nobody answered your question on the day that you posted it, and then you completely ignored the one response that you did get.

for the cert i'm looking at which i posted the link above it only requires you to take that specific part of the foundations exam...

I put the link again to show you the cert i'm looking at doing. I am between doing this cert or the adobe one for dreamweaver.

also I don't work for a website design firm i work for a finacial company and work in the internet side of it. They would like to see me get certified, and I feel as though this is probably the best cert out there for my position (CIW Associate Design Specialist).


thanks for your replies.