10 Hottest Certifications for 2005

Discussion in 'Training & Development' started by Kitkatninja, Aug 4, 2005.

  1. Kitkatninja
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    Hi everyone,

    Hopefully this is the right place to post this. Surfing the net I came across this:

    10 Hottest Certifications for 2005

    What do you guys/girls think about it?
     
    Certifications: MSc, PGDip, PGCert, BSc, HNC, LCGI, MBCS CITP, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCE, A+, N+, S+, Server+
    WIP: MSc Cyber Security
  2. Weemez

    Weemez Kilobyte Poster

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    I'm just glad to see certs i'm going for on there! :biggrin
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing A+ N+ ICND1
    WIP: ICND2
  3. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    Just keep in mind that the certifications are not valuable in and of themselves, it's the skill sets they are supposed to represent that really matters. The piece of paper is nothing if you can't actually do the job. :wink:
     
    Certifications: A+ and Network+
  4. Weemez

    Weemez Kilobyte Poster

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    Definately Trip,

    thats why im trying to do voluntary work in the e-health department of the hospital i work in. Fingers crossed, i planted the seeds yesterday.
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing A+ N+ ICND1
    WIP: ICND2
  5. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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    I would just add to this that just having certs isn't going to get you a job either. This is a shrinking industry. More and more automated networking and installation capabilities are coming into existance all the time. Thus fewer techs are needed. That combined with off-shoring, out-sourcing, and the ability to remotely administer almost everything today has reduced the need for physical bodies tremendously. This is a very tough job market.

    Here is what it is like where I live. In the state of Washington in 2000 there were 126,000+ people working in IT according to government statistics. At the end of 2003 there were 56,000 people working in IT in the state. That's a drop of more than 50% in IT jobs. About 6 months ago I finally started to see jobs being advertised again. However, job descriptions routinely require, and it's a hard requirement, 3-5 years experience, a 4 year Computer Science Degree, plus certs. And on top of that they would prefer you to have some scripting and programming knowledge in a couple of languages along with your ability to administer servers, workstations, routers and switches. A four year degree in computer science is a common requirement to do desktop support.

    How well do you think entry level guys with a year of experience, no 4 year degree, and certs do in this job market? Basically everyone you are competing with has experience. It's like beating your head against a brick wall. As a newbie, when you apply the first time they'll send you a standard rejection letter. After the first time you apply for a job they don't even send you out rejection letters on subsequent applications for other jobs. You're basically a non-entity as far as employers are concerned.
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCDBA, CCNA, A+
    WIP: LPIC 1
  6. Weemez

    Weemez Kilobyte Poster

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    Nice one, might aswell pack it in now then! :(

    I will not be detered! :biggrin
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing A+ N+ ICND1
    WIP: ICND2
  7. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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    I wasn't trying to deter you, or anyone else. The point of the post is to inform people just how bad the job market is in IT. No one should enter this field with the idea that it's going to be easy to get a job. It's not. I know several people with Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science who are working in grocery stores, convenience stores, and the like. I know one guy with a Master's degree in Computer Science, the only guy I know who has a Masters, who hasn't been able to get a job in IT.

    It's a hard long row to hoe to get a job in IT. It takes lots of effort, putting up with lots of rejection, and after a while it seems like it's impossible sometimes. I have absolutely aced interviews for jobs that fit my skill set perfectly, and still get rejection letter after rejection letter. I walked out of those interviews thinking, Wow! I've got this job.

    This is not the norm for me. In my former career if I got to an interview, I got the job. I know how to interview. I know how to write good cover letters. I have a pretty decent IT resume, considering the experience I have. I have lots of experience dealing with customers, 20 years worth. I like dealing with the public, helping people. I like that part of being a tech as well or better than I like the technical part of the job, and I love the technical part of the job.

    I should be a dream employee. I love to work. I love what I do. I'm as honest as the day is long. I take my job and responsibilities seriously. I have pretty decent skills. Sure there are people out there better than I am, but they have more IT experience. But for the amount of time I have in this there's not a whole lot of people with more skills than I have. Yet none of this counts for enough to get a job.

    This is the reality of looking for a job in IT. There are some who have gotten a job much quicker than I have, but there are also those who work just as hard as I do at finding a job and just plain old can't find one. It seems to be the luck of the draw. You just happen to be at the right place at the right time, or happen to know the right person, and if those things don't come together for you, good luck. You're going to need it.

    Most of the jobs here have between 300 - 400 applicants. It's like that in many other places too. HR people are looking for ways to exclude people, not include people. It's their job to cull as many people as quickly as possible. I've been in job workshops where HR people have given talks and they have candidly said as much.

    If you want a job in IT because you just absolutely love it, then by all means go for it. But, remember this is not going to be something that will be accomplished very easily. However, if you're going into IT because you think it's going to be big money, and you have no real passion for the job, and think a job is going to come your way easily just because you have a cert or two, you're in for a mighty hard time.

    People need to go into this with their eyes wide open so the shock of how hard it is to get a job doesn't surprise them. To tell the truth, as much as I love doing this work, if I had known the job market was going to descend to the level it now is, I would have gone another direction. I have other passions in my life too, and some of those areas pay well too, but I got way into training for this before I realized just how bad the job market was, and it was just too late to change. I'm past the point of no return. I have neither the time nor the resources to choose another path.

    One more thing. Read unemployement and job statistics very carefully. Here in Washington the state puts out a jobs growth forecast for different careers. DBA positions, according to the State of Washington, are a fast growing field. The forecast at least 4% growth in new positions over the next 4 or 5 years. Now comes the reality. The number of positions is so low, that a 4% growth in postions per year means that, in this state, there will be a total of 12 - 15 new jobs in 4 years. Yet the state of Washington says this is a field that is going to experience high job growth, and the same can be said for the statistics concerning network people. They categorize job growth by percentage, not number of jobs.

    What happens with these statistics? The companies and colleges training IT people take them and trumpet the headline: "Government forecasts say one of the fastest growing professions is that of DBA. Is it true? It's what the goverment stat said. Does it reflect reality? No. Who in their right mind would say an average of 3 or 4 new jobs a year for 4 or 5 years is high job growth in a state of several million people? Yet this is what is consistently quoted by all the training colleges and certification mills.

    Read with care people. Do research. Find out what the truth is. Don't believe the hype and sales pitches. Find out what the reality is. I just don't want to see what's happened to me happen to any more people. It's happened enough already. That's what these posts are all about.
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCDBA, CCNA, A+
    WIP: LPIC 1
  8. Weemez

    Weemez Kilobyte Poster

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    I understand completely what you are saying Ffreeloader and i respect your comments, its just the harsh reality of things isn't it.

    Its just daunting hearing stories like that as i do have a keen interest in the goals that i am trying to achieve, maybe i have started later in life that a lot of people but since i have been educating myself in this area i have found it a very enjoyable challenge.

    I wont try and kid anyone that i was born with a PC at my fingertips, it is an interest i developed later in life. With the work i did in the past (scaffolder) there was not the greatest of satasfaction in it. Being out of education for over 10 years then coming back into it i have found extremely satisfying, especialy as A+,N+,CCNA or whatever certs are complicated, maybe not to the expert but certainly for a beginner and overcoming these challenges are fantastic, but of course that is no good to any employer without the hard skills to back it up.

    Its a hard road, but so are many for so many types of job and i believe that if you can crack it and get there you will be good at what you do.

    I have certainly taken on board what you have said though ffreeloader. :thumbleft
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing A+ N+ ICND1
    WIP: ICND2
  9. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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    I agree. I have enjoyed the education part much more than when I was young. Then it was because I had to with no goals in front of me. Now it's because I want to, and it makes all the difference in the world.

    When I graduated from high school I had a gpa of around 3.5. I went back to school in 1981 and took a technical course in Industrial Maintenance Technology. I completed an AA in 6 quarters and graduated with a 4.0 gpa. I went back to school again in 2000 and once again I had a very good gpa. Only this time I got one A- so I didn't keep my 4.0 gpa. (I missed my A by 1 point.) I dropped out of that to start working in IT. I started this hands-on with my MCSE to come as I learned. Then my employer went backrupt and I just started working on the certs. I thought they were going to make the process of getting another job much easier. Whatta shock.

    Having goals and knowing why I am studying makes all the difference in the world. Sure wish I could have done this before I ruined my photographic memory with a decade of drug abuse. I lost my 20's somewhere in the 70's. :biggrin

    I would have really been something special then. Now I have to work hard to learn.
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCDBA, CCNA, A+
    WIP: LPIC 1
  10. zimbo
    Honorary Member

    zimbo Petabyte Poster

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    thats the situation here in cyprus.... 4 year degree (american colleges :( ) .... programmers (entry-level) even when you certified you need atleast a masters...
     
    Certifications: B.Sc, MCDST & MCSA
    WIP: M.Sc - Computer Forensics

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