The purpose of the Certified Ethical Hacker certification is to validate the credentials, background and intentions of a network security professional. These professionals have the knowledge and ability to breach the security of a target for malicious purposes but instead of using these abilities maliciously they use them to increase the security of a network. This article provides an overview of the Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH) certification, how it is structured and the steps that need to be followed to obtain it.

C|EH Certification Review

As stated in the overview, the purpose of the C|EH certification is to provide candidates a way of validating their abilities as well as their intentions. By obtaining the C|EH certification, a network professional can show prospective employers or clients that their intention is to use their abilities to increase the security of a system and/or network and not to decrease it. By having a formalized certification that can be offered to companies, the C|EH also establishes that hacker is not a term that is only associated with negative actions.

To obtain the C|EH certification, a candidate must pass the current version of the C|EH exam, as of this writing the current version is v8. The C|EHv8 exams consists of a proctored computer exam which contains 125 multiple choice questions which the candidate has 4 hours to complete and must obtain a score above 62% to pass. However, not just anyone can just go out and study and take the C|EH exam; before a candidate is allowed to schedule the exam they must be deemed eligible.

There are two ways to become eligible to take the C|EH exam:

1. Attend an official C|EH instructor led course, computer based training (CBT), online live training or academic learning

OR

2. Submit an eligibility form and be manually approved to take the exam, to be approved a candidate must:
   1. Have at least two years of information security related experience.
   2. Remit a $100 non-refundable eligibility application fee
   3. Submit a completed exam eligibility form.

C|EH Exam Layout

The C|EH exam is structured into seven different sections; I have listed them in order of weight (shown in %):

1.Tools/Systems/Programs (32%)

• NIDS, HIDS, ACL, DNS
• Programming and scripting languages
• Cryptography techniques
• Port scanning
• Network topologies
• Subnetting
• Routers, modems, switches
• Operating environments and antivirus systems and programs
• Log analysis tools
• Security models
• Exploitation tools

2. Security (25%)

• Network and physical security
• Biometrics
• Firewalls
• Threat modeling
• Systems security controls
• Application/file server
• Cryptography
• Verification procedures
• Social engineering
• Vulnerabilities

3. Procedures/Methodology (20%)

• Cryptography
• PKI, SA
• Security architecture and testing methodology
• N-tier application design

4. Analysis/Assessment (13%)

• Data analysis
• Systems analysis
• Risk assessments
• Technical assessment methods

5. Background (4%)

• Networking, web, systems, mobile, telecommunication technologies
• Malware operations
• Communication protocols
• Backups and archiving

6. Regulation/Policy (4%)

• Security policies and compliance (i.e. PCI)

7. Ethics (2%)

• Professional code of ethics and hacking appropriateness

Although ethics only represents 2% of the exam, the CEH code of ethics are extremely important and any violations are taken very seriously. Penalties for violating the code of ethics include decertification, suspension of certification and even the publication of infractions and litigation.

Summary

Whether the term hacker will ever be used by the larger population with both a positive and negative meaning will be seen over time. The C|EH certification provides a process of allowing these network security individuals to validate their abilities and their intention to use them for the good of a company or client.

A robust industry driven by competition and innovation, Information Technology has been dubbed as the next most relevant sector. In fact, leading IT research firm Gartner, Inc. is predicting that enterprises worldwide are set to spend some $2.7 trillion in IT come 2012, which indicates a 3.9 percent upsurge from the total investment of $2.6 trillion in the current year.

With IT becoming more and more valuable for businesses, it has become imperative for IT departments to invest in candidates who are able to contribute to overall business productivity. As such, the IT industry is keen on hiring people who are not merely IT qualified, but most importantly, IT certified.

What Does It Mean to Acquire An IT Certification?

Many industry leaders recognize that IT certification programs guarantee the competence of IT professionals, technically speaking. Contrary to common perception, certification examinations involve more than just an academic evaluation of an IT professional. Depending on the certifying organization, certification trainings and courses measure an applicant’s knowledge with specific methodologies.

Now more than ever, an IT professional’s job retention, salary maintenance, promotions or career improvement eligibility, and increased relevance in an ever-changing industry have been anchored on IT accreditations. From the perspective of organizations, IT certifications help make IT managers more discerning when hiring the competent, while ensuring minimization of downtime and effectively reducing costs, especially in an economy that is characterized by unprecedented turmoil.

A white paper from Microsoft Learning points out that employers are likely to evaluate candidates’ IT skills with inference to formal validation of their competencies through IT certification. As evidenced by an upsurge in IT certification requirements in service-oriented economies, the need for IT professionals to be certified has become more relevant than ever. Standard-based certification programs play a crucial role in developing a qualified workforce, and are seen to benefit employers, IT workforce and IT service consumers.

Concurring with the Microsoft study, CompTIA reveals in a recent survey that in their struggle to fill vacancies, IT companies are geared toward validating candidates’ skills through a peek at their IT credentials.

In fact, 64 percent of surveyed employers emphasize the high value of IT certifications for chances of hiring. IT managers regard IT certification as proof of possession of expertise and skills that enable prospective employees to identify complexities in technologies and readily address them. The CompTIA research further reveals that in the next two years, IT certification will increase in relevance.

Information Technology Certification Council and TechCertRegistry Clearinghouse

The Information Technology Certification Council was formed in 2007 as a “go-to” resource providing employers, workforce, academia, government officials and individuals with information on the benefits and importance of professional certification.

Essentially an assembly of industry leaders, the ITCC is aimed at driving IT certifications to grow, thereby ensuring that a highly qualified and certified IT workforce is able to support the sector and address the technology needs of the world. The council envisions a recognized authority for IT knowledge on professional certifications by pushing for industry best practices and emphasizing the value of IT certification. Current member companies include Microsoft, Kaplan, HP, Prometric, Cisco, IBM, Linux Professional Institute, Novell, and Pearson VUE.

Taking professional IT certification a step further, ITCC, in partnership with leading certification management and verification services provider and member company Integral7, Inc., has developed TechCertRegistry, a clearinghouse that allows users and organizations to manage IT certifications.

Utilizing a Universal ID that is recognized by testing providers and credential sponsors, TechCertRegistry takes the hassle off aggregating IT certifications from various vendors with one secure report. It works as a Web portal that aggregates and demonstrates credentials from a myriad of certification sponsors. By sending TechCertRegistry a request, users can send their IT certification transcript to a prospective employer.

The Benefits of the TechCertRegistry Clearinghouse

The stiff competition characterizing the IT jobs market makes professional certifications all the more critical in providing employers with information on a candidate’s skill sets; and when it comes to verifying an applicant’s qualifications, factoring-in IT certifications is a must. With TechCertRegistry Clearinghouse making the process timesaving and cost-effective, utilization of the platform may just make things easier.

Essentially, the TechCertRegistry consolidates and simplifies the otherwise complex method of gaining access to multiple vendor credentials. Through the Web-based ITCC Clearinghouse, employers seeking candidates save precious time in, and eliminate the manual process of accessing credentials of professionals certified in various IT fields.

In the same manner, TechCertRegistry also helps IT professionals in the management and administration of their certifications. The one-stop online center for handling their credentials, the clearinghouse allows IT job applicants to present their full portfolio to their employers and other parties, as may be required.

Much as it streamlines the method of managing and accessing multiple vendor credentials, the TechCertRegistry project is also an initiative to eradicate certification fraud.

It is not uncommon for companies to hear about, or even fall for, cheats who obtain IT credentials falsely. Certification Magazine, an online publication that delivers technical training and certification information, stresses how fraudulent credentials diminish the value of IT certification, which is considered the “trust foundation” in the IT sector. Having known that a certified IT candidate can potentially be a cheat, doubts can cloud a hiring manager’s impressions on an otherwise bona fide IT applicant.

By offering license verification as well as certification services, TechCertRegistry addresses the increasingly rampant false certification claims that are hounding IT businesses. As such, the Clearinghouse enables companies to electronically check and verify a candidate’s credentials, allowing them to make informed decisions when hiring, promoting or setting compensations in a timely manner.

Conversely, IT certified individuals can be confident that their certification – which genuinely speaks for the skills they possess to perform the IT job they are eyeing – is properly representing them and given the attention that it is due.

There are certainly a large number of topics that need to be studied to successfully ROUTE exam to help you better prepare for this portion of the 642-902 exam.

I hope that this article will give you some direction when studying IPv6 for the Cisco ROUTE exam. Let’s take a brief look at the main topics that you will have to be familiar with to be successful with the IPv6 material that is covered on the ROUTE exam.

IPv6 Address

The IPv6 address is a whole new beast compared to the much more familiar IPv4 address that has been used for the last 30 years; it is 128 bits, is notated in hex and just looks confusing. When studying for the ROUTE exam, it is very important to be familiar with the IPv6 address, its structure and how it can be notated; keep in mind a single IPv6 address can be notated a number of different ways using substitution and omission rules. Be familiar with all of these as questions will be asked about this specifically.

The other part of IPv6 addresses that will definitely be on the ROUTE exam is how to enable IPv6 routing and configuring IPv6 addresses (statically and dynamically). IPv6 addresses can be assigned in a number of ways including methods that are not provided with IPv4 (stateless autoconfiguration), make sure to be familiar with these for the exam.

IPv6 Address Types

If you’re familiar with IPv4, then you’re used to seeing unicast, multicast and broadcast address types. IPv6 makes use of the unicast and multicast address types in the same ways as IPv4; it does however differ in that it does not support broadcasts. The duties that have traditionally used the broadcast address type in IPv4 have been substituted either by directed unicast or the new Anycast address type. The Anycast address type is used to locate and use the closest device utilizing the anycast address.

Inside these three main address type categories there are also sub-types that a candidate must be familiar with including: Global Unicast Addresses, Link-Local Addresses, and Site-Local Addresses.

IPv6 Routing Protocols

Just as a candidate must be familiar with IPv4 routing protocols they must also be familiar with IPv6 routing protocols. Most of the concepts that have been learned for these protocol implementations using IPv4 are the same so learning the additional requirements for an IPv6 implementation should not be that much of a stretch. Make sure to reserve some amount of time to configure these concepts in a lab environment (or dynamips).

IPv4/IPv6 Address Transition

Part of a wider scale implementation of IPv6 is transitioning IPv4 networks to IPv6 and providing a communications method between IPv4 and IPv6 devices. There are a number of different methods that can be used to provide this capability; many of these are covered in the ROUTE exam. The following topics are covered on the exam; ensure a familiarity with the concepts and application (configuration) of these concepts.

• Dual Stack
• Manual IPv6 Tunnels
• GRE Tunnels
• 6to4 Tunnels
• IPv4 Compatible Tunnels
• ISATAP Tunnels
• NAT-PT

Summary

Hopefully, the content in this article will help you get a good direction when studying for the IPv6 portion of the Cisco ROUTE exam. Keep in mind that while there is a lot of material covered on this exam, it is an achievable task and can be completed successfully.

So what’s the latest in VMware certification? Let’s find out!

VMware VCP5

Since I posted my update about the deadline to upgrade to the VCP5, the buzz about it has increased. Numerous VMware bloggers have posted their exam experiences (see VCP5 exam reviews from Scott Vessey and vPrimer) and free test preparation tools have become available (see Simon Long’s VCP5 practice exams). I will soon be posting my exam experience as well.

If you have a VCP4 you have until February 29, 2012 to upgrade to the VCP5 or you will have to, basically, start all over again, take a VMware Education class, and then take the VCP5 exam. By upgrading your certification before February, you could save thousands of dollars and a week out of work to take the required class.

What should you do? I recommend preparing for the exam now so you’ll be ready to go before February 29. The best VCP5 study resources include my vSphere 5 video training course, Scott Lowe’s book on Mastering vSphere 5, and the links listed here.

VMware VCP-Desktop (VCP-DT)

A great new certification, now out of beta, is the VCP-Desktop (VCP-DT). This certification covers your knowledge of VMware View and ThinApp. It doesn’t require any VMware education courses but it does require that you have a VMware VCP (which does require a VMware Ed course).

You would think that VMware would make the VCA-DT the sole requirement for the VCP-DT but they didn’t. Strangely enough, you don’t even have to take the VCA-DT to achieve the VCP-DT. Plus, the current versions of any of these desktop virtualization certs are based on vSphere 4 and View 4 with version 5 on the way. Oh well, no matter how it is structured, TrainSignal has great training for any of these options!

Currently in progress, we have an all new VMware View 5 Administration course. This course will replace our current VMware View 4 Administration course but we are starting from scratch and making this course “new and improved” instead of just updating the course. To start off with, we’ll have two VMware vExperts who have certs like triple VCP, VCAP, and even VCDX. The instructors are Lane Leverett and Brian Knudtson. Lane is the co-author of our vSphere Security course and Brian is the author of our View 4 Administration course. I am really looking forward to watching this one!

Upcoming VMware Beta Exams

With vSphere 5 and View 5 already being released, you may be wondering what about new exams and video training based around those versions. Of course, we already said that the VCP5 exam is available however, that is currently the only VMware certification based on vSphere 5 or View 5, to date. I am expecting that in the first quarter of 2012 there will be at least some beta news about VMware certs that cover vSphere 5 and View 5, but I don’t have any specific news. I encourage you to sign up for our Newsletter because as soon as new exams become available, I will post about them here and include info in our Newsletter.

Be on the lookout for certifications like VCAP-DCA 5, DCD 5, VCA-DT 5, and VCP-DT 5. As soon as the certifications are in beta, we will get to work on a correlating video training course and help you to prepare for the exams, as well as help you to prepare to be an admin in the real world. By the way, the View 5 training course that we will have out soon will be based around View 5 so it will already be up to date.

What Should You Do?

During the time that exams and courses change revisions, many people wonder what they should be studying and preparing for. My recommendation is:

1. Get your VCP5
2. If you already have your VCAP, begin learning vSphere 5 to be prepared to upgrade your VCAP (or get a new VCAP, based on vSphere 5)
3. Begin learning cloud computing by trying out the evaluation of vCloud Director 5 in your lab

Questions about VMware certification? Ask me here!

The aim of Apple certifications is to help individual deepen their knowledge and facilitate effective implementation and usage of Apple products and technologies. Students, computer technicians, innovative professionals and educators are the major beneficiaries of these certifications.

Why Apple Certifications?

Certain qualifications can make you stand out in today’s highly competitive job market and Apple Certified Professionals (ACPs) have a definite edge over non-ACPs. Possessing an Apple certification makes it easier for hiring managers to identify that you have the right skills and knowledge for the job. Whether you are a freelance consultant or an IT professional at a big company, an Apple certification will open many doors for you and may be just the difference maker that saves your resume from entering the shredder.

Apple Study Materials and Training

There are multiple options on how to obtain an Apple certification. Apple provides study materials to all applicants for a small fee. Regular coaching/tutoring and study material is also available at any of the Apple Authorized Training Centers. For the majority of the programs, books are also available on the market. Apart from these alternatives, you also can seek help from any of the privately held coaching centers. Study material is also available online for free. Numerous dedicated discussion forums also provide an excellent support group while preparing for any of the exams or just the exam. Do not worry, you are not the only one committed to this and you are not the first one to attempt this venture.

Apple Exam Logistics: Who, Where and How Much

Anyone can appear for the certification examination and become an ACP. There are no age, educational, or experience limitations (Apple does not discriminate against anyone). However, some higher level certification examinations may require some prerequisites, such as passing the necessary primary level certification courses with Apple. The proper order for the Apple certifications is listed and explained down below. Makeup exams are allowed only after one week has passed.

Those of you who want to appear for an Apple certification exam can register for a slot at any of the Apple Authorized Training Centers or Prometric Testing Centers. Depending on the availability of open spaces, you either can take the exam immediately, or you may have to wait a couple of weeks.

For Beta exams, anyone can appear to take this test for free. For certification exams, the fees are in the range of $65 to $200. This may change from one region, city, or state to another.

Apple Certification Programs

Apple’s certification programs are categorized as follows:

1. Mac OS X Certification

a. Apple Certified Associate (ACA) – This program enables you to integrate Mac’s in Windows or any other network; anyone who wants to know how to fully utilize conventional services such as file sharing, directory services, and resource sharing on a Mac and how to integrate these services in a different type of network.

b. Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) – After passing this exam, you will be in a superior position to better understand the core functionalities of the Mac OS, and to troubleshoot any problems associated with network integration on a Mac; ideal for technical support professionals, technical coordinators, and power-users.

c. Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC) – This certification is meant for professionals who wish to setup and administer Mac OS based networks. Establishing and fabricating Mac OS servers, troubleshooting problems associated with the network are some of the key skills acquired; ideal for technical coordinators and system administrators. You must be ACSP certified to be able to take this exam.

d. Apple Certified Specialist (ACS) – This certification is meant only for advanced technical professionals who wish to specialize in deployment, directory management services, and the security and mobility of Mac networks. Having qualified for the ACTC is a must before engaging this exam.

e. Apple Certified System Administrator (ACSA) – This is the ultimate certification as far as Mac OS is concerned. Once armed with this certification, you will be able to setup networks, customize them according to the needs of the client, design network architectures, troubleshoot basic to high level problems. Do not get ahead of yourself; you will not be equal to the late Steve Jobs, though you may be an Apple Jedi Knight.

2. Xsan Certification

This certification is geared towards network integration rather than focusing on the Mac OS. Once certified, you will be better equipped to configure systems, maintain networks made up entirely of Mac’s or a few Mac’s in a different network, customize and troubleshoot network services, and design a network. The study of the SAN file system is another focal point of this certification. The exam is available in multiple languages including – Chinese (simplified or traditional), French, German, Japanese, Spanish, and Russian.

3. Professional Applications Certifications

Media and creative professionals who are Apple certified are in great demand in the media and entertainment industry. These certifications are especially meant for such professionals. As the product suites made by Apple are considered standards in the media industry, anyone looking to break the ice in this highly competitive industry is encouraged to procure one of these certifications. There are three tiered exams and can be summarized as follows:

a. Apple Certified Associate (ACA) – Meant for entry level professionals. The exam can be taken online.

b. Apple Certified Pro (ACP) – Level One – Designed for mid-level professionals who want to enhance their proficiency in a particular product suite. Can be taken only after completion of the ACA certification.

c. Apple Certified Pro (ACP) – Level Two – People who want to demonstrate themselves as masters of a particular product suite are encouraged to take this exam. Only ACP – Level One certificate holders are qualified to take this exam.

4. Apple Certified Macintosh Certification

This certification program is meant for techies who are more interested in hardware rather than OSs or networks. An Apple Certified Macintosh Technician can repair and troubleshoot hardware problems associated with Mac PCs and/or laptops.

Benefits of Apple Certifications

So what can you do after becoming Apple certified?

Besides updating your resume, (which you probably have been salivating to do) all ACPs are eligible to join the Apple Consultants Network which is comprised of independent professionals and firms that specialize in providing custom third party solutions to businesses. It need not be reiterated that Apple Certified Professionals are highly sought after and climb the career ladder more swiftly than non-ACPs. How high you climb, most of the time, is in your control.

Cloud computing has stirred a massive curiosity in the marketplace, catching the attention of consumers, vendors and analysts. A myriad of online reviews, opinions and articles have attempted to define, explain, praise, ridicule and sell the cloud concept – proof positive of how it has surfaced as a phenomenon in the business circle.

However, questions and concerns surrounding the cloud concept remain hovering. Cloud service providers and consumers alike are still looking for exact ways to ideally respond to issues or expectations, and address the most pressing concerns hounding cloud security. Nevertheless, businesses struggling to keep up with increasing data storage demands are seeing how the cloud offers a viable solution.

A report from leading information technology research and advisory company Gartner, Inc. puts emphasis on how enterprises are turning into post-modern businesses by leveraging the trends of the current era – cloud computing in particular. More than just providing vendors with cost-savings, cloud-based platforms are headed for an enterprise adoption boom, and are predicted to play a key role in customizing services so they respond better to customer needs.

Why Get Cloud Certified?

Owing to the widespread adoption of the cloud, the need for the development of cloud computing standards is becoming apparent. There is a continuing clamor for cloud-focused training programs targeting service providers or vendors, operations professionals in the enterprise, as well as systems integrators who are tasked to navigate, deploy and operate cloud platforms.

Skills of IT professionals who are directed toward cloud technologies can have a huge impact on an existing infrastructure. There is therefore a need to require these pros to develop and enhance their cloud computing skills, and become bona fide professionals fit for cloud-based jobs. Conversely, companies’ high interest in the cloud warrants the building of staff capabilities to keep them ready for the change and maintain their relevance.

Companies aiming to reap the benefits that cloud computing offers need to have well-educated and highly-trained IT professionals on board. Needless to say, technical certifications equate with gaining a spectrum of advantages: better pay for professionals who want to move up the ladder and better prestige for the company, which all boils down to better business with cloud utilization.

Cloud Certification Options

Generally, IT professionals are expected to be prepared for a multitude of cloud tasks and environments that they may find themselves targeting. With the advanced cloud technology still relatively new, companies can expect new paths to emerge – for which it pays to enhance the skills of their workforce.

In the last few years, technical trainings on the different facets of cloud computing have come in numerous specializations.

A pioneer in cloud certification courses and training, IBM has been introducing a series of cloud certification courses starting in 2008. From its Big Blue program, IBM is now offering Professional Certification to allow skilled professionals in the IT world to show their expertise; assess their skills; validate their knowledge; and demonstrate proficiency in cloud computing using IBM products and solutions.

Believing that cloud technology opens doors to new opportunities while impacting existing enterprise roles, Microsoft Learning provides avenues for IT professionals specializing in the cloud to build and enhance their skills through cutting-edge technology. Serving Microsoft partners worldwide, Microsoft Learning showcases an array of cloud computing certification courses central to Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS).

Another player in the e-certification arena, the cloud training course from The Art of Service, a leading provider of worldwide IT education, has developed its Cloud Computing Foundation Program to help IT professionals take that step to become cloud computing managers.

On the other hand, CA 3Tera offers cloud certification programs through instruction and hands-on labs. The courses from CA 3Tera Cloud Training cover basic cloud concepts, best practices, automation and advanced technologies.

Re-skilling cloud experts in the enterprise, Cloud Security Alliance presents the Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge. Essentially catering to security professionals, the CCSK program is aimed toward an improved understanding of the challenges besetting cloud security. It also cites industry best practices to pave the way for an increased trust in the utilization of cloud services.

CloudSchool, a leading provider of vendor-neutral cloud computing training courses, offers the Cloud Certified Professional or CCP, a collection of courses for professionals who want to successfully deploy the facets of the cloud platform. With emphasis on the different fields of specialization, CloudSchool certifications apply to all vendors.

CompTIA is offering Cloud Essentials, a specialty certification that demonstrates the degree of a professional’s knowledge of the cloud computing concept from technical and business perspectives. Essentially about moving to and governance of the cloud, the CompTIA Cloud Essentials involves an examination that specifically tackles network configuration, business continuity, system integration, connectivity, and basic troubleshooting.

International organization Cloud Credential Council was formed with an aim to drive alignment for the cloud computing domain. CCC is comprised of leaders in the cloud computing arena, with a membership base that spans across vendors, associations, professional organizations and certification groups from across the globe.

Independent and vendor-neutral, CCC focuses on individual as well as organizational certification and training to benefit members, be it in their business-to-business goals contacts or the professional development of their staff.

While not specifically required in all, training candidates who have IT experience and direct involvement in IT responsibilities or decision-making are deemed to benefit more from each cloud certification and training course.

While requiring additional investments for companies and individuals, opting for cloud certification courses is a jumpstart to excellence in overall cloud strategy, and the development of real-world cloud computing proficiency.

So, how do you make sense of it all? How do you know which certification is right for you? How can you get a start with a career in Microsoft technologies?

In this free webinar presented by Ed Liberman, a Microsoft Certified Trainer with over 20 years of experience in the IT field, you will learn about the different Microsoft certification options for IT professionals and why getting certified will help you launch your career in IT.

Update: Erika Cravens, Certification Strategy Product Manager at Microsoft Learning, will be joining us live to talk about some of the changes that will be occurring in future Microsoft exams and answer your certification related questions.

Join Us For: Getting Started with a Microsoft Certified Career

Date: Tuesday, November 15^th 2011
Time: 12 PM – 1 PM CDT

Register: Registration now open

Today’s competitive job market demands validation of skills and getting certified is the best way to show prospective employers that you have what it takes to do the job. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and get advice from a Microsoft Certified Trainer who has helped thousands of students start and advance their careers through Microsoft certifications.

Ed has a deep understanding of Microsoft certifications, how they have evolved over the years and how IT professionals can take advantage of the certification process to learn, grow and advance their careers. And he’s here to help you do just that.

About the Trust

Since VMworld 2010, vCommunity Trust has been raising funds to help professionals earn their VCP who cannot afford the training, equipment or certification costs due to financial hardship. This includes people who are unenmployed, have medical problems in the family or personally, or who come from an underprivileged community. Qualified applicants with financial need enter the vTrust Certification and Training Program with the goal of passing the VCP exam while continuing the Trust’s mission. The Trust doesn’t want to limit themselves to just the VCP, either. Their prospects for the future include a plan to set up opportunities for individuals to gain experience with operating systems, security, storage, and networking.

The Trust’s volunteer team wants to expose young students interested in IT to equipment and concepts before they enter the job world. The organization is pushing efforts to establish datacenter training labs in public schools in disadvantaged communities. The vTrust Datacenter Training for Public Schools Program will depend on support from individuals and businesses that can identify opportunities in their respective regions.

Donate

vCommunity Trust accepts support in the form of monetary donations, VMware Training Credits, software licensing, hardware, and laptops. Read more on how to spread the word and make a donation here.

For more information on the organization, programs, data center certifications and how you can get involved, visit vCommunityTrust.org or follow @vCommunityTrust on Twitter.

Registrations Now Open for VMware vSphere 5 Certification

VMware recently announced that registrations for the new VCP5 certification (VMware Certified Professional on vSphere 5) are now open. If you already hold a VCP4 certification, you’re able to simply take the new exam to get certified for vSphere 5. However, if you hold an older certification or are not yet VCP certified, you’ll need to meet a few prerequisites in order to take the new exam. Here’s a graphic from VMware to help you map out your path to earning your VCP5 certification.

As you can see, if you already hold a VCP4 certification, you can simply take the “VMware vSphere: What’s New [V5]” course, which will prepare you for the changes made in the new VCP5 exam. If you do not currently hold a VMware certification, you can take the “VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V5]” course which will prepare you for the exam. Finally, if you’ve completed a VCP4 course, but have yet to take the VCP4 exam, you can continue on to take the “VMware vSphere: What’s New [V5]” course and take the VCP5 exam.

Of course, I always recommend using more than one method of studying and training for exams, so you might want to take a look at the TrainSignal vSphere 5 training that was recently released.

New MCPD Certification

Mobile app development and use is on the rise and Microsoft is looking to certify app developers who have what it takes to develop using their technology. The new Windows Phone Developer MCPD is now available. To earn the certification, you’ll be required to pass the following three exams:

• 70-506 – TS: Silverlight 4, Development
• 70-516 – TS: Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework
• 70-599 – PRO: Designing and Developing Windows Phone Applications

There are a few important things to note while working towards the certification. First, as you’ll notice above, the 70-599 exam is still relatively new, so the scores may not be processed right away. Second, because this is a new certification, the title will not show up on your transcript until late September of 2011. Lastly, mobile technologies change quickly, so you’ll be expected to recertify every two years in order to keep up with the quickly evolving platforms.

New Microsoft Office Specialist Certification

SharePoint 2010 (77-886) has been added to the MOS 2010 line of certifications. According to Microsoft Learning, candidates for the exam are users who provide structure for information, extend out-of-the-box site features, solve business problems through composite applications, and facilitate collaboration with other site users. The following domains will be included in the exam (percentages are not provided):

• Creating and Formatting Content
• Managin SharePoint Site
• Participating in User Communities
• Configuring and Consuming Site Search Results
• Integrating SharePoint 2010 Services and Microsoft Office 2010 Applications

For more information on the exam, please visit the Microsoft Learning exam page.

New MCP Certification

The Microsoft Certified Professional exam, Designing and Developing Windows Phone Applications has been released and is now available in Prometric testing centers. According to Microsoft Learning, candidates for the 70-599 exam are typically independent software vendors or developers who design and develop applications for the Windows Phone platform. Candidates should also have knowledge of and experience with the following:

• Windows Phone 7
• Silverlight
• C# or Visual Basic
• Microsoft .NET
• Mobile Application Design and Development

For more information on the exam, please visit the Microsoft Learning website, and to register for the exam, visit the Prometric website.

Open Office Certifications Retired

After Oracle discontinued (official/commercial) development of the Open Office suite of applications following the creation of LibreOffice (a community-based project aimed at being open source and vendor-neutral), Open Office certifications became irrelevant. As such, all Open Office certifications have been listed as “Discontinued” on Oracle’s website. It is not yet clear if or when Oracle (or any other certification vendors) will create new certifications for the new community driven project.

It is important to remember, however, that neither of the two projects officially ended. Both may continue to release updates to their software. Oracle has simply discontinued commercial development and retired the certifications, but as it is open source, community driven updates are still likely.

Earning College Credit with a Microsoft Certification

Are you in college while looking to earn a Microsoft certification? You might be in luck. The American Council for Education (ACE) has recommended the allowance of college credits for earning select Microsoft certifications. While ACE maintains a large network of over 1,500 colleges and universities that have agreed to consider Microsoft certifications as college credit recommendations, it’s important to note that each college or university retains the right to accept (or deny) credit recommendations as they see fit. If you’re planning on earning a Microsoft certification, contact the institution you attend to find out about their policy on accepting certifications for college credits.

For more information on participating colleges and universities, you should visit the ACE website where you’ll find an alphabetical list of participating institutions. To acquire an ACE transcript, visit the Microsoft Learning website to enroll and submit your exams for verification. Finally, to find out what certifications will earn you college credit, you can view the full list here. Certification credit offerings range from one to six college credits per qualifying certification.

New 2011 CompTIA Security+ Exam

Back in November, I wrote about the new CompTIA Security+ exam objectives (2011, SY0-301) to be released this year. That time has come and the 2011 version of the exam is live and available at testing centers. As reported earlier, the topics in the new exam remain the same. You’ll notice an emphasis on threats and vulnerabilities, and there are plenty of new buzzwords and attack types to recognize when studying for the exam.

Here is a quick topics comparison between the 2008 and 2011 exams:

The official specifications for the new revision aren’t too different from before. There are 100 questions, with 90 minutes given to complete the test. You’ll need a score of 750 or higher (on a scale of 100-900) to earn the certification.

This is the first update to the exam since 2008, which is odd for a security-based certification. However, if you’ve been studying for the 2008 exam and aren’t ready to take the 2011 exam just yet, you will have until the end of the year to earn your Security+ certification through the 2008 version of the exam (SY0-201) before it’s fully retired.

You can read more about the update in CompTIA’s June press release: Updated CompTIA Security+ Exam Reflects Changes in IT Security Landscape.

Additionally, I’ve been informed that TrainSignal is in the process of developing a new version of Security+ training (available later this year) which will cover the new SY0-301 exam objectives.

Microsoft Exams Retiring

A lot of exams have been retired and refreshed this year, and it doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. Microsoft has just announced the names of 18 exams to retire this year, and 4 exams to retire in early 2012.

The following is a list of discontinued exams according to the Microsoft Learning site:

Microsoft Exams Retiring on September 30, 2011:

• Exam 70-282: Planning, Deploying, and Managing a Network Solution for the Small and Medium-Sized Business
• Exam 70-403: TS: System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Configuring
• Exam 70-652: TS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring
• Exam MB6-502: AX 4.0 Product Builder
• Exam MB6-503: AX 4.0 Installation and Configuration
• Exam MB6-504: AX 4.0 Project Series
• Exam MB6-506: AX 4.0 Questionnaire
• Exam MB6-507: AX 4.0 Financials
• Exam MB6-508: AX 4.0 Development Introduction
• Exam MB6-509: AX 4.0 Trade and Logistics
• Exam MB6-510: AX 4.0 Human Resource Management
• Exam MB6-511: AX 4.0 Production
• Exam MB6-512: AX 4.0 Enterprise Portal Development
• Exam MB6-513: AX 4.0 MorphX Solution Development

Microsoft Exams Retiring on October 31, 2011:

• Exam 74-924: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 – U.C. Voice Specialization

Microsoft Exams Retiring on December 31, 2011:

• Exam 74-544 (70-544): TS: Bing Maps Platform, Application Development
• Exam MB6-285: Axapta 3.0 Sales and Marketing
• Exam MB6-291: Axapta 3.0 Shop Floor Control

Microsoft Exams Retiring on May 31, 2012:

• Exam 74-404: Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 – U.C. Voice Specialization

Microsoft Exams Retiring on June 30, 2012:

• Exam 70-579: TS: Windows Mobile 6.5, Configuring
• Exam 70-580: TS: Windows Mobile 6.5, Application Development
• Exam 70-625: Connected Home Integrator

For more information on discontinued Microsoft exams, as well as new and beta exams, see Microsoft Learning.

Cisco CCDE Practical Exam Registrations Underway

The Cisco Learning Network has started accepting registrations for the Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE) practical exam and will continue to accept them until October 7th, 2011. The exam date will be Friday, October 21, 2011. The exam cost is $1,400 (USD) and you are required to have passed the CCDE qualification exam prior to registering for the Practical Exam. The Cisco CCDE certification exams are offered only a few times per year, so if you are planning to take the exam, you should probably register sooner rather than later.

For more information on the Cisco CCDE Practical Exam, please visit Cisco Learning Network and be sure to carefully look over the registration steps, prerequisites, and cancellation policies before registering. For more information on the CCDE certification see Cisco.com.

VMware Certified Professional 4 – Desktop Exam Open for Registrations

The VMware Certified Professional 4 – Desktop (VCP4-DT) is open for registration, and a $50 discount will be applied for those who register before September 1st, 2011. In order to qualify to take the exam, you must first attain the VCA4-DT and hold a current VCP certification. According to VMware, the exam is aimed at Virtualization Systems Engineers who are able to configure the vSphere environment, and who possess a deep understanding of VMware core components.

For more information on the VCP4-DT exam, requirements, and preparedness recommendations, please visit mylearn.vmware.com. For details on the new Desktop Virtualization Certifications from VMware take a look at this post from vExpert David Davis.

MCTS: Forefront Identity Manager 2010, Configuring Exam Now in Beta

Beta invitations have been announced for the new MCTS (71-158) Forefront Identity Manager 2010, Configuring exam and the tests are now available at Prometric testing centers. The beta exam period runs until August 4, 2011 and if passed, will be added to your transcript and you will not have to retake the exam when it is officially released.

It is important to note that there are no Microsoft-issued preparation materials at this time, so you should have quite a bit of hands-on experience using Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager 2010 (FIM 2010) before attempting the exam.

To view a list of skills measured and topics covered, visit the 70-158 exam page on the Microsoft Learning website. To register for the exam, you’ll need to visit the Prometric website or call (800) 755-3926.

CWNP Offers Free Exam Retakes

Following the success of last year’s free retakes, CWNP, Inc. recently announced the return of free retakes on all CWNP exams. The free retakes will be available until August 31st, 2011 should you fail to pass an exam before then. As long as you took the original exam before August 31st, you will be eligible to receive a free retake voucher.

For details on how to take advantage of this promotion, you can visit the Free Retake promo page at cwnp.com.

CompTIA Looking for Subject Matter Experts

CompTIA has expanded the request for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for not only the Storage+ certification, but also A+, Security+, Network+, and CDIA+ certifications.

SMEs are often called upon to ensure certifications remain up to date and relevant. As an SME, you’ll be called upon to work with the CompTIA staff to create and review exam items associated with the exam’s specific topics, skills needed, and best practices. According to the press release, those who participate are rewarded with a stipend, a CompTIA voucher, a CompTIA shirt, and breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner on some meeting days. However, these benefits may not all apply for those who participate in remote workshops.

The SME workshops currently scheduled are as follows:

• July 18-22 – CompTIA Network+ Workshop
• August 15-19 – CompTIA A+ Workshop (Job Task Analysis)
• September 12-16 – CompTIA Security+ Workshop
• September 19-23 – CompTIA A+ Workshop (Item Writing)
• October 3-7 – CompTIA CDIA+ Workshop
• October 17-21 – CompTIA Storage+ Powered by SNIA

For more information on becoming a CompTIA Subject Matter Expert, please visit CompTIA’s Exam Development page.

While this certification does take a large focus on the Orion NPM, it’s important to note that while holding this certificate may be beneficial in the hiring process if you’ll be working with the Orion NPM, it does not certify you on Orion products specifically. This certificate will however certify your knowledge and skills in network management fundamentals, planning, operations, fault troubleshooting, and performance troubleshooting.

Is the SCP Certification Right For You?

The SCP certification is not for everyone. While the exam is extremely streamlined and has very specific topics for study, it also bases questions and materials on the assumption of a high-level of experience and expertise. This exam is in no way an entry-level exam and should not be viewed as such, by both employers and candidates studying to take the exam. The SolarWinds site even goes as far as to note that most successful exam-takers already hold multiple industry-recognized certifications from networking hardware or software vendors (such as Cisco, for example.)

According to Josh Stephens, VP of Technology at SolarWinds, the SCP certification is aimed at validating the skills of Network Engineers and Network Managers. Furthermore, SolarWinds outlines typical successful candidates as IT professionals with several years experience in network management. Candidates should also have experience deploying and using Orion NPM on a corporate or government network. This means you would have a moderate to high level of expertise in being able to identify and resolve network issues and performance trends.

What Do You Need to Know to Get SCP Certified

The SCP exam covers five major topics; you’ll be tested on:

• network management fundamentals,
• network management planning,
• network management operations,
• network fault and performance troubleshooting,
• Orion NPM Administration, which includes pretty much every aspect of using Orion NPM.

The topics are a bit vague, but luckily, the SCP Exam Prep Guide goes over each topic in detail and gives you specific subjects you’ll need to study for the exam.

The exam itself is administered by Prometric. The cost of the exam varies based on your location, but for the United States and most other countries, a $150 charge to take the exam is typical. You can verify your county’s specific pricing on the SolarWinds page at the Prometric website.

The question formats are, for the most part, situational. In many cases, you’ll be presented with specific situations and circumstances, followed by a multiple-choice question. Here is an example of a question in the Network Management Fundamentals section of the exam.

A network engineer has been asked to monitor an Object Identifier (OID) using a custom poller. The custom poller does not seem to be working, so the engineer takes a packet capture from the router in question.

To best filter the capture data and determine if the router is sending information about that OID, what would the engineer filter on?

A. destination IP address of the network management system (NMS) and port 162
B. destination IP address of the router and port 161
C. destination IP address of the network management system (NMS) and port 161
D. destination IP address of the router and port 162

SolarWinds Certified Professional Exam Topics

Here’s an overview of everything the SCP exam covers, referenced directly from the SCP Exam Prep Guide v1.1.

Network Management Fundamentals

• Use and explain network management protocols (e.g. SNMP, SNMP Traps, Syslog, ICMP, NetFlow, etc.)
• Leverage MIBs, OIDs, and WMI performance counters to diagnose and troubleshoot network problems.

Network Management Planning

• Translate business requirements into monitoring needs, thresholds, and Orion NPM configurations.
• Design a reporting system that meets the needs of the various stakeholders.
• Determine monitoring scope and impact on the network.
• Determine the impact of network topology on monitoring.

Network Management Operations

• Enable devices for network management.
• Determine future capacity requirements.
• Define, monitor, and report on SLAs.

Network Fault & Performance Troubleshooting

• Detect and verify network faults.
• Determine the scope of the network fault.
• Collect and analyze network monitoring data to determine the cause of a network fault.
• Detect and verify performance issues.
• Determine the scope of the performance issue.
• Collect and analyze network monitoring data to determine the cause of the performance issue.

Orion NPM Administration

• Manage accounts in Orion NPM.
• Discover and manage network elements (e.g. nodes, interfaces, volumes) using Orion NPM.
• Configure and use the Orion NPM Universal Device Poller (UnDP).
• Create and run standard and customized Orion NPM reports.
• Configure an Orion NPM alert and verify the logic.
• Configure and manage Syslog and SNMP Traps.
• Customize Orion web console.
• Customize Orion NPM custom properties, views, and menu bars.
• Create and maintain Orion NPM maps.
• Scale Orion NPM and optimize its performance.
• Identify the ways in which Orion NPM can integrate with other management products.
• Explain the technical capabilities and limitations of each Orion module.
• Leverage the expertise and custom resources on thwack.

What Happens if You Don’t Pass the SCP Exam?

If you don’t pass the SCP exam on your first try, you must wait at least five business days before you can retake the exam. If you fail the exam three times, you must contact certifications@solarwinds.com before attempting another retake.

What Should You Use to Study for the SCP Exam?

There are quite a few ways you can prepare yourself for the SCP exam. First off, if you haven’t already done so, you’ll probably want to browse around the SolarWinds website and the associated SCP Program Summary. You can also visit the SolarWinds Learning Center, where you’ll find several webcasts on each major topic covered on the exam.

You’ll also want to join the Thwak community (registration is required to download study materials) where SolarWinds and other members upload educational materials, and most importantly, the SCP Preparation Guide, that I mentioned earlier.

Finally, you’ll want to get some hands-on experience with the Orion Network Performance Monitor (NPM) and you can do that with a free 30 day trail of the product available for download on the SolarWinds site.

If you have any questions or comments about the SCP program, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Thanks for reading, and good luck on becoming a SolarWinds Certified Professional!

Of course, the need for technology, and the people who support it, didn’t disappear, but with a recession in progress and tech-companies shedding professionals faster than anyone else was taking them on led to job losses, lower salaries, and the elimination of raises. Many IT gurus found themselves out of work, and when they found new jobs, they were working for a lower salary than they used to have. Even the short-lived recovery fueled by the housing bubble did little to reverse the stagnation in IT.

Lately, however, it seems that things are looking up for IT professionals. Back then, my colleague’s reply to my concern about the future stability of IT was, “companies will always need technology.” While no one anticipated the long-trough in IT professionals demand, he wasn’t wrong, and it looks like IT pros are on the way up again.

Are IT Salaries Rising in 2011?

The anecdotal evidence of an IT recovery is easy to come by. Google paid out big bonuses and 10 percent raises to keep the likes of Facebook and other Silicon Valley startups from raiding their employees.  What’s more, the company announced that it would hire more workers this year than ever before. Other Valley companies are expanding, buying, and building facilities. LinkedIn updates emails are flooding inboxes. In IT, as Silicon Valley goes, so goes the industry.

Harder numbers come from a slew of recent research and salary surveys.

A recent Information Week cover story about its U.S. IT Salary Survey includes a graphic with a bumper sticker that proclaims, “I Survived The Great Pay Freeze.” It goes on to note that the “hot” skillsets have changed, but the overall demand for IT professionals is picking up, and salaries are slowly picking up.

A recent Dice.com report states that there are more job openings in a single day on the site than there are computer science graduates, a situation it called “America’s Tech Talent Crunch.”

On the ManopwerGroup’s 2011 Talent Shortage Survey IT Professionals now rank as the 8^th most difficult position for employers to fill, after not even making the list in 2010.

However, it isn’t all roses. The 2011 Global Knowledge / TechRepublic salary report concludes that IT is seeing uneven job growth and recovery, with lower average salaries.  ComputerWorld’s 2011 Salary Survey reports an increase in total average compensation, but that increase is low, just 1.4 percent. The report goes on to say that more than half of the respondents said they were “significantly affected” by budget cuts and heavier workloads during 2010.

The uneven growth suggests that the IT industry is at the very beginning of a recovery. Across the board growth doesn’t happen until a full recovery is well underway. It all adds up to a great opportunity for IT professionals to make some forward progress in their careers, IF they have the right skills, that is.

High-Demand IT Skills

One way to make an IT professional more marketable, is moving to one of the areas seeing high demand. The Dice report suggests that California and Texas have the highest imbalance in available IT positions and talent. Of course, all the demand in the world is meaningless, if you don’t have the skills people are looking for.

IT professionals looking to move up to those higher-paying IT jobs need to be sure that their skills are up to date, and in demand. For developers, that means adding new languages and keeping up on the latest advances in their current skills. For systems administrators, it means bolstering traditional client-server support skills with newer skillsets like virtualization, collaboration, and cloud-focused technologies. For database administrators, ensuring that your skills and certifications reflect current versions is paramount.

Getting Back Into IT

The toughest maneuver to pull off these days may be getting a high-level IT job back. Many IT pros have significant periods of lower-level employment or unemployment on their resumes now. The jobs that laid off professionals took to get by during the recent IT drought may actually be hurting their chances at better employment now.

Employers are quick to look at the most recent employment list on a resume and assume that the current job is a logical progression from previous employment. That means, a former senior-level systems engineer at a Fortune 100 company who took a job as an administrator at a local company might not get the look he deserves for a higher-level position.

Updating your IT resume and ensuring that it highlights expert skills rather than job history is one way to help overcome the drag of a couple of place-holder jobs. Another way to highlight top-level skills is by upgrading IT certifications. That MCSE may have been the shiny, new, gold-standard, of Microsoft certification a few years ago, but employers are finally starting to come around to the new Microsoft certifications the company pushed out a while ago. The good news is that many high-level professionals find obtaining sought-after computer certifications is relatively easy with some quality IT training and self-study.

IT professionals willing to put the work and effort into updating not only the quality of their skills, but also how those skills are presented to a potential employer will be the ones to reap the rewards at the beginning of this IT resurgence. For the others, this uneven beginning to what is hopefully a long run of prosperity will have them waiting for at least another year or two.

Here are a few resources to get you started on updating your skills, certifications and resume:

• How to optimize your work history section on your IT resume
• IT certification guides and information for Microsoft, Cisco, VMware and more
• Tutorials and videos to help you update your skills

We’ll also examine Microsoft’s new Virtual Academy site and CompTIA’s new certification resource site. Other news updates this month include price increases on Microsoft exams and an expiration date extension for 11 Oracle beta exams.

Price Increases Announced for Microsoft Certification Exams

If you’re planning to take any Microsoft exams in the near future, you might want to schedule them sooner rather than later. Microsoft recently announced that pricing on all exams will increase on July 1, 2011. Here are the new exam prices for US residents:

• Standard Pricing: From $125 to $150
• Student Pricing: From $60 to $83 (available to High School, College or University students enrolled in a degree or diploma program)

If you live in another country, you can use the pricing calculator to see the new exam prices in your area. Please note: The price changes in India are effective August 1, 2011.

According to Microsoft, the new fee structure reflects the significant value that certifications provide, as well as the new exam enhancements being adopted such as updates, exam security, new question types, etc.

It’s also important to note that all exam vouchers issued prior to July 1, 2011 will remain valid until their expiration date. So if you’d like to take advantage of the original pricing, it might be a good idea to purchase a voucher to use at a later date.

CompTIA CASP Certification Exam In Beta

Announced earlier this year, the CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner exam is now in its beta stages and will be available to 400 lucky candidates. The exam is currently available for free to select qualified candidates. To get the exam voucher discount code, you’ll need to email casp@comptia.org.

Qualifications for the CASP exam include being a security professional with at least 10 years experience in IT administration and 5 years of hands-on technical security experience. If you’re interested in the exam, take a look at the CASP exam objectives and request a voucher as soon as possible in order to secure your beta spot.

New CompTIA Certification Resource Site

On May 2nd CompTIA announced the launch of a new resource site, certification.comptia.org. The site is a comprehensive source for IT related job-role information, career planning tools, social media elements, and expanded news and updates sections to host and announce new products and networking opportunities.

“We’ve expanded the careers section to help anyone interested in an IT job to plan their career goals and chart a path on how to get there. Employers can access information on how they can benefit by hiring certified IT pros.” said Terry Erdle, Executive Vice President, Skills Certifications at CompTIA.

To learn about the “virtual scavenger hunt” created to celebrate the new site, check out CompTIA’s press release.

Microsoft Virtual Academy

Hot on CompTIA’s education trail, (or possibly the other way around,) Microsoft has also released a new certification training and resource website. Microsoft Virtual Academy, which is currently free to join and use, is a resource site providing a variety of cloud certification-based training content. According to the new site’s FAQ, MVA will provide a virtual university-like experience, allowing users to select courses, study training material, and take self-assessment tests. In place of grades, users will collect points that will count towards on-site rankings (bronze, silver, gold, and platinum).

Learn more and sign up for Microsoft Virtual Academy.

New Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Exam

Also this month, Microsoft released a new entry-level exam based on the Installation and Deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 (Exam MB2-867). The exam’s topics cover planning, installation, deployment, configuration, upgrading, and redeploying Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 (including the Email Router and the Outlook client).

You can get more information about the MB2-867 exam on the official Microsoft Learning exam page: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Installation and Deployment.

Oracle Beta Exams Extended (But Ending Soon!)

As Oracle’s education site states, beta end dates are tentative and subject to change without notice. In this case, quite a few exams have had their end dates extended since last month’s certification update.

Here are the new end-dates announced by Oracle (exams already expired as scheduled or still in production are not included in this list):

• Database: 1Z1-529 Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Application Quality Management Essentials – Expiring June 4, 2011
• Database: 1Z1-058 Oracle Real Application Clusters 11g Release 2 and Grid Infrastructure Administration – Expiring June 11, 2011
• Java and Middleware: 1Z1-556 Oracle Life Sciences Data Hub 2 Essentials – Expiring May 28, 2011
• Java and Middleware: 1Z1-560 Oracle Unified Business Process Management Suite 11g Essentials – Expiring May 7, 2011
• Server and Storage Systems: 1Z1-552 Sun Flash Storage Essentials – Expiring May 21, 2011
• Server and Storage Systems: 1Z1-563 Sun Storage 6000 Arrays Essentials – Expiring May 21, 2011
• Applications: 1Z1-555 Oracle iStore 12 Essentials – Expiring June 4, 2011
• Applications: 1Z1-557 Oracle Insurance Policy Administration Configuration Essentials – Expiring May 28, 2011
• Applications: 1Z1-219 Siebel CRM 8 Business Analyst – Expiring May 14, 2011
• Applications: 1Z1-561 Oracle FLEXCUBE UBS 11 Basic Implementation Essentials – Expiring May 21, 2011
• Applications: 1Z1-562 Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing 2 Certified Implementation Specialist – Expiring May 14, 2011

Questions? Comments? Thoughts?

What do you think about the new Microsoft Virtual Academy and their ranking-based learning style? Will you be working your way up the ranks?

What are your thoughts on the price hike for Microsoft certifications? Are you less likely to consider getting Microsoft certified?

How about the CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner certification? Do you plan on applying for the CompTIA CASP beta?

Let us know your thoughts, questions, or comments below. I hope you enjoyed this month’s certification update. Thanks for reading!

Azure is a platform that will allow businesses to “shift their focus from managing and maintaining physical servers to solving business problems and addressing customer needs online.”

Are Windows Azure Certifications Right for You?

So what does this mean for IT professionals?

As more organizations start to move their servers to “the cloud,” or more specifically, the Windows Azure platform, the skillset of IT professionals will need to change accordingly. Developers and administrators who once deployed and implemented services and applications on physical servers, will now need to refocus their abilities to designing, building, and/or deploying cloud-based applications to be hosted on the Windows Azure platform.

If you’re looking for a way to advance your career and become more marketable, Azure certification might be the right choice for you. Since the Azure certifications are fairly new they will help you distinguish yourself and show that you’re able to offer a unique skillset.

Windows Azure Certifications

There are currently three Windows Azure certification exams being offered by Microsoft that are focused on development:

• Exam 70-513: Windows Communication Foundation Development with Microsoft .NET Framework 4
• Exam 70-516: Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework 4
• Exam 70-583: Designing and Developing Windows Azure Applications

Let’s take a look at each of these more closely.

The Windows Communication Foundation Development with Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (exam 70-513), is aimed at testing your knowledge and ability to develop applications using said software. According to Microsoft Learning, candidates for this exam are expected to have at least one year of experience developing WCF-based applications, and at least six months experience with .NET Framework 4.

When you pass the 70-513 exam, you’ll earn not only the MCTS: .NET Framework 4, Service Communication Applications certification, but you’ll also gain credit towards the following certifications:

1. Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: Windows Developer 4
2. Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: Web Developer 4

The Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (exam 70-516) will test your knowledge and skills on accessing data sources using ADO.NET and the .NET Framework. According to Microsoft Learning, candidates for the exam should have a minimum of two to three years of experience developing application components that interact with a variety of data sources. You should also have one to two years of experience using a relational database management system.

Passing the 70-516 exam will earn you the MCTS: .NET Framework 4, Data Access certification. You’ll also gain credit towards the following certifications:

1. Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: Windows Developer 4
2. Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: Web Developer 4

The Designing and Developing Windows Azure Applications (exam 70-583) is a professional-level exam and is the final exam needed to earn your MCPD: Windows Azure Developer 4 certification, after successful completion of exams 70-513 and 70-516.

According to Microsoft, candidates for the 70-583 exam are individuals seeking to prove their skills and knowledge in designing and developing applications that will be hosted on the Windows Azure platform. Though I would add the recommendation of completing the other two exams first. The big difference between this and other exams is that you will be required to show your continued ability to perform in Windows Azure by taking a recertification exam every two years.

Also, it’s worth mentioning that once you’ve finished these exams and earned one or more Azure certifications, you may want to look into taking one or more of the MCPD exams you earned credit for.

Windows Azure Certification Training Options

Where can you get started on training for Windows Azure certifications?

There are a number of resources already available to help with training and preparing for the Windows Azure based exams. I’ll list a few of the options from the Microsoft Learning site below, though I’m sure you can find plenty of alternative resources should you choose to go another route.

1. Azure Learning Snacks — These are short, interactive training videos that Microsoft Learning experts created to help you in your certification education. At the time of writing, there are currently only a few learning snacks available for Azure, but more should be coming soon.
2. Azure Classroom Training — If you are interested in taking a Windows Azure instructor-led class near you, Microsoft is offering a class entitled Windows Azure Solutions with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 – Course 50466A.
3. Azure Learning Plans — Microsoft has released a great learning plan for exam 70-583: Designing and Developing Windows Azure Applications. The learning plan consists of a combination of learning snacks, articles, and videos that will help you prepare for the 70-583 exam.

Special Offers for Windows Azure Certification Candidates

There are a few offers on the Microsoft Learning website worth noting.

If you would like to get your hands dirty and get some first-hand experience using Windows Azure, you can sign up for a free 30 day trial pass.

There are two trial options for you to choose from:

1. Credit Card Required: this option requires your credit card for signup and you will be charged a standard rate for usage in excess of the “free” amounts. This special offer ends September 30, 2011. More info here: Azure free trial.
2. No Credit Card Required: this option allows you to sign up for the free 30 day trial without a credit card with the promo code MSL001 (available in US only, other countries might require a different promo code; contact Microsoft for more information).

If you’re getting certified, you may also want to take advantage of the Prometric/Microsoft Second Shot program. For 15% more than the exam’s original cost, you can secure a second shot at the exam in case you don’t manage to pass the exam on your first attempt. This offer is valid for Microsoft IT Professional, Developer, and Dynamics exams.

As SharePoint 2010 adoption increases, so does the demand for qualified SharePoint professionals. So let’s take a closer look at SharePoint 2010 and the available SharePoint certification at the MCTS and MCITP levels.

Brief SharePoint 2010 Overview

Microsoft SharePoint is a web publishing software used in organizations for collaboration, file sharing and building portals.

Many organizations utilize SharePoint to set up their intranet websites, which can be used to share information easily, and also to share files with minimum bandwidth crunch. File sharing especially is chiefly popular considering that the alternative to sharing files through a web server is through emails, and an email sent to mass recipients can choke the network, as the entire propagation is at the same instant. Alternatively a file shared on SharePoint can be downloaded by users as and when needed, and the probability that all users will download the file at the same point in time is pretty low.

In the organizations I have worked for, SharePoint have been a key factor in the medium of communication. Organizations use it to share certain mandatory documents or information like policies, guidelines and procedures. Project managers use it to store files, collaborate with others sitting across continents and share common information, which is necessary for teams that are not co-located. Communication accounts for about 70% of project timestamps, on an average. For example, if a project is estimated to take 10,000 hours, around 7,000 of it goes into communicating between various parties, be it between the team, client, third party vendors and other stakeholders. That’s where SharePoint comes in very handy.

SharePoint can be an extremely powerful tool and a vital part in many organization’s success. And SharePoint 2010 has more to offer than ever. With a new user interface, new collaboration features, improved search function, new ways to customize and manage SharePoint sites and content, SharePoint 2010 is a completely redesigned tool. Take a look at this article from Microsoft to get more details on what’s new in SharePoint Server 2010.

A Word on SharePoint Professionals

I consider all individuals working with SharePoint as SharePoint Professionals; I say this because there are a number of certifications at the Professional level in the area of SharePoint. In fact, there are two different certification paths for SharePoint professionals with very diverse skill-sets:

• SharePoint Administration
• SharePoint Development

SharePoint administration revolves around the activities of SharePoint installation, configuration, managing users, controlling access, and the like. Senior level administrators can get into more complex activities like designing the infrastructure needed to support SharePoint.

SharePoint developers on the other hand work on designing and developing SharePoint websites and spend their time writing code and optimizing the features and performance of SharePoint sites.

Microsoft has certifications for both SharePoint developers and administrators at both the MCTS and MCITP level. Let’s take a closer look at the certification and exam options.

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Certifications

There are a total of five SharePoint 2010 certifications available, two geared towards SharePoint administrators, two designed for SharePoint developers and the fifth one is an amalgamation of the four, designated for the true SharePoint masters.

SharePoint 2010 Administration Certifications:

Exam 70-667 TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Configuring

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) Exam 70-667 TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Configuring focuses on the installation, deployment, upgrading, managing and maintaining a SharePoint environment.

There are no mandatory prerequisites to take this exam however, Microsoft recommends that the candidate has a minimum of one year experience in SharePoint administration along with Windows Server 2008, Active Directory, and network infrastructure knowledge.

70-667 exam topics include deploying new installations and upgrades, managing accounts and user roles, managing web applications and site collections, backing up and restoring SharePoint environments, as well as monitoring, analyzing and optimizing SharePoint performance, among others.

Learn more about Exam 70-667 TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Configuring

Exam 70-668 PRO: SharePoint 2010, Administrator

The Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) Exam 70-668 PRO: SharePoint 2010, Administrator covers disaster recovery, infrastructure capacity, upgrading and migrating, security and compliance, information architecture, information search strategy and more.

Microsoft recommends a minimum of two years of experience in SharePoint administration, deployment, management, migration, and design before attempting this exam. You should have a good grasp of PowerShell, SQL mirroring and load balancing, security concepts and authentication methods, as well as Server 2008 and Active Directory administration, and network infrastructure services like DNS and IIS.

70-668 exam topics include designing physical architecture and SharePoint integration with network infrastructure, planning service applications, SharePoint backup and restore, search topology and enterprise content management, business intelligence and more.

Learn more about Exam 70-668 PRO: SharePoint 2010, Administrator.

SharePoint 2010 Developer Certifications:

Exam 70-573 TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) Exam 70-573 TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development revolves around a candidate’s ability to develop applications on the SharePoint 2010 platform. It is geared towards those with a programming background who are interested in working on customizing and extending the features of SharePoint to users.

To be eligible to take this exam, you should have at least one year experience with ASP.NET with Visual Studio 2008, along with SharePoint development experience and a minimum of 3 months exposure to SharePoint 2010 and Visual Studio 2010. The ideal candidate will be able to write code that extends SharePoint, add and support code in an existing SharePoint project and write code for custom features, such as Visual Web Part or EventReceiver. This certification could help you get the role of a software developer who uses SharePoint 2010 as a platform to develop and extend features.

70-573 exam topics include creating and applying branding to SharePoint sites, programming custom navigation and creating custom ribbon objects, creating and debugging Web Parts, managing features and solutions with Visual Studio 2010, creating and modifying custom content types, and much more.

Learn more about Exam 70-573 TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development.

Exam: 70-576 PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Applications

The Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) Exam: 70-576 PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Applications focuses on designing and developing custom applications for SharePoint 2010, including selecting appropriate technologies to build code, creating a strategy for code development, versioning and structure as well as custom design projects for SharePoint 2010.

The ideal candidate fits a team lead role on the SharePoint development team and has a minimum of two years of development experience, and at least three years developing with ASP.NET.

70-576 exam topics include managing application development, optimizing SharePoint application design, designing SharePoint solutions and features, designing user experience, and more. There is a long list of exam objectives for this certification and it definitely involves a lot of skills.

Learn more about Exam: 70-576 PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Applications.

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) on SharePoint Server 2010

There is one more SharePoint certification, and this is the grand master of all the other SharePoint 2010 certifications. The Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 is reserved for the true SharePoint experts.

The idea behind this MCM certification is to validate the skills around the entire SharePoint product, including the design, development, configuration, deployment, migration, optimization, troubleshooting, etc. A candidate at the MCM level possesses comprehensive knowledge and experience with SharePoint 2010 and is able to handle the most complex projects.

With great responsibility come greater requirements. The MCM certification requires you to complete all the four aforementioned SharePoint certifications before applying to the MCM program. Hands on experience with the tool in administration and development is a necessity, along with at least three years experience with SharePoint installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and custom development. Another prerequisite of the MCM program is the ability to speak, write and understand fluent English and this probably isn’t as much of a requirement for SharePoint itself, as it is for the testing process which is available only in English.

Learn more about the MCM SharePoint 2010 Certification.

Should You Get SharePoint Certified?

If you currently work with SharePoint 2010, then validating your skills with SharePoint certification is a good idea for several reasons. IT certifications are often requirements for many positions and hiring managers use this as a determining criteria when evaluating resumes. The certifications are also a good way to really get to know a product or technology; because of the exam objectives you’ll be making sure you learn all aspects of SharePoint as you prepare for your exam.

Salary statistics show that SharePoint is a good area to be in, with salaries ranging from upper $60,000 to upper $80,000 for SharePoint administrators and developers. The stats below are taken from SimplyHired.com.

SharePoint Salary Trends from SimplyHired.com

Cisco Exams Expiring

The final testing days have come for six Cisco exams, most of which already have or will soon be replaced with updated versions. Three exams were just removed, and another three are ending soon. If you’re planning on taking any of these exams, you’ll need to schedule an exam date before the expiration date.

The Cisco exams already removed are as follows:

• Cisco CCSP – 642-504 SNRS (Securing Networks with Cisco Routers and Switches)
• Cisco CCSP – 642-515 (Securing Networks with ASA Advanced)
• Cisco CCSP – 642-524 SNAF (Securing Networks with ASA Foundation)

The Cisco exams expiring soon include:

• Cisco CCDA – 640-863 DESGN (Designing for Cisco Internetwork Solution) – Last testing date: 4/30/2011
• Cisco CCDP – 642-873 ARCH (Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures) – Last testing date: 5/7/2011
• Cisco CCSP and IPS Specialist – 642-533/IPS v6 (Implementing Cisco Intrusion Prevention Systems) – Last testing date: 5/31/2011

For more information on the CCSP exams, take advantage of the CCSP exam certification tool which will help you determine which exams will count towards your cert and which exams you still need to complete.

For more information on the new DESGN and ARCH exams, take a look at this article from Cisco Learning Network.

Free TechNet Subscriptions for New Virtualization Professionals

Microsoft recently announced that any IT Professionals who pass a Microsoft Virtualization exam between March 1, 2011 and June 30, 2011 will receive a complimentary TechNet Subscription (valued at $199). The eligible Virtualization exams include:

• Exam 70-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization
• Exam 70-669: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization
• Exam 70-652: TS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring
• Exam 70-693: PRO: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

To take advantage of this offer, you’ll need to register here, and only the first 1,000 will be eligible, so act fast!

Microsoft MCITP Lync Server 2010 Administrator Certification

Microsoft has announced a new MCITP cloud certification aimed at IT Professionals who deploy and configure Microsoft Lync Server 2010 (part of Microsoft’s Office 365 SaaS offering.) The certification is scheduled to become available in late April, 2011. You’ll need to pass the following exams:

1. Exam 70-664: TS: Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Configuring
2. Exam 70-665: PRO: Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Administrator

Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Apps Certification in Beta

If you’re interested in becoming certified in designing and developing applications for Windows Phone 7, you might be in luck. Microsoft has just started allowing IT Professionals to register to take the exam in its beta stages from April 19th to May 4th.

If you register soon, you could receive an invitation to take the Designing and Developing Windows Phone 7 Applications Exam 71-599 early, giving you credit for the Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: Windows Phone 7, Developer certification once it is released. You can get more information and find out where to register at Born to Learn.

Google Offers Google Apps Certification

Google is planning to offer two Google Apps certifications conducted remotely by Kryterion. The certifications being released are the Google Apps Deployment Specialist and the Google Apps for Education Certified Trainer certification, which is aimed at professionals who provide training and support to schools that use Google Apps for Education.

The Google Apps Deployment Specialist exam will require a Kryterion Flexible Neck Webcam to remotely supervise the test-taking session. The exam itself will be comprised of 98 multiple-choice questions and will cost $100. You can view the study guide on Google’s Certification Program website.

The Google Apps for Education Certified Trainer certification exam is actually a two-step process. In order to become “qualified”, you will need to pass a total of 6 online exams within 90 days. The exams themselves cost $15 each. You can view the study guide for each of the exams on Google’s free online training site. The second step, which will make you a Certified Trainer, will require an application, references, sample materials you have created, and a short video which demonstrates your ability to teach and train the material in question.

Sun Certs Soon to Require Class Attendance

Beginning August 1, 2011, four Java and Oracle Solaris certification paths will require classroom-based training from an approved training provider (Oracle University Training Center, Oracle Authorized Education Center, Oracle Authorized Education Partner, Oracle Academy and approved programs, and the Oracle Workforce Development Program).

You can however, choose between instructor-led classroom courses, or instructor-led online courses, in case you don’t live near an approved training center. According to Oracle, “self study CD-Rom and knowledge center (including recorded web courses – RWC) courses are excellent study and reference tools but DO NOT meet the hands-on course requirement for certification.”

The Sun certification paths affected by this change include:

• Java Architect
• Java Developer
• Solaris System Administrator
• Solaris Security Administrator

For more information, take a look at this press release.

Oracle Betas in Closing Stages

Oracle has a few exams that have been going through their beta stages and have either ended or are ending soon. So far, six exams have ended and three are set to end in the next few weeks.

So far, the following exams have ended their beta testing:

• Oracle Enterprise Manager Application Quality Management 11g Essentials (1Z1-529)
• StorageTek Tape Libraries Essentials (1Z1-546)
• Sun Flash Storage Essentials (1Z1-552)
• Oracle iStore 12 Essentials (1Z1-555)
• Oracle Insurance Policy Administration Configuration Essentials (1Z1-557)
• Sun Storage 6000 Arrays Essentials (1Z1-563)

The following beta exams are set to end soon:

• Siebel CRM 8 Business Analyst (1Z1-219) – Ending April 16, 2011
• Oracle Live Sciences Data Hub 2 Essentials (1Z1-556) – Ending April 16, 2011
• Oracle Real Application Clusters 11g Release 2 and Grid Infrastructure Administration (1Z1-058) – Ending May 14, 2011

For more information on these exams and more, please visit the Oracle Certification Program Beta Exams page.

Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Master

While we’re on the topic of Oracle certifications, it’s worth mentioning that the Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Master exam is now available. While this exam definitely isn’t for everyone, those who are Oracle experts can sign up for the new 2-day, hands on exam for around $2,000. Visit Oracle to learn more or to register.

HP AIS StorageWorks Certification

HP recently released the new AIS StorageWorks Integration 2011 certification as an update and replacement to the older HP AIS StorageWorks 2008 certification. The new certification will require passing two new exams.

Unfortunately, because of the many changes involved, there is currently no upgrade or “fast track” path available to those who already hold the 2008 certification.

PMI Agile Certification

Much like the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional certification, the new Agile Certification focuses on teams and project management.

However, while the PMP certification is aimed more at leading and directing teams, the Agile Certification focuses more on the Agile principles and practices used to manage projects. The exam is scheduled for release sometime in the third quarter of 2011, and applications will be available in May.

Visit the PMI.org Agile Certification page for more information.

Here’s what we want to know:

• Which IT certifications and exams you plan to pursue this year
• Which IT skills do you hope to acquire this year
• Which IT certifications and skills do you believe will be a must have this year
• What is your #1 training/certification goal for 2011

Take our IT Certifications and Skills Survey before March 31, 2011

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2010ITskillsandcerts

Please Note: This survey is completely anonymous, your personal information will not be shared. Names and email addresses are collected solely to administer the iPad contest. More details here.

One aspect that makes the certification unique is its requirement that you attend (either online or in a classroom) a VMware Education class before you attempt your exam. The class you take won’t be a “test certification bootcamp” of any kind and you should expect that the exam will still be challenging and will still require significant preparation to pass.

VCP Exam Details

Here’s the quick tech specs for the VCP exam that you really must know:

• Current version- VCP4
• 85 Questions
• 90 minutes to complete the exam
• Passing score is 300 on a 100-500 scale
• Register for the exam at Pearson/VUE’s VMware homepage
• VCP4 Exam Blueprint (no login required)
• Official VCP4 Mock Exam (login required)
• Benefits: tout your VCP cert with a logo on your business cards or website and receive a VMware Workstation license

10 Best VCP Study Resources

I get asked all the time what you should use to prepare for the VCP exam, so here is a list of my 10 favorite VCP study resources:

1. My Train Signal VMware vSphere video training series
2. VMware’s official VCP homepage (make sure you read the exam blueprint)
3. Simon Long’s VCP4 Study Notes and Practice Exams (these are good!)
4. Petri IT Knowledgebase – Rob Schmidt’s VCP Study Questions
5. ProfessionalVMware.com – VCP4 Study Resources
6. Mark Vaughn’s VCP410 Study Tips
7. Scott Vessey’s VCP4 Study Resources from VMwareTraining.Blogspot.com
8. Ivobeerens.nl – Resources to Prepare for your VCP4
9. vDestination.com – Want to Pass the VCP4, Check this out!
10. vSphere How-To Videos on my blog – VMwareVideos.com

Do you have more VCP4 resources to recommend? Post them in the comments and I’ll add them to the list! Best of luck on your VCP exam!

Free Second Chance on VMware VCP4 Exam

I’m thankful that VMware recently announced that they are offering a free second chance certification offer on the VCP4. Like Microsoft has done in the past, with VMware if you don’t pass the VCP4 exam the first time, VMware will allow you to take the exam again, a second time, at no charge. With the exam costing $200 to take (in the US), if you have to retake the exam, this offer will save you $200.

It works like this: the first time you attempt the VCP4 exam, you need to register with the promotion code VCPTAKE1. If you happen to not pass the exam the first time, you can reregister for the exam at no charge using promotion code VCPTAKE2. Your second attempt at the exam must be done before July 31, 2011.

• Learn more about this offer: VMware Second Chance for the VCP4 Exam
• Check out my list of favorite VCP Study Resources

Best of luck on your VPC4 exam!

Increasing Your Salary with Cisco Certifications

As with any profession, the more knowledge and more experience that you bring into a position, the more leverage you have in terms of salary requirements. Making the decision to achieve Cisco certification in the first place is a big step in terms of money and time and should be considered carefully.

If you’re interested in pursuing a life of networking engineering/architecture, it is wise to get into Cisco certifications. Cisco certifications are very popular, well known asset to any individual looking to increase their networking knowledge and employment opportunities. Since Cisco certifications are so well known, companies use them as a metric of basic networking knowledge regardless of whether they use Cisco equipment or not. Achieving the higher levels of Cisco certification can also greatly increase your level of income, not to mention job opportunities.

Figure 1 shows the Indeed.com average salaries available to those with a basic networking title and those who are Cisco certified with associate, professional or expert level certifications. It is obvious from this survey that the achievement of a Cisco certification can be quite useful in requesting higher level of compensation.

Figure 1: Indeed.com Salary Results

The Global Knowledge salary survey results shown in Figure 2 also back up the Indeed.com data. The higher the Cisco certification achieved the higher the total salary. These results are of course a good sign to those looking to invest the money and time that are required to achieve these certifications. While the cost of achieving Cisco certifications is not too great as the certification exams are not too overly priced, it is still money that must be allocated away from other family budgetary items and must be considered closely.

Figure 2: Global Knowledge Cisco Salary Results

How to Increase Your Salary with Cisco Certifications

So where should you start? How can you earn more with Cisco certifications?

Whether you are brand new to the IT field or have some experience and certifications under your belt, you’ll want to start with the associate level Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification. There are two certification paths that you can take to achieve your CCNA certification:

• You can take just one exam: 640-802 CCNA — recommended for candidates with more experience
• Or you can take two exams: 640-822 ICND1 and 640-813 ICND2 — recommended for candidates with minimal experience

The advantage of the 640-802 exam is that you achieve your CCNA with just one test, but that also makes it a much more difficult exam. The second certification path allows you to split up your training and examination into two manageable chunks. By completing the 640-822 ICND1 exam, you also earn Cisco’s entry level Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) certification.

You can learn more about both of these CCNA certification options and get some valuable study tips in our Cisco CCNA Certification Guide.

Achieving your CCNA is a vital first step and a prerequisite for all other Cisco certifications. From there you have a number of options, which depend on your interest in the field. Cisco offers a number of CCNA specialties including:

• CCNA Wireless
• CCNA Security
• CCNA Voice

If you’re interested in getting into the design aspects, you might want to consider the Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA) certification which has a heavy focus on designing Cisco solutions, instead of administering them.

Advancing Your IT Career with Cisco Certifications

Cisco also offers professional level and expert level certifications, including CCNP, CCDP and CCIE. There are also a number of specialty certifications available at the advanced level in a number of different areas. Here’s a breakdown of the available Cisco certifications for each level and specialty:

And here’s a quick list of just some of the Cisco Specialist Concentrations:

• Advanced Routing and Switching
• Data Center
• VPN and Security
• Wireless LAN

Moving on to the professional level Cisco certifications will help advance your career and increase your salary; your specialty area will depend on your interests and job prospects, but whichever path you choose will be a step up.

You can get more information on Cisco Certifications from Cisco.com, the Cisco Learning Network and our Cisco Certification section.

Hopefully, this article and the salary data will help you make better education investment decisions in the future. While these investments will require a certain level of sacrifice on your part, your efforts will most certainly be paid off in spades in the years to come.