Earning Technical Certifications - Diversify while you can
Advice from someone smarter than me… If you already havea microsoft certification, relax. Make sure you don’t put all your eggsin one basket. Try to earn a technical certification in another technology aswell. Red Hat Linux, Novell, Oracle certifications all provide you a set oftools to stay on top of a changing job market. Diversify your certifications whileyou can. You’ll be glad you did, later when you have to switch jobs orwhen lay-offs happen.
George, MCSE
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Comments
Anonymous
October 09, 2007
PingBack from http://www.artofbam.com/wordpress/?p=6612Anonymous
October 12, 2007
Getting a networking certification (CCNA for example), besides MS certification, looks good on your resume.Anonymous
October 15, 2007
George, sir I would be careful about making these kinds of sweeping indictments about what "people should do". As someone who regularly gives advice to people on pursuing IT certification inside and outside of the certification space, one of the keys that I give people is to avoid certification scattershot. There is definitely value in pursuing non-microsoft certification in demonstrating to clients that you have the ability to integrate Microsoft technology in today's hybrid IT environments, however it does not make sense to pursue certification that is outside the planned career path. For example, a hypothetical certification candidate is already an MCSE. They have invested in themselves on seven 2003-track certifications and are concerned about a posting in certifying in other technology. If the individual is planning to be an architect specifically in the Microsoft space, then pursuing another vendor's certification may not be as suitable as next pursuing something having to do with messaging, security, or project management. All offered within the MCP realm. At the same time, that same candidate in an environment where the networks are based on Cisco equipment may be well served at more senior levels of the organization in pursuing Cisco certification to credential his or her familiarity with that operating environment. Much of whether or not to certify outside of a single invested space, no matter what the primary space is, is largely a function of the current and future job role analysis that a candidate needs to accomplish in order to focus future investment. In short, the principle is more accurately stated as "Diversify beyond Microsoft to demonstrate depth within your job role, especially if you are working with other technologies in your daily job. If your current and future career growth is predicated in the Microsoft space, try to diversify within the Microsoft Certification Program. For example, a systems administrator might want to consider <THESE> project management certifications, or a single credential in the basics of scripting and development."