10 Steps To It Certification - Part 1

By Author: Hugh Nguyen
Total Articles: 4
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Skilled network professionals are not going to be losing many jobs, no matter what happens to employment figures or prospects in other areas of the economy, and new IT jobs will always be available to properly educated, trained and prepared individuals. Notice the three different words there. Even after getting a degree (education), someone who wants to work in this area of continuing high demand needs the proper, current certifications (training). Before you begin accruing the various Cisco, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle and other certifications, you need to pass the exams, which is where the third concept, preparation, enters the picture.

Whichever expertise you seek to hone or add with any particular certification, you must enter the process with a serious commitment. There will be a considerable investment of time, energy and money if your goal is a quality certification that represents you as a leader in your field. There is a lot more to it than learning how to take a test, and there may be any number of between-the-lines sidesteps and detours on your journey, but the following 10 steps to IT certification should get ...
... you pointed in the right direction.

Step 1: A specialty means you're focused

The old terms engineer and programmer do not say much about what a person does anymore. Today, even within Information Technology (IT) in general and network technology in particular, there are numerous areas of concentration. You can specialize in the core routing and switching components of networks, focus on network security issues like firewalls and hacker detection/prevention, and/or obtain certifications for dealing with telephony technologies. There are numerous certifications from which to choose and you will obviously do best in the areas you find most interesting and personally rewarding. After you get your first certification you may decide to work toward others, but consider focusing on a single area as your specialty.

Step 2: An investment means you're serious

Don't shortchange yourself if you make the decision in #1 above to get going on a particular certification, whether or not you have a plan to accrue more than the first one. One or 20, a certification requires a serious investment of time, energy and funds. Do your due diligence before you spend money on study materials, by talking to colleagues, reading book reviews on Amazon.com and checking the websites of the companies whose certifications you want to earn (Microsoft, Cisco and the others). User forums on the Internet, specifically dealing with the area of study, are another good source for information on the best study aids.

Step 3: Question authority

Do not be intimidated by people who tell you they are gurus or experts in networks or networking (which could mean they do a lot of Facebook postings, among other things). There really aren't any IT gurus. The science is changing and advancing so quickly, and there is so much going on in so many areas, that just about any subject matter you picked to become an expert in would be obsolete before you finished your studies. The depth and breadth of network technology can positively overwhelm newbies and veterans alike. Just remember that you are not being certified as a know-it-all, but as having expertise in a particular area, expertise that you must work at maintaining. Whether it's wireless, security or telephony, get grounded in that first, specialized IT area, then decide what you wish to add to your skill set. This will come naturally as you progress in your career.

Step 4: Be an Aristotelian (balanced)

If you are not careful, you can easily bury yourself under mountains of homework, practice tests, study materials and books. This is especially easy to do if you are trying to knock off a certification exam in an insufficient amount of time. You should certainly spend the time that is required to prepare well for your certification exam, but it is crucial to make enough time for the rest of your life, too. Take regular breaks, and also break away from computers, manuals and books for at least a few hours daily. Not only will you reduce the chance of burnout, you will give yourself the necessary time to digest what you have studied. This is an important step in changing what you studied into what you learned.

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