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Top 5 Reasons why certifications are important for IT professionals
So why are certifications important anyway?
In my previous column, I talked about what certifications can do for you, and how to get them. I want to thank the readers for responding with questions and comments. I answer some of the questions through this column, and emphasize why certifications are important for IT professionals. Top 5 Reasons Differentiate yourself Stand out from the crowd. An individual who is a Cisco CCIE doesn’t need to explain how much about Cisco technologies he or she might know. People “in the know” understand the value of certifi-cations. They know that if you are certified, you know what you say you know, and depending on your certifi-cation, how much you know. Certifications are a better yard stick for an objective measure of your skill level than self proclaimed competency. Committed to your cause What have you done differently lately? Everyone continuously has to learn new skills to stay ahead of the game. How can you show your peers, managers and potential employers that you are committed to your cause and specialty? Without getting the latest certifications, you will only stay as sharp as the business end of an old pencil. Show me the money! Certifications open doors for better paying jobs. In a July 2006 study by Gartner (Gartner 2006 IT Market Compensation Study), hiring managers and IT managers from 188 U.S. corporations were surveyed. When asked, “What premium, as a percentage of base salary, are you willing for pay for individuals possess-ing the following certifications?” the majority hardly showed a raise—because they wouldn’t even hire a person without certification! The study did surmise that the added market value that a certification brings can be as high as 30%–40%, while the average salary uplift reported across all certifications in the study was in the 5%–11% range. Making the world a better place Getting certified is no walk in the park. When you become certified, you put in a lot of hard work. There is an enormous amount of material to be appreciated, absorbed and assimilated, together with a lot of hands-on practice. There are also exam preparation and practice tests to go through. Real money has to be spent, per-haps, towards getting good quality training, and definitely for exam vouchers. But the rewards are worth it. By virtue of becoming certified, you learn the subject matter. You are able to per-form related job functions. You help companies solve business problems. You contribute toward companies making their products faster, and you provide services more efficiently, while keeping customer service high. No matter how small a cog in the grand scheme of things you think you are, you make the world a better place, one certification at a time. Satisfaction and increased confidence The most important reason is (yes, even more important than money), because certifications help you in-crease your confidence. You work hard, and you achieve a tangible recognition. There is no better reward than the satisfaction of a job well done. About The Author Mudit Mittal is General Manager at NetCom Information Technology, an award-winning technology training provider. Mudit has played a key role in the technology training industry since 2000 and has been instrumental in bringing learning & certification solutions to organizations and IT professionals. He initiated the boot camp division at NetCom which in two short years became a nationally reckoned force, recognized for its high quality training and customer oriented service. Mudit holds an MBA with a technology and marketing focus from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and a Bachelor of Technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. Comments? Questions? Send them to editor@technologytrainingmag.com. |
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