Stand out from the IT crowd by refining these career skills

This feature first appeared in the Summer 2014 issue of Certification Magazine.

People often talk about how quickly things change. Look back even just a few years, and you’ll see how different things were then than they are now. Ask anyone under the age of 15 to make the sound of a phone’s busy …

Dear CertMag: I’m ready to go pro — how do I get a sports IT job?

 Dear CertMag  is a weekly feature that addresses common questions about certification and related IT issues. Have a question? Send an e-mail to editor (at) certmag (dot) com.

Dear CertMag: Big NBA fan and gym rat here. I’ve never been good enough to actually play sports for a living, but I’d love to get into …

CompTIA A+ 220-801 and 220-802 study resources

It has been a while since CertMag has given an exhaustive list of study materials for the CompTIA A+ exam (since 220-602 in 2009 by my count). I figured it was about time to do some research and provide a complete list of the materials you need to pass the current …

CertStudent: Small town girl, big certification dreams

 CertStudent  is a regular feature that profiles students of all ages who are pursuing certification at schools, in training programs, and on their own time (and own dime). Know an interesting  CertStudent ? Share the details with us at editor (at) certmag (dot) com.

The rural town of Vancleave sits in the heart of Jackson …

Salary Survey PLUS — Cloud Computing

A favorite question among certification candidates is the one about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: How much money will I make after I finish this certification? There are several factors that determine salary, of course, but a good certification can be a strong argument for someone seeking a raise or …

CompTIA certs blaze career path for Defense Department contractor

There are lots of ways to get a foot on the bottom rung of the career ladder in IT and start climbing. Education, whether in college or high school, is what leads a lot of young professionals to settle into an IT groove. Many IT lifers’ first exposure to computers and technology is from playing video …

Oracle’s SQL Expert exam slated for facelift Sept. 15

Of the more than 200 certifications offered by Oracle, their SQL Expert credential ranks in the Top 10 most popular according to a blog post by Oracle University. This is no surprise to me — knowledge of SQL is an extremely valuable skill and the SQL Expert designation is useful to both DBAs and developers. …

Study finds networking, information security on leading edge of IT

There is a fair-to-decent chance that most of us don’t still have the same job title that we did in 1999, whether that title was sales manager or burger flipper. Especially in the realm of IT — where advances in technology open up new areas of specialization with a regularity approaching that more typically attributed to the …

Microsoft Certified Professionals have mixed view of certification

Here’s a non-IT tidbit that you probably didn’t know: The Carnation food brand originally famed for its evaporated milk from “contented cows,” was founded in 1899 in Washington state, in the same general vicinity where Microsoft now has its world headquarters. In a related vein, the most recent annual survey of Microsoft Certified Professionals revealed that many …

Latest Salary Survey PLUS captures info about Cisco certifications

Probably the foremost IT networking firm in the world, Cisco Systems, Inc., has been a leader in the IT landscape for decades. In addition to being a leading developer of networking products and technology, Cisco is also one of the premier entities in the realm of IT education and training — Cisco certifications are a bedrock layer in many …