There is a vast library of IT certification content here at CertMag.com, and each year it gets a little deeper. With new articles four days a week most weeks during the year, that’s roughly 200 new articles every year. Some are articles previously published in Certification Magazine, but about three-quarters of what you get here on the website is original content.

No doubt there are some of you out there who read everything that shows up here. (Or at least we hope there’s no doubt of that. And if you really are one of those hardcore CertMag readers, then gold star for you. We’d like to shake your hand and buy you a drink.) The average drop-in visitor, however, probably doesn’t get even a real taste of everything that shows up here in a calendar year.

That’s why recaps like this are so helpful. There’s no need to wonder what you’ve missed: Other visitors to the site have already voted with their mouse clicks, and curated a list of the most compelling articles to appear on the site in 2021. We’re going to do this in three installments, comprising the 30 most-read new articles of the year.

Today we’re bringing you the top of the list, our 10 most popular articles of 2021, numbers 21 through 30:

21) Cloud services giant Amazon Web Services (AWS) is dominating a key IT industry: “On Nov. 25, 2020, the entire internet went down. Or at least that’s how it seemed for thousands of users who couldn’t access most of their favorite websites and online services. Businesses found they couldn’t conduct sales on their e-commerce sites. Many popular streaming services went offline.” (by Aaron Axline)

22) Ohio tech teacher followed his passion for cybersecurity into the classroom: “As a junior in high school, Cochran happened to observe an engineering class while the students and instructor were discussing robots. Excited by the concept, on his own he designed and constructed a combat robot in a mere two weeks.” (by Calvin Harper)

23) Make time to get certified: “Earning in-demand professional credentials can be challenging even for experienced tech pros, because many exams are performance-based. You need comprehensive hands-on experience in the objectives tested on the exam.” (by Reena Ghosh)

24) Cybersecurity Certification Survey: Trouble on the information superhighway: “There’s less immediate danger to life and limb from pirates and outlaws in 2021, given that most of what happened out in the open in 18th-century America and ancient Greece is now confined to electronic transmission and more or less instantaneous delivery. That doesn’t mean security workers are a thing of past(.)” (by CertMag Staff)

25) Salary Survey Extra: Deep Focus on CompTIA A+: “That proverbial first step, for many who embark on an IT career journey is to get the CompTIA A+ certification (No. 66 on our most recent Salary Survey 75 list) for computer technicians offered by tech industry association CompTIA.” (by CertMag Staff)

26) Salary Survey Extra: Deep Focus on ISACA CISM: “ISACA certifications are popular around the world, so while 39.4 percent of CISM holders who participated in the survey live and work in the United States, it’s no surprise that we also heard from credential holders in 47 different countries(.)” (by CertMag Staff)

27) Certification Training Survey: IT certification requires preparation: “Trade guilds today are generally considered to be a thing of the past. Except for maybe in the information technology (IT) realm, where certification exams are kind of used in the same way as the medieval masterpiece.” (by CertMag Staff)

28) The final demise of MCSA (and MCSD and MCSE) certification marks the end of an era: “I still remember very clearly when I took the Windows 2000 Server exam. The passing grade for the exam was 600, and after I’d answered the last question and clicked the submit button, my score came up on the screen: 600. If I had missed one question more, I would have failed the exam.” (by Aaron Axline)

29) With her family in a different state, Ohio teen is wrapping up high school on her own: “Living alone means Taylor has to be disciplined and responsible, something most high school students find difficult to do. Each week, she does her own shopping, cleaning, and cooking. Fortunately, her father is a professional chef and taught her a few tips for being in a kitchen.” (by Calvin Harper)

30) Salary Survey Extra: Another year, another new certification: “Certified IT professionals frequently live in a ‘What’s next?’ kind of world, where your can’t spend too much time dwelling on what you just accomplished, because there’s always more to do, more to learn, and more to prove.” (by CertMag Staff)

KEEP GOING

2021 in Review: Our 10 most popular articles of the year

2021 in Review: Most popular articles 11 through 20

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