Even just 100 years ago in the United States, the most common occupation by far, as indicated by Census Bureau data from the 1920 census, was some brand of farm or ranch laborer. Many people didn't need specialized training to do their jobs, or at least not training more specialized than you could get by rolling out of bed, putting on some work boots and overalls, and heading out to the fields.

In 2021, the script has flipped to the point where it's becoming difficult to do just about any job without some degree of specialized training. There are many ways to learn, but certification has become an important pillar of education that support the information technology (IT) industry. Though it began as a form of professional licensure, a validation of skills acquired by other means, IT certification is increasingly becoming the source of the skills acquisition it affirms.

IT certification has become commonplace in college, university, and high school classrooms. Some certifications — the main example being Microsoft's Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) designations for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint — are even comfortably within the grasp of junior high and middle school students.

Among adult workers, reskilling is a vitally important sector of IT industry growth where certification both teaches new skills and validates that they've been internalized successfully. Sometimes a degree of certification-assisted reskilling is essential simply to keep moving forward in other industries, setting aside any thought of making the jump to IT.

For the upcoming fall edition of Certification Magazine, we're doing something kind of new and little bit different. Instead of focusing on a particular branch of IT, we're gathering information about the training element of certification. If you've gotten certified at least once, or even if you're in the process of seeking IT certification, then please pull up a chair.

We want to find out all about your certification training experience. Has certification helped you thrive? Are existing certification programs meeting your needs? We also want to get inside the habits of certified professionals a bit and see how certification works for you. All aboard! The Certification Magazine survey train is boarding at the station.

As we always do, we've added a dash of incentive to participate. If you take the Certification Training Survey all the way to the end, we'll thank you with either (or both!) of two rewards. You can get a free digital copy of the next issue of Certification Magazine. Or get a one-year print subscription at 40 percent off the normal cost. (Hate making decisions? Get 'em both! We don't mind.)

BIG THANKS to everyone who participated in our 2021 Certification Training Survey! Watch for the results to appear the forthcoming 2021 Fall Edition of Certification Magazine.