A Discussion on Taking Your Career to the Next Level with Professional Certifications At various points in their careers, IT professionals may consider improving their credentials by acquiring a technology or skill-based certification. For the uninitiated, the task can seem daunting. Questions might include “which certification is the best one for me?” or “where do I get training?” or “will getting a certification even help my career?”. In this talk we’ll discuss: · Who gives certifications, who should get them, and who considers them · How to pick the right certifications and how to get them · Why today’s IT professionals might consider certs and which ones they should focus on Along with the discussion, we’ll hear personal stories from members of our community with a focus on what certifications they hold and how certification has affected their careers. We’ll also hear from employers and how they consider certificates during the recruiting process. Your leader for this talk will be Michael Jenkins, an experienced computer engineer, journalist, and IT certification holder. Looking forward to seeing you there!

1. THE WHO, HOW, AND WHY
OF IT CERTIFICATIONS
MICHAEL JENKINS
BLACKS IN TECHNOLOGY

2. ABOUT YOUR PRESENTER
• BS, MS Computer Engineering, Iowa State
University
• Twenty years into an Information Technology
career
• Active certifications
• CompTIA Security+
• Amazon Web Services Certified Solutions Architect
– Associate
• Certifications in progress
• Amazon Web Services Certified Solutions Architect
– Professional
• Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator
and Engineer

3. AGENDA
•What is a certification?
•Who Provides Certifications?
•How does one become certified?
•Why get certified?
•Panel Discussion with Q & A

4. WHAT IS A CERTIFICATION?
•Wikipedia
• “…Certificates signify that a student has reached a
standard of knowledge of a
certain vocational subject.”
•American Society of Quality
• “A formal recognition…that an individual has
demonstrated a proficiency within, and
comprehension of, a specific body of knowledge.”

5. TYPES OF CERTIFICATIONS: SKILL BASED
•Project Management
• Leading and directing projects and teams
•“Six Sigma”
• Analyze and solve quality problems
•Technical Writing
• Analyze data to create documents for specific
audiences

6. TYPES OF CERTIFICATIONS: TECHNOLOGY BASED
•Programming Languages
• Java, Ruby On Rails
•Software & Hardware
• Databases, Web Services, Network Appliances
•Vendor Applications & Services
• Cloud Platforms, Virtualization

7. WHO PROVIDES CERTIFICATIONS?
(AND WHY?)
•Universities
• Continuing education
•Professional Organizations
• Furthering the profession
•Technology Vendors
• Marketing and industry
adoption

8. HOW DOES ONE BECOME CERTIFIED?
•Usually two steps:
•Step 1 – Training or independent study
•Step 2 – Take an examination
•Experience helps and is sometimes required
• But might not carry you all the way

9. HOW DOES ONE BECOME CERTIFIED?
• Training can be expensive and time consuming:
• RHCSA Rapid Track course with RHCSA exam = $3705, 5 Days
• Oracle DBA course + exam = $2575 + $245 = $2820, 5 Days
• Cisco CCNA & CCNP course + exams = $9,995, 20 days
• Self study and virtual classes can lower the cost of
training and allow for self-paced timing:
• Coursera -- https://www.coursera.org
• Udemy -- https://www.udemy.com
• MOOC List -- https://www.mooc-list.com

10. HOW DOES ONE BECOME CERTIFIED?
• Exam costs can’t be avoided
• Look for reimbursement opportunities from
employers, foundations, and professional
organizations

11. A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS
BLACKS IN TECHNOLOGY
LINUX FOUNDATION

12. FREE LINUX TRAINING FROM B.I.T.!
• “Our partnership with the Linux Foundation will include
free and discounted passes to Linux Foundation events as
well as educational opportunities for members … of Blacks
in Technology. The Linux Foundation is also making a
donation to the Blacks In Technology organization to
support our efforts to increase diversity in technology and
“Stomp the Divide”.
• Greg Greenlee, Founder, BlacksInTechnology.net

13. FREE LINUX TRAINING FROM B.I.T.!
•http://goo.gl/forms/KmNI7qk6o5
•Linux System Administration
•Advanced Linux System Administration
and Networking
•Developing Applications For Linux

14. BACK TO THE PRESENTATION

15. WHY GET CERTIFIED?
•Credibility for your skills and knowledge
• Third party verification
•Increases visibility in the industry
• New opportunities
•Shows personal initiative
• “Demonstrates a commitment to your craft.”

17. WHY GET CERTIFIED?
• Global Knowledge, “15 Top-Paying Certifications for
2016”
• Top paying certification trends follow IT trends:
• Six are in security
• Three are in virtualization and cloud computing
• Three are in business
• Three are in networking
• Note the level or proficiency
• Entry level, Associate, Professional

18. WHY GET CERTIFIED?
RANK CERTIFICATION (POTENTIAL) SALARY
1 AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate $125,871
4 Certified Information Systems Security
Professional (CISSP)
$121,923
5 Project Management Professional (PMP®) $116,094
8 Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
Data Center
$107,045
11 Six Sigma Green Belt $102,594
14 ITIL® v3 Foundation $99,869
GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE, “15 TOP-PAYING CERTIFICATIONS FOR 2016”

19. WHY GET CERTIFIED? A COUNTERPOINT
• Dice.com, “5 Reasons Certifications Aren’t Worth It”
• http://insights.dice.com/2015/07/09/5-reasons-
certifications-arent-worth/
• “Software Technology Moves Too Fast”
• “Employers Don’t Really Care”
• Training and exams are a “Rip-Off”
• “It Only Proves You Can Pass Tests”

20. PANEL DISCUSSION

21. PANEL MEMBERS
•Jhade Barnes, Recruiting Account Manager
•John C. Malonson III, PMP, ITIL, CSM
•Ferdinand Alvin, CCNA, CCNP

22. REFERENCES

23. REFERENCES
• American Society for Quality, “Quality Certification”
• http://asq.org/cert
• Wikipedia, “Professional certification”
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_certification
• Microsoft, “Certification Overview”
• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/certification-
overview.aspx

24. REFERENCES
• Dice, “Tech Salary Survey 2016”
• http://marketing.dice.com/pdf/Dice_TechSalarySurvey_2016.pdf
• Project Management Institute, “Project Management
Professional”
• http://www.pmi.org/certification.aspx
• Society for Technical Communication, “Certification”
• http://www.stc.org/certification

25. REFERENCES
• Oracle, “Oracle Certified Associate, Java SE 5/SE 6”
• http://bit.ly/1qwiTMF
• Ruby Association, “Ruby Association Certified Ruby
Programmer”
• http://www.ruby.or.jp/en/certification/examination/

26. REFERENCES
• CompTIA, “A+ (Plus) Certification”
• https://certification.comptia.org/certifications/a
• Cisco, “Training & Certifications”
• http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/training-events/training-
certifications/certifications.html
• Amazon Web Services, “AWS Certification”
• https://aws.amazon.com/certification/

27. REFERENCES
• Microsoft, “Azure Certifications”
• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/azure-
certification.aspx
• Microsoft Virtual Academy, “Microsoft Azure Courses”
• https://mva.microsoft.com/product-training/microsoft-azure
• Redhat, “RHCSA Rapid Track course with RHCSA exam”
• https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/rh200-rhcsa-
rapid-track-course-rhcsa-exam

28. REFERENCES
• CED Solutions, “Cisco CCNA & CCNP Certification
Training Course”
• http://www.cedsolutions.com/780/certification/cisco-ccna-
ccnp-certification
• MOOC List
• https://www.mooc-list.com/

29. REFERENCES
• Blacks in Technology, “Blacks In Technology partners with
The Linux Foundation to increase diversity in tech and
Stomp the Divide!”
• http://bit.ly/1TXMV5V
• Dice.com, “5 Reasons Certifications Aren’t Worth It”
• http://insights.dice.com/2015/07/09/5-reasons-certifications-
arent-worth/
• Microsoft Learning, “The value of technical certification”
• https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/certification-
testimonials.aspx

30. REFERENCES
• CompTIA, “Why Certify”
• https://certification.comptia.org/why-certify/professionals
• Global Knowledge, “15 Top-Paying Certifications for
2016”
• https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-
en/content/articles/top-paying-certifications/

31. REFERENCES
• Jhade Barnes, Recruiting Account Manager
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhadebarnes
• John C. Malonson III, PMP, ITIL, CSM
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmalonson
• Ferdinand Alvin, CCNA, CCNP
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ferdinand-alvin-81a2b413