1. The document discusses why IT professionals should pursue certification and provides tips on how to prepare for certification exams. It outlines key reasons for certification such as credibility, marketability, and personal development. 2. Popular certification paths from vendors like Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco, and VMware are described. The document recommends starting with entry-level certifications and gaining hands-on experience before advancing. 3. Effective exam preparation methods are suggested, including taking practice tests, studying in groups, using multiple study methods, and ensuring readiness before taking the actual exam. Braindumps are strongly discouraged.

1. WHY
CERTIFICATION?

2. qWhy should I get certified?
qWhat are my certification options? What is the difference between
them?
qWhich certification should I start with?
qWhich exams should I take first among the various certification paths?
qHow do I prepare for a test?

3. Why should I get certified?
There are myriads of reasons why you should seek out certification in a
number of IT-related programs, software or skills, but three reasons
are key:
qCredibility
qMarketability
qPersonal development

4. Credibility
qIT certifications are testaments to your skills and proficiency in a certain
area. For example, becoming a VMware Certified Professional tells hiring
managers, companies and clients that you have the experience and skills
needed to effectively create, design, manage and maintain a cloud
environment.
qThis is the biggest reason why IT professionals pursue IT certifications. It
helps validate your skills and expertise in your current job.

5. Marketability
qThere are certain certifications that are appropriate for wherever you
are at in your career. For example, it may help new graduates land
entry-level positions if they pursue basic certifications such as
CompTIA A+, Microsoft Certified Professional, Certified Internet
Webmaster Associate, Sun Certified Java Programmer and Cisco's
CCNA.
qThese certifications validate the skills they learned in school and can
help make up for not having the right work experience for the job.

6. qIn fact, no matter where you are in your IT career, certifications will
almost always give you an edge over non-certified IT professionals.
qCertifications do more than just validate your skills and experience. It
also shows potential employers that you are committed to the IT field
by spending the money and time to obtain your certifications.
qIT certifications also make career advancement more likely. The plain
truth is that, in general, IT certifications can help you get a pay raise or
a promotion.

7. qAccording to Rich Hein at CIO.com, the right certifications could mean
anywhere from an 8 to 16 percent increase in your pay, so
certifications are very important when it comes to compensation.
qLastly, certifications are a must in certain sectors within IT.
Consultants and people who are self-employed would be wise to
obtain certifications so more clients will trust them. Additionally, most
government IT positions require certain certifications for you to be
eligible for hiring.
q

8. Personal and Professional
Development
qIT is a very dynamic field and new technologies are introduced every
single day. Certifications are important to ensure that you are on top
of these developments and that your skills are updated.
qCertification training can help you cover new areas while also
reinforcing the skills you already have. Think of it as a refresher course
that can help you identify and overcome your problem areas.
q

9. qCertification can also help you to network with other IT professionals.
Your next job, project or endorsement could very well come from
someone you met at a study group or technical conference related to
a certain certification exam. Certification can help you meet IT
professionals who have similar interests and specialties as you.

10. qHeading down a certification path will also give you access to
resources that would not be available otherwise. This includes access
to online forums, training materials and other learning resources that
are provided by certification providers such as Microsoft and Cisco.
qThere's also something to be said about the personal satisfaction that
comes with acing an exam that validates your expertise. Go ahead,
put your certificate on your wall or add those letters after your name!

11. What are my certification options? What are the
differences among them?
qThere are a lot of answers to these questions, really. It would all depend on
what you need for your job, what your career goals are, and what you are
interested in.
qWhat it comes down to is that your certification path should reflect your
career path. There are two things that you should know about
certifications. The first is that hiring managers will be able to weed out
applicants who have obtained certifications but don't have the appropriate
job experience. A certification alone will not help you land a job nor will it
make you ready to perform a certain function.

12. qThe second thing is that you really need hands-on, real-world experience
with the technology, devices and software involved in the certification
you are seeking. It will make passing the exams easier, which is
something we will discuss later.
qChoosing your certification path depends on two things: Where you are
now and where you want to go in your IT career, and what functions and
work-related experience you have in your profession.
qKnowing these will help you wade through the numerous certification
providers that offer different paths. You will also have to decide whether
to go for vendor-neutral certifications or vendor-specific ones.

13. The certifications provided by the biggest certifications providers, are:
qMicrosoft (Microsoft Certified IT Professional, MCSA/MCSE, Microsoft Certified
, etc.)
qCompTIA (CompTIA A+, CTP+, CDIA+, Network+, etc.)
qCisco (CCNA, CCDA, CCNA Security)
In recent years, another group of certifications have cropped up: those
related to the cloud, specifically, virtualization.
Examples include certifications from:
qVMWare (VMware Certified Professional, Certified Spring Professional, Certifie
qCitrix (Citrix Certified Administrator, Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer, etc.)

14. What certification should I start
with?
qIf you work with technologies, devices and software from a particular
vendor, you might want to start with that. For instance,
Microsoft has certifications for their products in network administration,
Windows administration, programming and databases, among others.
With Microsoft, the Microsoft Technology Associate credential is the
most basic and people with some experience or education in the field may
start with a Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist, or MCTS,
certification.

15. qIf you are up for a little challenge, you might want to try for the
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). The CCNA is regarded as one
of the most difficult entry-level certifications. Cisco also offers the
Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT), which is the
starting point for all advanced associate, professional and expert
certifications from Cisco.
qIf you do not want to be locked into just one vendor, go for CompTIA,
which is vendor neutral and focuses on general technologies and concepts
rather than specific hardware from a single manufacturer.
qWith CompTIA, most people start with the CompTIA A+ and then take the
CompTIA Network+ exam.

16. Which exams should I take first
among the various certification
paths?
qOnce you have determined the right certification path for you,
you will need to research about the various certifications
available for that particular path and select the ones that you
probably would not need in the long run.
qFor example, if you are just starting out your IT career, you
would want to start off with an entry-level certification such as
CompTIA A+, CCENT or CCNA, among others.
qOnce you have your niche, then you should have a clearer
picture of which certifications to pursue. For example, an IT
security professional will want to get CCNA Security, MCITP,
MCSE, Security+ and/or Network+ before moving on to
Wireshark Certified Network

17. Analyst, Certified Ethical Hacker, Certified
Professional Penetration Tester and Offensive
Security Certified Professional.
qIf you are aiming for a particular higher-level certification,
your certification choices become a lot easier. For
example, if you want to be a CompTIA Advanced Security
Practitioner, then you should get CompTIA Security+ first.
It is recommended that you should also have a CompTIA
Network+ certification under your belt when aiming for
Security+. Conversely, if you are aiming for a Microsoft
Certified Master level of certification, it would help to first
obtain a Microsoft Certified Technology and then
Professional level certification first.

18. More Popular CertificationsqProject Management Professional is a highly sought-after certification
for IT professionals. It will validate your skills as a project manager and is
admittedly one of the most difficult certification exams to pass. The
requirements are quite stringent. You would need thousands of hours of
general leadership experience and months of project management
experience. You would also need 35 hours of formal project management
education before you can take the exam. The PMP Exam has 200
multiple-choice questions and most of these are based on theoretical
situations that force you to apply your knowledge to real-world scenarios.

19. qVMware Certified Professional 5 or VCP 5 is another one of the most
popular certifications today. VMware is one of the most widely used
virtualization platforms, thus making this credential very important.
The VCP is the entry-level credential and part of the requirement is to have
hands-on experience with VMware sphere. The VCP5 exam itself only has
85 questions that need to be answered within 90 minutes.
Citrix also has similar certifications that are focused on virtualization:
Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer
Citrix Certified Integration Architect

20. qMicrosoft has a lot of certifications for IT professionals using its products,
including Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate, MCSA, and Microsoft
Certified Solutions Expert, MCSE. The new MCSE is no longer focused on
server administration and its associated technologies, but on the different
approaches to solving business and enterprise problems. It now takes a
look at business intelligence, database administration and cloud
computing. In fact, there are now three tracks that can help you get an
MCSE credential:
MCSE for Private Cloud
MCSE for SQL Server 2012
MCSE: Business Intelligence

21. qCisco, on the other hand, has the Cisco Certified Network Associate
Security certification. The CCNA tests various skills that relate to
designing, creating, deploying, installing and configuring, testing and
maintaining Cisco appliances and security devices. This would include
testing:
Your understanding of the different types of attacks and threats against
networks
Your knowledge on designing effective policies on network security as well
as implementing it
Your knowledge of Cisco products and technologies
Your skills on how to provide secure access to network devices, among
others

22. qThe CCNA Security credential has two possible paths. One is to pass the
CCNA Composite Exam or take two separate exams: Interconnecting Cisco
Network Devices 1 and 2. As always, you would need to know the
concepts as put forth by Cisco and how to apply them to real-world
scenarios. In fact, a big part of the CCNA is performing tasks with
simulated switches and routers. You would need to practice on Cisco
equipment, so it would be helpful if you can rent or buy Cisco equipment
if you do not work with them at your company. Either that or you can
practice on simulators available online such as
Cisco Academy's Packet Tracer or Boson's, but a good free alternative
comes from GNS3, which is open source. Train signal has a lot of
resources to introduce you to GNS3.

23. 1. Practice makes perfect.
Practice tests will help you tremendously in passing the test.
Working on practice tests can help you know which areas you need
to brush up on, as well as making you familiar with the actual test.
You will be able to simulate just what it will be like to answer the
test with the time limits, instructions and other variables that are
present during the actual test.
2. Make sure to keep the time.
While doing practice tests, take note of the time you need to
complete it. You will need this in order to pace yourself so that you
could complete a certification exam within the allotted time. If, for
instance, you take four hours to finish an exam that has an allotted
time of 1.5 hours, then you might not be ready to take at all.

24. 3. Study groups help.
Study groups are a great way to cover examination topics and battle
the boredom that comes from studying alone. Chances are, there are
colleagues in your office who are studying for the same exams. If not,
then you can probably find a study group on Craigslist or online
certification forums.

25. 4. Use different preparation methods.
Fortunately for you, there are a lot of ways to study for an exam.
You can get books, participate in an online forum, go through a
formal classroom review, check out web-based training like
TrainSignal offers, and talk to people who have taken the same
tests. Do not just rely on one preparation method because it might
not be enough.
Whatever you do, however, please be sure to avoid braindumps.
Braindumps are online sites that help you cheat on your
certification exams by divulging the questions and answers to
actual tests. While this may sound like an easy way out, it is
undoubtedly highly unethical. Also, if you are caught, you could
instantly fail the test.
But the deeper evil of braindumps is that you are getting credentials
for something that you do not really know or understand. How will
a CCNA certification, for example, help you if you really do not
know anything about routing and switching?

26. 5. Make sure you are ready for the test.
This probably goes without saying, but if you have prepared
and you still feel that you are not ready for the test, do not go
through with it. And when you do feel that you are ready,
make sure that you get enough rest and sleep on the night
before the exam.
Above all, you should have a clear understanding of what skills
will be covered on the specific test you'll be taking. Some
more popular exams, CompTIA for example, work hard to
measure your real-world experience and test your problem-
solving skills.
As you can see, planning for a certification path can be
complex. TrainSignal has many more
articles about certifications on this blog, and offers courses on
the most-popular certifications, including CompTIA, Cisco,
Microsoft and VMware

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Aim high and good luck!