Best IT certifications

kingrob said:
I also want to do the Linux certifications, but cant find any certification centres nearby. :(
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Closest place to you would be the Cape Town area. You can get the books, practice on your own and then simply go write the exam(s).
 
Certification is a money making scam. The fact that you are certified does not mean you know what you are doing. I have seen this time & time again out in the field.
 
Yeah is there any reason why there are no Degrees there?

how does a B.Sc IT (Comp Engineering) Fair against the above mentioned certifications? I am a 2nd year student at UCT.

is it more powerful to have a degree and a good IT certification, or is it just as powerful to just have one of those certifications alone?

also another question, how does being a Chartered IT Proffesional compare with the above certifications too?

Thank you
 
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I was just wondering if someone did the MCTS or any of the above listed qualifications, would they be able to get a job with ZERO experience or would they have to supplement the MCTS with something else & try & get some experience?
 
Thankfully I have been out of mainstream IT for the past 8 years. Judging the by the number and the aggregate intelligence of the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers I came across I was left with the impression that they handed out MS certificates free at the traffic lights.
 
marine1 said:
Surprising that no "degrees" are on there
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Agreed! A similar article with insight into the difference degree programs would be a good read.

I don't think degrees would qualify as a "certification" though. A certification says you can program in X language or adminstor X system (theoretically competent). A degree says you have a foundation to explore a certain field with competence. Theres also the hard work over years put into study which says a lot.

I think a good, short term, path would be an IT degree, a few months experience then one of the certifications. Will set you up nicely to launch your career. However, not everybody has the privilege or will to study at a university. I've also found that corporates would rather invest 20k into a (relatively) short certifaction rather than a degree program.

Renesongs said:
Thankfully I have been out of mainstream IT for the past 8 years. Judging the by the number and the aggregate intelligence of the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers I came across I was left with the impression that they handed out MS certificates free at the traffic lights.
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Thankfully :rolleyes:
 
hyperian said:
I don't know. The article mentions the Microsoft Certified Professional Developer course, so one would perhaps expect the java equivalent to be listed too ;)
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The MS programming exams and Sun certs are very similar. Perhaps the (false?) perception of MS programmers being more employable played a role in the authors list.
 
CrazYmonkeY159 said:
also another question, how does being a Chartered IT Proffesional compare with the above certifications too?
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To qualify as a chartered IT professional is crazy difficult. It's a title/qualification awarded by the BCS, and is not the same as a normal certification.

From the BCS website:

To become a Chartered IT Professional (CITP), you must meet a number of important criteria:

Firstly, when you apply for Chartered status, you will be awarded membership (if you are not already a member), either at Chartered level or, if you are not quite ready, at the most appropriate membership grade.

Secondly, you must have 8-10 years of IT work experience; this can be reduced depending on your academic qualifications, but must be a minimum of 5 years. For more information, please see Education and experience.

Finally, at least 3 of the past 5 years must have been spent in an IT role with significant influence and responsibility, a challenging range of complex work activities, well-developed business skills, and full accountability. This requirement is defined more fully in SFIA level 5.
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http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.10972
 
rogerwe said:
Quite frankly I would hire a bright teachable graduate before I hire somebody with a certification for the role of software developer. Why?

  • Certifications become outdated
  • Certifications teach and bind you proprietry practices of a product. eg. Putting all your code on a Windows Form or Aspx page because you can just drag and drop components onto it.
  • I've interviewed very expensive senior certified guys that can't answer basic object orientated theory
  • Many certified guys think they know everything and aren't teachable
  • Certified guys are expensive

I'm generalising here with the above list, so if you're certified and don't fit the above description, please don't be offended.

Suffice to say that for every 10 senior guys we interview (many of them certified with some MS****, we hire 1 because of the above reasons.
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+1

I have also interviewed multi-cert qualified pple who has no idea what they are talking about when put into a real life situation, I believe the most important thing is experience, when a system won't start a program and everything seems to be fine, you need to know that it might be hardware compatibility issues and not something a re-install will fix, especially after you have re-installed for the third time, worst is he is so proud to tell me that the third time is the charm :eek:
 
Cisco CCIE is the money, but it will require a lot of dedication, money and luck.

I've done CCNA and CCNP a few years ago, but it means nothing to me. I'm busy doing my M.Eng atm and I don't think I'm even going to be using that either, I'm just doing it because I get paid to, heh.
 
Catal said:
Cisco CCIE is the money, but it will require a lot of dedication, money and luck.

I've done CCNA and CCNP a few years ago, but it means nothing to me. I'm busy doing my M.Eng atm and I don't think I'm even going to be using that either, I'm just doing it because I get paid to, heh.
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I would agree but is extremely difficult to get
 
Catal said:
Cisco CCIE is the money, but it will require a lot of dedication, money and luck.
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I know a few CCIEs that have failed their recerts. Even CCIEs don't know all the answers, just like you they have to look stuff up but their general knowledge is pretty good. Once met a Cisco Fellow and boy the dude was a real propellar head, knew his stuff but he was older and had years of experience.
 
I can say that the certifications make you much more employable, especially the M$ ones. I do agree that they don't mean much in terms of what you know, but they do give your company tons of free licensing if they have enough certified people. We are now Gold certified and I don't think we pay for any windows / office / visual studio / sql server licenses.

I myself went to CTI (very big mistake, but it did get my foot in the door) and I've got a few certifications behind my name. Started doing a part time BSc Computer Science and IT degree at UNISA this year. I'm also planning on writing the SQL Server 2008 Developer certi in the next two weeks.
 
Hi, If i just received my honours accounting degree but also want to get involved in the I.T side of things, are there popular career paths combining IT and Accounting/Audit qualifications and what further I.T qualifications are recommended depending on the career path?

Just a question of interest.....

Thanks
 
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