We
all know that obtaining and maintaining certification is an important part of
working in IT. Whether you are an IT Manager wanting to backup you project
management skills with a PRINCE2 Certification, or whether you are a hands on
Engineer aiming to prove your worth with multiple Microsoft Certifications,
having your skills on paper is a key element of career progression and keeping
your knowledge current.
Here
we will round up what we consider to be the most valuable IT Certifications in
2012.
1. MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) Enterprise
Administrator.
A
few years ago, with the release of Windows Server 2008, Microsoft released a
new certification track aimed specifically at job roles. This in my opinion
works way better than the MCSE for Windows Server 2003 - it makes sense to go
this route.
The
MCITP Enterprise Administrator consists of 4 compulsory exams:
70-640 - Windows
Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring
70-642 - Windows
Server 2008, Network Infrastructure, Configuring
70-643 - Windows
Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring
70-647 - Windows
Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator
...plus
one elective exam out of the following options:
70-620 -
Configuring Microsoft Windows Vista Client
70-624 -
Deploying and Maintaining Windows Vista Client and 2007 Microsoft Office System
Desktops (Now Retired, but still counts)
70-680 - Windows
7, Configuring
70-681 - Windows
7 and Office 2010, Deploying.
Of
course, each one of the above exams is a MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist)
Certification in their own right, so you will earn multiple certifications on
your way to an MCITP Enterprise Admin. Whichever track you choose, you can be
sure both you and your employer will find this certification highly desirable
and useful in your role.
2. CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Administrator)
The
CCNA has been around for some years now, but is still a highly regarded
certification and continues to be one of the top certifications in IT. Having
held this certification myself for a number of years, I can honestly say that
the topics covered gave me the foundation for understanding and troubleshooting
networks. I class this as the essential networking certification, a lot more
detailed than the CompTIA Network+ but manageable for most networking newbies.
Once
you have obtained this certification, you can branch of into more specific
areas, CCNA Wireless, CCNA Security and CCNA Voice or you can jump onto the
next tier CCNP or CCSP. Each of these can be completed by passing a single exam
and your chosen Test Guide will renew your existing CCNA Certification.
For
a complete networking novice, I would advise taking an instructor led course. I
initially completed my CCNA after attending a local Cisco Networking Academy
course, and I must say, it made the course content far easier to digest being
able to ask questions and play around on real equipment.
May
I also add that learning the Cisco IOS comes in handy with other vendors such
as HP. Their equipment uses very similar syntax to Cisco.
3. VCP (VMware Certified Professional).
Virtualization
has been one of the major developments in the IT world over the past few years.
There are not many organisations out there now that have not embraced this
technology in some form or another and therefore it makes sense to have the
skills to be able to install, configure and manage a virtual environment. Even
though I have used the Microsoft Virtualization platform (and also hold
certifications on it), personally I still favour VMware. VMware have always
seemed to lead the way with this technology, developing something ahead of the
pack and making it work.
One
of the requirements to obtain a VCP is an instructor led course. The
disadvantage to this is that it doesn't come cheap! If you don't currently hold
any previous VCP's then you are required to take a 5 day instructor led class.
You will be walked through the whole course blueprint and will have hands on
exercises to complete using the technology. The good news is that once you hold
a VCP, upgrading it to the latest Test Guide version is easer and only requires you
to take the 'What's New' course (2 days) or if you are quick off the mark, you
can usually just sit the exam before a given date without having to sit any kind
of upgrade course.
Virtualization
is one of those technologies that I still find amazing! The ease at which you
can deploy and manage, and the failover options it offers are something that
you could never dream of in a physical environment. An interesting
certification that will prove useful in any administration role.
4. ITIL (Foundation)
ITIL
(Information Technology Information Library) is a set of practices aimed at
delivering high quality service management. ITIL covers the IT lifecycle of
services for the whole IT Department. It provides organisations with a
foundation to build upon and customise to their own specific requirements.
The
ITIL course (currently v3) will ensure the candidate has a solid understanding
of 5 core elements, which are:
ITIL
Service Strategy
ITIL
Service Design
ITIL
Service Transition
ITIL
Service Operation
ITIL
Continual Service Improvement
Personally,
I think this certification is more suited to those who wish to pursue a career
in Network Management or a Team Leader role, however I do think it is important
for all Network Admins to have a basic understanding of the fundamentals of
delivering and improving an IT Service.
I
have noticed that a lot more employers are asking for some ITIL knowledge on
their job descriptions, so maybe a wise choice for those wishing to progress to
a senior level in an IT department.
5. MCTS
Looking
back at our #1 certification for 2012, the MCITP Enterprise Administrator, I
mentioned that along the way you would obtain multiple MCTS certifications too.
The MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) programme allows
candidates to select a particular technology and master an area of it, for
example, Active Directory, Configuring.
The
beauty of these certifications are that you can fine tune your knowledge and
only learn what you need or want to know. There are numerous study options
available for the MCTS certifications as you can expect including self-study,
instructor led training, video training and of course the training manuals.
Like
any hands on certification, you need to get experience of using the technology.
This is best obtained in a lab environment where it doesn't matter if you break
things. I have heard of people trying their newly acquired certification skills
out on production machines and, well, lets just say they weren't too popular
amongst their colleagues!
From
the newbie admin through to the senior architect, there are certifications for
you!
Obviously,
no one can give you a definite top 5 certifications to go out and get. It
depends on your role, what you want to achieve and where your employer wants to
you become skilled. However, these are what I would consider a good start for
the IT support generalist. They cover a number of areas of the job that will
put you ahead of the crowd and will make you a better admin.
If
you like what you read in this post, please feel free to leave a comment below.
You can also Follow us on Twitter @guide4test or join in the conversations on our
website Guide4Test.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/7009253
