Certifications play an important part of any IT professional's career, although
there will always be some debate on how important. Certifications are,
like most things in life: The more you put into them, the more you will get out.
While the actual knowledge you gain on the journey is the true reward,
certifications also indicate to employers that you take your job seriously and
that you are knowledgeable on the respective technology.
With more than 1,700 professional IT certifications
running the gamut of IT technologies, knowing which certifications are the most
important for your specialty can seem an insurmountable task. To help you meet
the challenge, we've sifted through data from
Robert Half Technology to narrow your
search and bring you a manageable list of the most relevant IT certifications
for the remainder of 2012.
Dice.com, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, reports that Q2 2012
jobless rate for IT techs is at 3.6 percent, much lower than our national
average. In a competitive market, you've got to do everything you can to
distinguish yourself from your peers. Certification is an important part of that
process. A recent poll asked users why they chose certification. The number one
answer--at 51 percent--was that certification was a way to position themselves
for a promotion or potential job.
Knowing Which IT Certification Is Right
Before you jump into a specific certification, there are some important
questions that you need to ask yourself about your career goals and
objectives:
- What demographic of IT do you fall into? (Security, Web Development,
Programmer and so on)
- What are your career objectives?
- What IT career are you most interested in?
- What type of resources are needed (i.e. money and time)?
- Will this certification have a significant impact on my career?
Taking the time to think about and document your response to these questions
can help solidify your future goals and narrow your list of potential
certifications further.
Tip: Once you've identified a role you'd like to advance to, look
through Monster, Dice, CareerBuilder and other sites for those positions and see
what IT certifications employers are looking for. You may find that on-the-job
experience is what employers are searching for in one area of your expertise, so
it would be logical to invest your time and money into certification in a
different area to further your career goals.
Bonus Tip: You'll find a must-have utility
for your IT certification toolbox at
GoCertify. The Certification Advisor allows you to plug in
your area of expertise, skill level, career goals and more to generate a list of
recommended certifications.
If your area of expertise is related to a listed certification's focus and
you don't have that certification, you will definitely want to delve into it
further. Now without further ado, here are our Top 12 IT Certifications.
1. Project Management Professional (PMP)
Completing the
Project Management Professional certification shows
employers that you have the necessary skills and resources to get the project
done from start to finish, on time and on budget. It's never been more relevant
than in today's IT industry where we all have multiple responsibilities. Average
salary: $101,000.
2. Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSP)
CISSP is a vendor neutral security certification. People
who hold this certification have the skills and knowledge to complete high-level
tasks involving architecture, design, management and/or controls that assure the
security of business environments.
If you keep up with the news, you've seen all the latest security breaches at
Sony, LinkedIn and many others; security is at the top of everyone's list today.
To punctuate that the Robert Half Technology Salary Guide reported that 24
percent of the 1,600 polled CIO's stated security as their top concern. The
amount of data companies now store can be mind boggling. Breaches cost money,
man power and many times credibility. As threats continue to escalate, so will
the demand for professionals who can find security holes and ward off the
attacking hordes. Average salary: $97,000.
3. Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
RHCE is a Linux Red Hat Entperprise Linux certification
and demonstrates that the holder has the skills and knowledge to perform the
duties of senior system administrator, responsible for Red Hat systems.
Deployments and migrations are second nature to an RHCE.
Linux continues to be adopted by more and more companies in an effort to
decrease operating costs. Demand is outpacing supply making this one of the
hottest Linux certifications. Note: In order to be eligible for this
certification you must receive your RHCSA certification. Average salary:
$90,000.
4. VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
VCP VMware's first level of certification that focuses
squarely on the vSphere virtualization platform. Recipients should have the
skills to install, deploy, scale and manage vSphere environments, as well as
general virtualization skills.
Virtualization is more popular than ever in today's IT world and with cloud
computing-based virtualization becoming more and more common this is sure to be
a skillset that will be in demand for the next few years. Average salary:
$95,000.
5. CompTIA A+
A+ from the trade group CompTIA, is another vendor-neutral
certification and is considered entry level. It encompasses a number of
different foundation level IT skills.
This is an industry standard for IT and tech support folks. Earning this
certification indicates that you have the skills and knowledge to install,
secure and troubleshoot networks as well as conduct preventative maintenance.
Average salary: $47,000.
6. Oracle DBA
Every company has a database that is crucial to its
operation and most have several, making Oracle certified professionals in
demand. The
Oracle DBA certification factors in training, experience
and testing to establish a strong foundation and expertise in Oracle9i Database
techniques, including backup and recovery, performance tuning and
administration. Average salary: $103,000
7. Information Technology Infrastructure Library
The
ITIL
certification is the basis of the worldwide standard for quality IT Service
Management and is considered to have laid the groundwork for effective IT
departments. It outlines non-organizational specific "best practices" that are
used by companies to establish a level of competency. There are four flavors for
this cetification: Foundation, Intermediate, Expert and Master. It's hard to
imagine a company these days that doesn't maintain some type of web presence and
as more and more businesses become dependent on IT, the skills to manage IT
services have become a "make or break" role. Demand for this certification has
skyrocketed over recent years and it should continue to grow into 2013 and
beyond. Average "ITIL Expert" salary $98,000.
Cisco Certifications
Cisco Certifications, like Microsoft and others, have been IT industry
standards for years and are used to validate knowledge of Cisco products and
technologies. So much business passes through Cisco systems that these always
seem to be in demand. The two listed below should continue to grow well into the
foreseeable future.
8. Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE)
CCIE
demonstrates that the recipient has all the expert-level skills required to
plan, prepare, operate, monitor, and troubleshoot complex data center networks.
CCIE is a common goal for network professionals who want to be recognized as
experts in their field. Cisco touts this certification as "the most prestigious
networking certification in the industry" and this certification has also been
called out by RHT as one of the most in-demand certifications for 2012. Average
salary, $103,000.
9. Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
CCNA
certification is a second-level Cisco Career certification. It lets
employers know that you have demonstrated the ability "to install, configure,
operate and troubleshoot medium-size routed and switched networks, including
implementation and verification of connections to remote sites in a WAN". Anyone
who wants to work in the newtworking field or if you happen to work on Cisco
hardware on a regular basis should consider adding this certification to their
skillset. As mentioned earlier, security is going to continue to grow and
according to RHT data so will the need for this credential. Average salary,
$86,000
Microsoft Certifications
Microsoft software and systems are a staple in most IT departments making
these and other Microsoft certifications in demand skills. The RHT Salary Guide
calls out all three of the Microsoft certifications listed below as top needed
skills in today's job market.
10. Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP)
MCITP certifications, one of Microsoft's newer
certifications, tests technical proficiency in the Microsoft Certified
Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications. There are many different areas of
certification. Average salary, $85,000.
Windows Client
MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician on Windows
7
MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7
MCITP: Consumer
Support Technician on Windows Vista
MCITP: Enterprise Support Technician on
Windows Vista
Windows Server
MCITP: Enterprise Administrator on Windows Server
2008
MCITP: Server Administrator on Windows Server 2008
MCITP:
Virtualization Administrator on Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft SQL Server
MCITP: Database Administrator 2008
MCITP:
Database Developer 2008
MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer 2008
MCITP:
Enterprise Project Management with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007
Microsoft Exchange Server
MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator on
Exchange 2010
MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator on Exchange 2007
Microsoft SharePoint Server
MCITP: SharePoint Administrator 2010
Microsoft Lync Server
MCITP: Lync Server Administrator 2010
11. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)
MCTS certification validates skills on a particular
Microsoft technology. As with MCITP, there are many technologies that you can
certify for, for example, Exchange server, Lync Server and Office Communications
Server, virtualization and more. There are simply to many to list them all by
name here, 57 in fact. The entire list can be found
here. Average salary: $90,000
12. Microsoft's Certified Systems Engineers (MCSE)
An
MCSE certification demonstrates that the recipient can
design, implement and administer technology infrastructures using Microsoft 2000
Windows Server and other Windows server platforms. This certification is common
to systems engineers, tech support engineers, system analysts, network analysts
and technical consultants. Average salary: $77,000.
Why Certs Pays Off
Certifications are a great way to break into a new technology, cover gaps in
your resume or advance your current position. The best people in the IT business
are the ones who are passionate about learning and that is a key to being
successful. Technology is evolving at a pace that is difficult to keep up with.
As the environment moves forward and changes so must you. Regular education is a
must whether it's back to college, buying a book or getting a certification.
Choose wisely and always explore your options.
This list is by no way exhaustive and we'd love to know which IT
Certifications you think should be included, so please leave a comment.
Salaries are based on data from Indeed.com.
Arcitura Education created a set of Cloud certifications beside their SOA certifications. Not all are available yet, but they are great to prove your proficiency in specific areas of cloud computing.
The launch of CSA’s CCSK program is an important step in improving security professionals’ understanding of cloud security challenges and best practices and will lead to improved trust of and increased use of cloud services.
CompTIA has only one neutral Cloud certification, addressed to people who want to understand the cloud idea.
The Cloud Security Alliance’s Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) is the industry’s first user certification program for secure cloud computing.
EMC has in the portfolio three certifications for Cloud specialists. One for people who start with cloud topics with EMC solutions and two for Architects (the highest level).
EXIN has one cloud certification in the portfolio. This cloud certification is suited for a management level, but also engineers find this valuable. The EXIN certification was built by specialists from 4 companies.
HP at this moment, has two certifications for people who are familiar with HP cloud technologies.
IBM has three certification for people who want to demonstrate their knowledge with the Cloud Computing infrastructure solutions.
Microsoft is one of the biggest players on the certifications markets. 20 years after creating first IT certifications, Microsoft developed first cloud certification. New will be available this year.
Oracle has only one certification that touches cloud concepts. In the future we should see much more.
CloudU is a cloud certification designed for IT professionals and business leaders who want to upgrade their knowledge of the fundamentals of Cloud Computing. CloudU program is sponsored by RackSpace Hosting.
Salesforce is a cloud computing company. All certifications from the Salesforce portfolio are based on their cloud services.