Feel the Need — The Need for Speed
Posted by TestOut Staff on
Round numbers almost always make people happy, so here's one to chew on: Exactly 30 years ago, Hollywood opened up a highway to the danger zone with the release of a little action movie about the elite training program for U.S. Naval Aviators. Not only that, but last year showbiz scuttlebutt emerged that the producer of Top Gun, the movie that turned Tom Cruise into a movie superstar, is ready to bring back that lovin' feeling. Top Gun 2 will not, apparently, be doing a flyby of the box office this year, but the movie is in development with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and star Cruise both aboard.
In the original Top Gun, Cruise's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell attends a special school at (since-renamed) Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar designed to sharpen the skills of the nation's top naval aviators. You could even say that it's like a certification program for the Navy's best pilots. And in the 1980s, when the movie is set, the whole course could be completed in just five weeks. That's a pretty compact timeline, but even Mav and Goose (spoiler: not Goose) didn't get their wings as quickly as you can get a certification. A new article at GoCertify outlines a three-day timetable for getting yourself ITIL-certified.
Most people, with respect to most certifications, will probably need a little bit longer than a single weekend. But the article does illustrate an important point about certification: It doesn't have to be an intimidating, all-encompassing endeavor. Effective, career-enhancing training can lead to a credential in a matter of weeks. With the benefit of TestOut Continuing Education's top-flight training, experienced IT pros can probably get most of the certs we support on the same timeline that U.S. Naval Aviators fly through Topgun (it's a nine-week program in 2016).
Don't let fear of an intimidating time commitment hold you back. Especially for tech workers who are already familiar with the basics of IT, certification doesn't have to be a monumental undertaking. So why not make a positive life change? Check out our affordable training options and get your IT certification journey off the ground today.