The Most Important Member of the Team

If you've spent any portion of your free time over the last month either watching TV (or various streaming media) or surfing the web, then you may have an inkling that there's a new Star Wars movie about to show up in theaters. No, really. There's a Death Star (the Death Star, actually) in it and everything. To anyone who knows anything about marketing, the amount being spent to promote awareness of Rogue One is somewhere between staggering and mind-blowing.

The main action of the movie centers on a hand-picked band of freedom fighters who attempt to steal data about the massive new weapon under construction by the Galactic Empire. Everyone has blasters and cool outfits, but when you think about the nuts and bolts of what they're actually doing, you realize that the most important member of the team is probably the IT guy. That is, whoever has to actually access the Imperial network, then find and download the Death Star construction data coveted by the Rebel Alliance.

Just like in Rogue One, the IT specialist is often the most important member of any workplace team. Information technology provides the underpinnings of so much of modern life and business, that IT skills only get more valuable with each passing day. By choosing to work in IT, you've put yourself on a career path with an unshakable bedrock of relevancy.

You've also made an unspoken commitment, however, to keep your skills current. Change is both constant and rapid in IT, and you can't expect to just do your job and sit on the career development sidelines. You need to keep your skills sharp and your knowledge current. And that's where TestOut Continuing Education's certification training can help, both now and in the future. As Jedi master Yoda once said, "Certification is my ally, and a powerful ally it is."

Certification can be especially helpful if you're transitioning to IT after beginning your career in a different industry, or if it's been a while since the last time that your job required active participation in IT. Getting a certification and keeping it current will help you stand out when meeting with potential employers, and also put you in a better position to succeed on day one at your next job.

So remember that the IT specialist if a key member of any workplace team. And use certification to ensure that both you and your ream succeed.