The Olympic Certification Challenge

Exactly 94 years ago this week, athletes from 16 nations — Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and Yugoslavia — gathered in the French resort town of Chamonix, at the foot of Mont Blanc, for the first-ever Olympic Winter Games. U.S. skater Charles Jewtraw won the first gold medal, on Jan. 26, in the 500-meter speed skate.

The Winter Olympic calendar has moved back a little since that heady debut. The XXIII Olympic Winter Games, to be held at Pyeongchang county in South Korea's Gangwon province, doesn't even kick off until Feb. 9, four days after the closing date, Feb. 5, of the inaugural event in Chamonix. The ceremonial Olympic torch, however, is already on it way, slowly crossing South Korea to its eventual destination at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium.

Since 1924, 12 nations — Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States — have sent athletes to every Olympic Winter Games. Six of those countries — Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States — have claimed medals at every Olympic Winter Games. Only the United States has won at least one gold medal at every Olympic Winter Games.

Probably like many of you, we're excited about the Games and the opportunity to watch each competition and marvel at the cold-weather prowess of athletes from around the world. (We may or may not have just gotten a one-month subscription to Sling TV to stream all the Olympic channels directly to our home.) (Technology rules!) The Olympic Winter Games aren't directly related to IT certification, but that doesn't mean that there's no connection at all.

As a matter of fact, we're making a connection ourselves. The Pyeongchang Games will run from Feb. 9 through Feb. 25. That's just 17 days. Do you think you could get an IT certification in just 17 days? Maybe. It would be difficult, to be sure, but the Olympics are for the best and most committed competitors in the world. How badly do you want to get certified — and give a fat boost to your IT career?

Consider this our challenge to you: the first-ever TestOut CE Olympic Winter Games Certification Challenge. Step 1 is to start a free 7-day trial of our monthly training subscription. Step 2 is to pick a training course, plow through it, and schedule (not pass) your certification exam in 17 days or less. (Actually booking the test, completing it, and receiving your score could take a week or two all by itself, so we're giving you some leeway.)

That's it! That's all you have to do. We offer our heartiest "Congratulations!" in advance to anyone who can pull it off. You'll also get a (figurative) Certification Challenge Gold Medal, as well as the (actual) satisfaction of having a) pushed yourself, b) completed something hard, and c) taken a pretty impressive step up the (figurative) IT career ladder. Think you (actually) have what it takes? Get started today!