IT Insights Blog

Finding work in a crowded IT field can be difficult, to say the least. The application and interviewing process can sometimes make you feel like a small bighorn sheep attempting to fight the alpha ram to win the attention of the females in the herd. Instead of being the one to fight the alpha, of course, you must learn how to become the alpha and set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. An article by Ed Tittel recently posted to Tom’s IT Pro gives some insight into how to put yourself in high demand on today’s IT market. Tittel suggests that, given the always-looming Internet of Things, one way to assure that you are wanted is to gain knowledge and skills in one of the many realms of networking.

Not everyone becomes a CEO in the course of his or her IT career. Some of us — most of us, really — just don't have that in our DNA. If you have your career sights set high, on the other hand, then it may interest you to know that certification can benefit you even if you're at the top of the corporate pyramid. Even if you've climbed as high as you can go. Don't take our word for it, though. Take the word of some actual IT executives. We get inside info from our friends at Certification Magazine from time to time. The magazine's most recent annual Salary Survey captured data from 70 U.S. respondents (5 women and 65 men) who self-identified as executives in their current workplaces.

At TestOut Continuing Education, our mission is to make a difference in a person’s life through education using breakthrough technology. We take our mission so seriously that every decision we make must answer the question: What is best for the student? Obviously what is best for the student is to provide them with the best training, at the best price, to enable them to earn their IT certification. That is our bottom line, and that’s why it’s rewarding to hear from students who succeed.

How do you take a good thing and make it better? Easy, add a couple other good things to it and drop the price a little! The idea of bundles goes back at least as far as the classic youth TV program Happy Days. Remember that time when Chachi needs a motorbike and a leather jacket for his big date with Joanie? At first he tries to borrow a jacket from Fonzie, who wants someone to wash his white t-shirts and socks every day for a week. Chachi decides that's too much to ask, but then the Fonz agrees to let Chachi also borrow his bike, throws in a special comb and says he'll wash his own socks. The best part of the deal is that Chachi and Ritchie trick Potsie into doing the Fonz's laundry (sans socks) for a week, so Chachi get off scot free. (Or should that be Scott free?)

Like Mr. Miyagi once told Daniel-san, IT certification takes total commitment. You can't have one foot in, and one foot out, or you'll get squished like a grape. (We're pretty sure that scene from the movie is about certification.) On the other hand, being committed doesn't guarantee success. And failing a certification exam doesn't mean that you weren't committed to learning, studying and putting forth a serious effort at the testing center. It just means that IT certification is hard, and that a lot of people don't get it right on the first attempt.