Your Starring Role in IT Requires Top-Caliber Training

There's a fun new article up at the Certification Magazine website. Compiled from data gathered in CertMag's most recent Salary Survey, the article lists the "best" hacker characters in Hollywood movies, as determined by real-world cybersecurity professionals. It's like asking doctors to rate the characters on "Grey's Anatomy," or having actual superheroes decide who are the most real-seeming characters in an "Avengers" movie. So who did the best job of convincing actual security techs that his (or her) hacking skills were legit?

Hey, read the article — who are we to spoil their fun?

Of course, when it comes to IT, an actor's job is easy. If you can squint or grimace convincingly, and you know how to type, then you're in! The visual effects team will take care of the rest. Doing an IT job in the real world is considerably harder. An actor who's going to play a computer geek can be anybody, even a Hemsworth brother. (Chris played a nefarious hacker in Blackhat, while Liam was a genius computer engineer in Paranoia.) It takes more than perfect teeth and sculpted biceps, however, to be the star of a real-world IT workplace.

The best preparation to succeed in IT is education. The more you know, the better you'll perform. And certification not only challenges you to learn and develop usable IT skills, but also provides you with a trusted statement that those skills are actionable in the real world. Your credential sends a message, loud and clear, to prospective employers: This person knows their stuff. And there's no better preparation to get certified than the performance-based training that you can get right here at TestOut Continuing Education.

Planning to audition for that real-world role at the IT service desk? TestOut's CompTIA A+ training can help. Looking to play the part of real-world small business network administrator? Get prepared for your big debut with TestOut's Cisco CCNA training. There's an old theater saying: What e'er thou art, act well thy part. With the benefit of TestOut certification training, you won't have to rely on the special effects masterminds to make it look like you actually know what you're doing. You'll step into your next role ready to perform on Day One.