Certification (FYI)

人生无解

Certifications in all areas of IT consulting are becoming more prevalent, but which ones really make a difference in pay and hiring trends, here is the answer from new research and analysis at certmag.com and our own research into the 3,000+ new requests for IT consultants over the last year:

Roles where the right certification secures the position or increases the rate:
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Security Specialist - CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professionals) Cisco Network Specialist - CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) Systems Administrator - MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) Breakfix hardware technician - A+ SAP Functional Expert - SAP Certification in the module required i.e. FI/CO, MM, HR, PM
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  h" g2 o4 m' [Roles where certification can help:
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Project Management - PMP (Certified Project Management Professional) Database Administrator - OCP (Oracle Certified Professional) Java developer SCJD (Sun Certified Java Developer)

- t2 n* Q5 z8 W% S5 `Roles where certification really is not an influencing factor at all:

Business Analysis
Most Software Development
2 c, b* z' F& o. }1 vQuality Assurance
Technical/Web Writing
  t! E' p$ f7 v  h5 ]' g4 N% _& R1 aBusiness Intelligence

5 y, Q/ r. t5 v' XThe top certifications for salary increase according to a recent 2005 survey by Certmag are:
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MCSE+    - average $12,909 increase
# L4 t# g8 F; T2 EMCT      - average $11,723 increase
CCNA     - average $9967 increase
CNE      - average $7262 increase
* f, p7 D# O$ l; _0 D% `/ L" rMCP+     - average $7072 increase
. E% T) P  ^7 N' CCNA      - average $7061 increase
Network+ - average $6487 increase
A+       - average $5134 increase
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: x7 o/ d2 s, |8 C$ l5 GThe only professional certification in Canada is the Information Systems Professional (I.S.P.) designation from CIPS. More information can be found at www.cips.ca/standards on this designation and the impact it can have on your marketability as a consultant.
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Humor
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; g/ r5 P5 @: U4 A  \) |7 r, ^Top 10 replies by programmers when their programs don't work:

10. "That's weird..."
  F: E! ?1 W5 E3 m8 P% A% s9. "It's never done that before."
8. "It worked yesterday."
& a0 v  s6 u/ E2 Y7. "You must have the wrong version."
6. "It works, but it hasn't been tested."
; H% c9 n  M1 N" M+ K5 y  ?5. "Somebody must have changed my code."
2 z& \. a3 k3 C, U4. "Did you check for a virus?"
3. "Where were you when the program blew up?"
4 R9 N1 i" |' K( f! [& l2. "Why do you want to do it that way?"
, |& F' L+ E% A* ?- M, |

) L8 }- [2 D; n4 p: |& Q& Iand finally ...
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0 W. N: w6 \1 b1. "I thought I fixed that."

xmTiger

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