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:

3 d, \( y5 j' U0 J: k- U+ YRoles 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

4 k1 J) S; h! i  h3 eRoles 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)

Roles where certification really is not an influencing factor at all:

$ A0 W) x1 J4 o/ n* l9 FBusiness Analysis
+ p* M5 |: g2 ?1 R+ \3 X3 GMost Software Development
Quality Assurance
" c3 }) q: N; }, qTechnical/Web Writing
Business Intelligence

The top certifications for salary increase according to a recent 2005 survey by Certmag are:

MCSE+    - average $12,909 increase
  C, k7 n9 t; N- p( W4 a6 V' @" nMCT      - average $11,723 increase
CCNA     - average $9967 increase
# w& T$ a( f1 I0 F: w3 I) x1 ~CNE      - average $7262 increase
) U# w# Y$ o% [* ~! f$ eMCP+     - average $7072 increase
5 Z  W3 ?: z- t! e) k* zCNA      - average $7061 increase
Network+ - average $6487 increase
A+       - average $5134 increase

The 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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$ w) o& ?, T, D8 r1 \5 s9 ?Humor

& |7 X6 ?: A1 q4 _* J% X3 F: _Top 10 replies by programmers when their programs don't work:
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7 v: g/ U1 [6 z* m- m% B; W10. "That's weird..."
  x; Q0 B, T9 r9. "It's never done that before."
8. "It worked yesterday."
7. "You must have the wrong version."
2 H% U$ o7 l& }; J# t5 x" E6. "It works, but it hasn't been tested."
5. "Somebody must have changed my code."
4. "Did you check for a virus?"
3. "Where were you when the program blew up?"
7 ]: i( ^$ ?! X- r5 {( p6 }2. "Why do you want to do it that way?"
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and finally ...

0 S5 s( `% m% j7 a1. "I thought I fixed that."

xmTiger

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