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. Understanding IT Certification In the information technology workplace, it's not at all unusual to come across professionals who appear to delight in stringing multiple sets of acronyms after their names, such as MCSE, CCNP, OCP DBA, and so forth. In most cases, such designations are intended to identify their holders as possessing certain basic knowledge, skills, and competence in working in or around various kinds of tools, technologies, or activities that can range from the extremely specific (a certain type of printer, for example) to the general (assuring competence in a broad field such as information security, for instance). My most recent comprehensive survey of IT certifications (conducted in mid-2003) turned up over 720 such credentials, across a bewildering array of topics, tools, and technologies. For nearly every conceivable IT job role and for many products or platforms, you can be fairly sure that some related IT certification is likely to exist. When it comes to understanding why such credentials exist, for now you can simply assume that they satisfy some need for IT professionals, employers, and some third parties to document and warrant individual skills, knowledge, and abilities related to IT job roles or activities, or to specific IT tools, platforms, or technologies. Later in this Guide, we devote an entire section to this very topic. Types of IT Certifications Given the hundreds of certification credentials available in today's marketplace, it should come as no surprise that IT certifications come in various forms. For this discussion, we consider two different ways of describing IT certification programs:
In the various headings that follow, you will learn about vendor-neutral versus vendor-specific certification (a distinction that derives from the axis of origin); and also about content-, simulation-, and performance-based certifications (a distinction that derives from the testing methods used). Vendor-Neutral Certifications When considering a certification program of any kind, it's important to understand who's behind that program. Vendor-neutral certifications earn this designation when they cover a subject or technology without focusing on any single specific implementation. That's why vendor-neutral certifications can be valuable to those seeking to demonstrate a broad knowledge of big subjects, such as PC repair, networking, or information security. This broad focus also explains why most vendor-neutral certifications focus on entry-level or intermediate professionals in specific fields—because these are the levels of knowledge at which broad conceptual coverage is most likely to be useful. Also, most certified professional populations include more entry- and intermediate-level professionals than advanced professionals, in a typical “pyramid” model for a variety of reasons. Vendor-neutral certifications most often originate from training companies, or user or industry groups that don't have particular product or platform allegiances to worry about. Vendor-Specific Certifications As the designation indicates, vendor-specific certifications focus on specific products or platforms. In this realm, there's often a distinction between "official" certifications—such as those in the Microsoft Certified Professional program for Windows —and "unofficial" certifications, such as those available for Windows, SQL Server, and other Microsoft products and platforms from various training companies (Global Knowledge or Learning Tree, for example). Content-Based Testing Some credentials rely on examinations that seek to assess a certification candidate's knowledge (in whole or in part) of concepts, tools, technologies, and platforms by asking substantive concept- or activity-based questions about such things. An example is a hot spot question, in which the test-taker is asked to correctly identify an item by clicking an area of a graphic or displayed diagram. Another example is the case in which a candidate must apply her knowledge to construct an appropriate TCP/IP subnet mask or CIDR address range. Such tests rely on reading and comprehension skills as much as they rely on knowledge of the underlying subject matter to test the candidate's skills and knowledge. Nearly all certifications include at least some content-based components, even if they also use other testing models such as simulation or performance-based testing. Simulation-Based Testing Some credentials rely on exminations that seek to assess a certification candidate's knowledge (in whole or in part) of concepts, tools, technologies, and platforms by requiring candidates to run a simulator that looks and acts like the "real systems" it imitates to solve problems, answer questions, or demonstrate specific proficiencies. Such tests rely on hands-on knowledge, skills, and experience in operating the various tools, utilities, consoles, and so forth that practitioners must use on the job. A growing minority of certifications include some simulation-based components along with content-based testing. Microsoft and Cisco's certifications increasingly fall into this domain, for example. Performance-Based Testing A small but growing number of credentials rely on examinations that model or are based on real-world experience, skills, and knowledge. All of these programs also include one or more conventional exams as part of their testing strategy, along with a so-called "practicum" or "laboratory exam." In this latter component, candidates must install and configure systems and equipment to meet specific needs or troubleshoot real installations of some kind; that's what makes such credentials performance-based (at least in part). Other such programs rely on the observation and analysis of a candidate's activities in the workplace to verify real-world skills and abilities. All of these types of certifications and testing approaches are tied together next as you learn more about typical IT certification programs. Typical Certification Programs A typical certification program normally includes two or more of the following standard elements:
About Certification Ladders Many certification programs include multiple credentials that are deliberately structured to make it easy for candidates to achieve entry-level credentials and then to move on to intermediate- and senior-level credentials by taking more exams; meeting additional experience, educational, or background requirements; and so forth.
Within individual certification programs—for
example, the Microsoft Certified Professional
(MCP) program—various progressions in
credentials are easy to recognize. Thus, the
single-exam MCP credential can lead to an
intermediate Microsoft Certified System
Administrator (MCSA) credential that requires
four exams. From there, individuals can progress
next to the senior-level Microsoft Certified
System Engineer (MCSE), which requires seven
exams in total. Even across multiple certification programs, it's possible to build ladders so that entry-level, general, vendor-neutral certifications (such as CompTIA's A+ PC Technician and its Network+ general networking credentials) are deemed useful to help prepare candidates for networking credentials of many kinds from Microsoft to Cisco to Hewlett-Packard, and so forth. |
