What IT certifications have the highest value?

Discussion in 'IT and Computer-Related Degrees' started by TEKMAN, Mar 24, 2011.

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  1. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    What IT certifications have the highest value?

    Information Security: CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional), GIAC-Forensic Analysis, GIAC- Reverse Engineering

    Networking: CCIE (Cisco Certified Internet Expert)

    Database: Oracle Administration

    Systems (Linux): LPI-3; System (Unix): Solaris; System (Microsoft): MCITP - Enterprise Administrator

    Project Management: PMP (Project Management Program by PMI)

    What's else? What do you think?
     
  2. dlcurious

    dlcurious Member

    Don't know if enough information is available yet to determine their value, but Cisco now offers the Cisco Certified Architect (CCA) cert, which is above the CCIE, and Microsoft now offers the Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) and Certified Architect (MCA) certs, which are product specific certs considered to be above the MCITP:EA. The MCM is a prereq for the MCA.

    Cisco Certified Architect - IT Certification and Career Paths - Cisco Systems

    http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/in/certification/master.aspx

    Microsoft Certified Architect Program
     
  3. NewTown

    NewTown New Member

    Go to indeed.com and look for jobs in your area and search by certification. That, to me, is better than anything else you can do. It tells you which certs people want, how much they will pay, and it's in real time. Everything else is speculation.
     
  4. mcjon77

    mcjon77 Member

    I am a big fan of the LPI certs (I plan on getting my LPI-1 in the next few months and LPI-2 this fall). However, it seems to me that the RHCE is at the top of the food chain in terms of linux certs. Unfortunately, not enough companies know about the LPI certs.
     
  5. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    I think it depends, me and a friend just got our CiSSP certs and he said his company actually pays more for employees with the cert. They are billing hours to clients though so certs help justify higher billing rates. For my current job i don't think it matters at all. I have an mcse,mcsd,scjp,network+ and Cissp and sometimes those certs spark negativity in those who don't have them. I haven't seen anyone truly impressed by them either. To each his own.
     
  6. ITJD

    ITJD Active Member

    From the recruiters point of view:

    CISSP, CISA, CCIE, RHCE.

    The Microsoft certifications suffer from market glut and there's still no proper market data on the MCM and MCA as not many are pursuing them.

    If you're properly outfitted with the CISSP, CISA, CCNA and RHCT with some experience, you're employed. Especially true in the DC and Austin TX areas.

    As to being impressed, there are a lot of people with certs that can't fix anything or accomplish things. I'm impressed by the people not the certs.
     
  7. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    Itjd I noticed that the certs you mention include no development oriented certs. I am a software developer so maybe certs are not as highly regarded in the software development world.
    I love the focused attention to learning that you get while pursuing a certification so they are valuable to me as a training tool.
     
  8. ITJD

    ITJD Active Member

    In development the catch is having experience and a portfolio to prove your worth. It's very hard to have a proper portfolio in Infrastructure so experience and certs generally get the job done.

    Either way experience trumps everything.
     
  9. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    I understand that artists often create a portfolio but all of the development I have ever done professionally has been under a strict NDA and leaving the building with source code is a fireable offense.
    Its really hard to interview and select the right development candidates since a lot of people can skate by on an interview but when it times to put the rubber to the road code-wise they fall flat on their face.
    They just have to be let go at that point.
     
  10. mcjon77

    mcjon77 Member

    In application development (programming) the only folks that tend to have a portfolio are the web apps guys (PHP coders in particular). Part of this is due to the nature of building web apps that are accessible to the world. Another part is that is is a hold over from the web design guys, many of which double as php web developers. Java/C# guys working in a corporate environment don't tend to have a portfolio to show.

    As far as the value of certificates for programmers, IMHO, the value of certs for the different sectors of the IT industry could be ranked (from most valuable to least) as follows:
    1)Networking/Sysadmin
    2)Security
    3)DBAs
    4)Programming/Software Engineering
    5)Web desgin.

    Certs aren't nearly as important in programming as they are in networking. The vast majority of my networking buddies have certs, while the majority of my programmer buddies don't.

    The reason for the lack of emphasis placed on certs is that certs almost never test for the most important aspects of programming. They only test for knowledge of a particular language syntax, or knowledge of a particular API.

    It would be like trying to hire a writer for a magazine or book, and giving them a test on how many words in the dictionary that they remembered the definition to. Or how many of the rules of grammar they remember. Those are all nice things, but they don't tell whether a person can WRITE WELL. Similarly, remembering the syntax of a language doesn't say anything as to whether you:
    1)Write clean, maintainable code
    2)Understand fundamental data structures and algorithms
    3)Understand modern software development practices
    4)Have the ability to "think computationally" and come up with solutions to programming problems.

    What is VERY important (and becoming more so every year) is a degree. Right now, it is almost impossible to get a junior/entry level Java or C# programming job without a CS or IT related degree (or at least SOME kind of degree). The only exception I have seen are PHP guys. Then again, PHP jobs tend to pay significantly less than Java or C# jobs. Conversely, one can still get an entry level helpdesk/netowrking/sysadmin job with certs and no degree. Entry level programming jobs almost never expect you to have certs.

    People say that experience trumps everything, and that is mostly true. However, now, it is extremely difficult for someone to get the experience with the junior level programming jobs without a degree. Furthermore, many of the guys with tons of experience, but no degree are trapped at their current place of work. Sure, they have 10 years+ experience coding. But they are competing against guys with 10 years experience AND a CS degree. It becomes especially difficult when these guys try to get jobs as senior developers/team leaders/managers in large corporations.
     

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