Career Discussion with MeasureUp

How Employable Are You? Beef Up Your Skills and Make Yourself More Valuable to Employers

Published September, 2009

Have you considered leveraging your experience and education to make yourself even more valuable to employers than you are already? If you’re not employed currently, what are you doing to make yourself valuable to a potential employer? How are you going to differentiate yourself from other Information Technology (IT) professionals in today's economy?

Whether you are just starting on your path to a career, you already have a career but you are looking for new challenges, or you are not sure yet what career is for you, you can improve your employability by adding one or more certifications to your résumé. In this article, we focus on specialized certifications you might consider, such as server and operating systems support, network administration, computer security, programming, collaboration support, Microsoft Office, and Project Management Professional (PMP).

IT Certifications

You may not have thought about this before, but just about every organization has an IT department. Whether you work in a law office, for a medical provider, for a manufacturing company, at a retail store or in a food-related enterprise, somebody in your organization uses computers. The IT department is there to support computer users. An IT department could consist of only one employee who is a generalist, or it could consist of numerous specialists.

If you’ve decided that an IT career is for you, you should spend time learning:

- What services an IT department provides for various organizations.
- What career paths are available in IT.

As noted in this white paper from Microsoft, IT employees who are certified are an essential component of the success of an organization. Certified employees bring important skills to the table, have access to the certification community, and make important contributions to an organization's bottom line.

Start with Entry Level

Most people start with an entry-level certification, such as CompTIA's A+, or the Microsoft Certified Desktop Technician (MCDST). Both certifications are aimed at people who will be supporting end-users. The A+ certification focuses more on hardware and is vendor-neutral. The MCDST focuses on supporting Microsoft's Windows XP operating system and desktop applications. Microsoft also offers Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist credentials for configuring Windows Vista and Windows 7. You can earn either of these credentials by passing one exam, but you can also use that exam toward reaching a higher-level certification.

Specialize

If you’ve earned one of the entry-level certifications mentioned above or reviewed in our July, 2009, article, you should consider a more specialized certification. Some of the most common specializations and related certifications are:

- Collaboration and communication support

··· Cisco offers several communications credentials, including Cisco IP Communications Support Specialist
··· IBM provides certifications for its Lotus Notes Domino software
··· Microsoft offers both the MCTS and the MCITP credentials for Exchange Server 2007
··· Microsoft includes an Exchange Server 2003 Messaging specialty with its MCSE and MCSA credentials
··· Microsoft has Office SharePoint Server certifications


- Database administration and database design

··· Microsoft has two certifications for SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008: MCTS and MCITP
··· Oracle offers certifications for multiple versions of its Oracle Database software

- Networking administration

··· Cisco has many network-related certifications
··· CompTIA offers the Network+ credential
··· Microsoft's MCSE and MCSA credentials include networking-related exams, and Microsoft also offers a networking certification for Window Server 2008
··· Novell has a variety of networking-related certifications.

- Operating systems support

··· CompTIA offers a Linux+ certification
··· Microsoft has certifications for Windows Server 2008 and Windows client operating systems
··· Microsoft also offers the MCSE and MCSA credentials for earlier operating systems
··· Novell supports certifications for Linux

- Security administration

··· CIW offers a Security Analyst certification
··· CompTIA offers the Security+ credential
··· ISC2 promotes numerous security-related certification programs
··· Microsoft provides multiple security-related certifications
··· SCP focuses on three security careers

- Software development

··· Microsoft has certifications for its .NET Framework and Visual Studio software development environments
··· For .NET Framework 2.0, Microsoft offers two certifications: MCAD and MCSD
··· Sun offers Java technology certifications

Tip: Do you provide hardware and software support for desktop and portable computers? Are you good at troubleshooting? If so, you may want to pursue a network administrator position.

Microsoft Office Certifications

As with IT professionals, those who work with Microsoft Office and demonstrate their knowledge by obtaining a certification in Microsoft Office can differentiate themselves from their non-certified counterparts. Experts who use their Microsoft Office certification knowledge on a daily basis include:

- Accountants
- Executive Assistants
- Marketing Specialists
- Office Managers
- Project Managers
- Technical Writers

Microsoft has a Microsoft Business Certification program for Office 2007, Office 2003, Office XP, and Office 2000.

Tip: Do you consider yourself a Microsoft Word expert? Are you good at writing and creating graphics? If so, maybe a career as a marketing specialist is for you.

Other Specialized Certifications

You can also become more valuable to current and future employers in a non-IT position by earning one of a number of other certifications. You can gain credibility and differentiate yourself by earning a specialized certification. For example, organizations of all types need project managers. Possibilities include:

- Human Resources - the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) specializes in HR certifications
- Project Management

··· CompTIA offers a Project+ certification
··· Microsoft has three certifications for Microsoft Office Project 2007
··· Project Management Institute (PMI) offers the PMP and CAPM certifications


Tip: Do you participate in various projects for your organization? Are you curious about the best practices for projects but not wanting to be a project manager? Maybe CAPM is for you.

Conclusion

To earn a specialized certification, you will need to invest both time and money. Check out this article for some great ideas about making your journey affordable.

Although the journey to a specialized certification may seem long, the effort will be worth it. You can look at certification as a way to invest in yourself and in your future. Along the way, you’ll also gain experience that will help determine which career path is best for you. As you move along your career path, you’ll become an asset to employers who are both struggling to replace baby boomers who are retiring as well as trying to minimize the need to outsource specialized services.

MeasureUp offers a wide variety of practice tests and online courses that will help you earn a specialized certification. Please let us know if there are certifications in which you are interested that we do not currently cover. Send your suggestions to: atlcontentdevelopment@measureup.com