Category: Certification News
CCSP Now CCNP?
In mid October, Cisco announced that the CCSP certification would be evolving into the CCNP Security certification. After April 2011 CCSP exams will no longer be available and CCSP certifications will not be given after October 2011. All CCSP certifications will be valid and recognized for a 3 year active period until 2014. This has caused quite a bit of confusion for all of the folks who are in the middle of getting this certification or who already have a CCSP certification. In response CISCO has created the CCSP Exam Certification Tool to help you figure it all out.
The tool allows you to select the CCSP exams and shows you the required exams and the elective exams along with the last day they will be available. This will help you map everything out and plan ahead for your certification making the process smooth.
Do you have any questions about the upcoming Cisco certification changes? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll do our best to answer them!
LearnKey’s Fast Track to CompTIA “Certify for Life”
If you are looking to start a career in IT and have decided on CompTIA certifications you should be aware of the changes that will be implemented in the coming year. Starting January 1, 2011 when you earn a CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, or CompTIA Security+ certification you will have to renew your certification every three years. In the past, earning one of those three certifications guaranteed you “Certified” status for the rest of your life. This seems good for the people earning certifications, but the drawback is that you aren’t required to keep up on current technology – earning your A+ Certification ten years ago meant learning a whole different set of skills than what you would need today. With the new policy, the certified must keep their certifications current by either retaking the current exam or earning Continuing Education Units (CEUs). CEUs are earned a number of ways – attending industry events, teaching/lecturing on relevant industry topics, taking *ahem* computer based training courses…
Continue reading “LearnKey’s Fast Track to CompTIA “Certify for Life””
Top 10 Best IT Certifications – 2010
If you are an IT Professional and currently employed or looking for employment within a small or midsize organization these top 10 certifications are the highest in demand, according to TechRepublic. These certifications hold the greatest potential for technology support professionals, administrators, and managers. Although for those of you entering this field for the first time you should consider any of the CompTIA certifications. Erik Eckel says it best, these are manufacturer-independent certifications that demonstrate mastery of fundamentals across a range of topics, how can you possibly go wrong with this?
The following list of top certifications (and their explanations) comes from an article on TechRepublic. You can read the full article here.
Changing IT Environment Demands New Strategies for Training, Certifying Workforce, CompTIA Exec Says
On August 12, CompTIA posted a press release concerning a certification update delivered at the CompTIA Breakaway event this week. To summarize, IT jobs are expected to greatly increase over the next several years. With those new jobs, a different set of skills will be required according to industry trends.
“Trends in technology are changing the employment landscape,” Terry Erdle, senior vice president, skills certification, CompTIA, said in remarks delivered at Breakaway 2010, the premier event for IT companies in North America.
“It doesn’t mean that we don’t need people,” he added. “It’s just a different kind of job.”
MTA Certification
MCTS, MCITP, MCSE and now MTA! This is just too much! I’m so confused. Where do I start?
MTA, Microsoft Technology Associate is now the first step in becoming certified on Microsoft Software. The MTA designation identifies you as someone who has fundamental knowledge in Microsoft technology. In Microsoft’s opinion, earning the MTA certification in one of the technology areas; Server Administration, Network, Security, Software Development, Windows Development, Web Development and Database Administration; will help you stand out when you apply to a college or technology internship. In my opinion, this is Microsoft’s way of competing with other certification vendors of foundation level certifications like CompTIA and CIW for your business. Either way you look at it, an MTA is a great place to go if you are just starting out on your certification journey. Each of the 7 MTA certifications cover a specific set of principles and standards that when learned and mastered will give you a great advantage when applying for a technology based career or moving up the certification ladder.
“The nice thing about LearnKey’s Server Administration Fundamentals course is it really fills a big gap in the Microsoft certifications. Microsoft’s MCTS certifications just kind of throw you in there. And they assume that you understand the basics of using a windows system at all much less s Windows server and you know how to get around and how to work with things like the Microsoft Management Console and Server Manager and so forth. And they just trust you to get in there and learn the new stuff just for that specific MCTS exam. The MTA starts you at the beginning and helps you understand these concepts from the very beginning. So it’s a great place to start for those individuals that are new to the industry”
– Tom Carpenter, SYSEDCO.com
Post written by Ammon Wiese- Learnkey’s Instructional Design Manager
CompTIA Certification Renewal Policy
CompTIA has a new certification renewal policy taking place January 1, 2011 and is applicable to all individuals who earn CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and/or CompTIA Security+ certifications.
Basically this means that as of January 1, 2011, CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications are valid for three years from the date the candidate becomes certified. A “valid through” date will appear on all certificates and certificate holder CompTIA ID cards. If however, you are certified on or before December 31, 2010 in CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ , your certificates will retain their “certified for life” status and no valid through date will appear on certificates and certificate holder CompTIA ID cards. Continue reading “CompTIA Certification Renewal Policy”
Microsoft Office Certification Update:
The Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification now extends to all versions of Microsoft Office, including the 2007 Microsoft Office System and Microsoft Office 2010, as well as Windows desktop operating systems. Instead of using different certification names for different versions of Microsoft Office programs and Windows desktop operating systems, Microsoft has updated all of the Microsoft Office certifications to have the same name—Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS). This applies to all certifications for Microsoft Office versions, including Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, Office 2003, the 2007 Microsoft Office System, and Microsoft Office 2010. It also applies to all Windows desktop operating system certifications for Windows Vista and Windows 7. The certifications for the 2007 Microsoft Office System are no longer referred to as Microsoft Certified Application Specialist (MCAS) certifications.
70-680
The numbers above may seem cryptic to some, but those familiar with Microsoft’s Certification Exams will likely recognize the format. This particular combination of numbers refers to the most recent Windows 7 exam. : TS Windows 7 Configuring. This is the nuts and bolts. How to install, deploy, and upgrade to Windows 7; how to use existing hardware to connect, maintain, recover and functionally use Windows 7 in a network environment, and how to check for compatibility in place upgraded hardware is required. Useful information for anyone from a home network enthusiast, to a network admin, the certification itself and skills neccessary to use Windows 7 effectively are geared specifically towards IT professionals.