[aklug] Re: IT certifications

Chris,

I don't specifically know of any programs that offer grants or assistance
for IT certifications targeting non-profits. Having worked for a
non-profit, I fully understand the lack of budget, staff, and sometimes
executive support when it comes to IT. With that being said, I'll chime in
here to provide a counterpoint to opinions we've heard from others.

First, you'll often you hear how worthless certs are. Most times, it's from
people who don't have any :) Quite often, certs are like degrees. It's not
necessarily about how smart you are, it's about proving that you can GET
that piece of paper in the first place. That's the HR speed bump that certs
can help you get over. Are there a lot of "paper MCSE" types? Oh, for sure.
But those should be easily weeded out during the interview process.

Second, there are whole industries that you will never be able to enter
without certain certifications under your belt. For example, if you ever
want to look twice at a federal/military network, you will have to obtain
at LEAST Sec+, Network+, and either an MS/Linux/VMware cert depending on
your enclave. The same week I finished all of my cert/clearance
requirements and put it on my LinkedIn, the job offers/interviews haven't
stopped coming. It is an inarguable fact that certifications increase your
marketability. For that reason alone, it is worth getting yourself
certified.

Finally, until my current position, where I was forced to obtain multiple,
vendor-specific certifications, I felt the same way as JP and others for
quite a few years. I always said, "Certs get you your first IT job,
experience gets you every job after that." Being in this position as shown
me that staying up to date with the latest vendor certs really helps
familiarize you with the new technologies you may not be using very often.
For example, I've been a Windows/Linux admin for 15 years, but I've never
NEEDED to learn IPv6 addressing or <Insert feature you haven't used
before>. Now, thanks to my certs, I have a way to fill those gaps in my
knowledge that naturally occur from a lifetime of only using 50-75 percent
of a product.

Cheers,

Kris Laubenstein

On Mon, Sep 5, 2016 at 2:02 PM, Christopher Howard <ch.howard@zoho.com>
wrote:

> Hello list. I was wondering... has anybody heard of any programs (e.g.,
> nonprofit, workforce development) that help people with the financial
> part of getting IT certifications? There are a number of additional
> certs I'd like to get (e.g., Security+) but there isn't much room in my
> budget, and I don't think I could convince my current employer to pitch
> in. (As additional certs would only help me to get a better job elsewhere.)
>
> --
> https://qlfiles.net
> My PGP public key ID is 0x340EA95A (pgp.mit.edu).
>
> ---------
> To unsubscribe, send email to <aklug-request@aklug.org>
> with 'unsubscribe' in the message body.
>
>

---------
To unsubscribe, send email to <aklug-request@aklug.org>
with 'unsubscribe' in the message body.
Received on Mon Sep 5 16:38:38 2016