Get Certified & Get Ahead

Rating:
Summary: Good General Guide to Computer Certifications
Review: "Get Certified and Get Ahead" is a useful career and computer certification guide for those thinking about working in the computer field. One notes that the book itself (the companion website was not reviewed by this reviewer) does not evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the 170 certifications listed in the text. Nor are specific certifications compared. One must note, however, that the certification business changes quickly, and what is true now concerning a specific certification, may not be true for the same certification in just a few months. Also, one can not expect an author to plan the reader's career; that is the reader's responsibility. Overall, this is a solid text with lots of good suggestions and tips on becoming successfully certified in the computer area of the reader's choice.

Rating:
Summary: This book is huge. And it¿s hugely useful!
Review: Along with the information revolution come new paradigms; of identity (e.g. Domain names), of rewards (e.g. contract rates), of time parameters (e.g. email), of space parameters (e.g. cyberspace), and now new ways of learning _ certification.

Certifications have created a new class of education; not university based, no minimum standards required, fluency in English a must, very flexible, very global, and very rewarding. The certified are the leaders in the information revolution.

The underlying concept of the book is that of the Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK). What is called an " . . . agreed upon baseline . . ." (p.xvii Foreword). The author doesn't say it directly, but I think she believes these CBOK's are converging into vendor-neutral certifications. This is because of her vision in seeing what is just over the horizon. A trend to look out for. Actually, this is also a comment on the role of Professional Associations into the future in determining minimum standards of competencies for professionals as well as things like ethical behavior.

In the meantime, "Certifications of a lower quality and less value will fall by the wayside, while a handful will gain increasing prominence" (p.35). And also, multiple platform certifications to show cross-platform expertise (p. 68) as well as "middle-of-the-road certifications" and "hybrid certifications". (p.110)

The IT field continues to be a worker's market but; "when you consider that most of the major industry vendors and many of the minor ones have already launched programs, it's obvious why the rate of growth can't continue apace; most of the players are already in the game" (p.28). Furthermore, " . . . certification is becoming a tool to define a path for professional development" (p.29). And finally, "certification will go from its current status as a qualification that elevates one professional above another to one that is present on more resumes than not" (p.36) " . . . people who have ignored the trend will have to play catch-up" (p.42)

Don't expect the author to spell out which certifications are best and which ones are useless. It depends on your background and where you are going. What you have to do is to read between the lines, e.g. the question of tainted certifications on page 22 and the various quotes from interviewed individuals who recommend what worked for them. The closest she gets is on pages 114 to 115 Choosing a Certification Because it's Hot. One very clever thing is that of categories between one to four for all the 200+ certifications quoted.

This book should be called the A to Z of certifying yourself. And it's a good test of your possible success in certification. To get the most out of it, you have to knuckle down and read it end to end!

Rating:
Summary: A good starter book for those interested in certification
Review: I am a 25 year veteran of the legacy computing world. My employer is developing a client server system that uses C,JAVA, & Sybase and I need to retool my technical skills, but I want skills that are in demand and I want to know the steps to take to achieve my goals.

I can achieve my retooling goals by taking a Oracle Certifcation course, C and Java programming at a state university that will give me an entry level understanding of these topics.

Rating:
Summary: Good for my future
Review: I am actually young for a book like this, but it is actually a good reference to what I can help myself out on. Anne Martinez answers the FAQ and many other things. You will also need to keep notes on the abbreviations because I had to go back and write 'em all down. It is what I consider a resource because it has almost everything I need to know. It's genius. It also says which are the ones that you'll have time for and those that you won't. Getting certified isn't always easy because not everybody can pass the CISA test. So look before you just go. It also gives you recommendations.

Rating:
Summary: A good starter book for those interested in certification
Review: If you are thinking about getting certified this is a good book to start with. It will not give you in depth details about the different types of certifications. But, its purpose is not necessarily to choose which certification to go for. It is just a way to help you understand the benefits of certifications. For more details about the different types of certifications will require further reading.