Certification (FYI)

人生无解

Certifications in all areas of IT consulting are becoming more prevalent, but which ones really make a difference in pay and hiring trends, here is the answer from new research and analysis at certmag.com and our own research into the 3,000+ new requests for IT consultants over the last year:
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4 j8 X' h6 ^1 C6 YRoles where the right certification secures the position or increases the rate:

Security Specialist - CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professionals) Cisco Network Specialist - CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) Systems Administrator - MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) Breakfix hardware technician - A+ SAP Functional Expert - SAP Certification in the module required i.e. FI/CO, MM, HR, PM
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Roles where certification can help:
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Project Management - PMP (Certified Project Management Professional) Database Administrator - OCP (Oracle Certified Professional) Java developer SCJD (Sun Certified Java Developer)

Roles where certification really is not an influencing factor at all:
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Business Analysis
" r2 O- g% Y- o9 j: N% ?8 sMost Software Development
3 k) q5 x/ {& y" H6 OQuality Assurance
4 _$ k7 x* [1 G( WTechnical/Web Writing
% `3 A- h( P$ G" N& T9 p- EBusiness Intelligence
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+ q" k+ r) Y; m4 k2 G" j! T/ h; |The top certifications for salary increase according to a recent 2005 survey by Certmag are:

MCSE+    - average $12,909 increase
MCT      - average $11,723 increase
& r9 D2 \% D8 ^CCNA     - average $9967 increase
, w+ t) t5 S7 J( X1 JCNE      - average $7262 increase
MCP+     - average $7072 increase
CNA      - average $7061 increase
Network+ - average $6487 increase
A+       - average $5134 increase

The only professional certification in Canada is the Information Systems Professional (I.S.P.) designation from CIPS. More information can be found at www.cips.ca/standards on this designation and the impact it can have on your marketability as a consultant.

Humor

& T1 l: W- y. `. V8 ~% |+ sTop 10 replies by programmers when their programs don't work:

- o: _8 X8 |- B* o# e10. "That's weird..."
6 T& U! d' h) V( @4 D( s% R$ Q4 W9. "It's never done that before."
8. "It worked yesterday."
7. "You must have the wrong version."
+ a( Y- ?8 N, f4 }4 a0 _7 m: _/ P2 j/ N6. "It works, but it hasn't been tested."
) n1 ^+ Z8 T) Y' D5. "Somebody must have changed my code."
) W. g4 \% V  D8 S7 ^( ^5 S- p4. "Did you check for a virus?"
$ ?. J' n  i1 g+ T/ [& I' l# V3. "Where were you when the program blew up?"
2. "Why do you want to do it that way?"
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and finally ...

+ ^* e, y+ A6 ~1 T+ X1. "I thought I fixed that."

xmTiger

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