7 Steps to Finding the Right Certification
Conducting research and comparing certifications is an important task in your career. You should know exactly what you want before spending your time and hard earned money. Top certifications such as the CISSP or CISA cost around $500 per exam, $80-$130 for books and between $3500 – $5500 to attend a 3-5 day boot camp. Everyone is looking for more study time and ways to save money, so being able to choose a certification you want (and need) and apply yourself to passing, is essential to your marketability and career progression. I recommend the following steps to selecting your certification:
Seven Steps to Selecting the Right Certification for You
1. Research the certification you want. You don’t want to waste your valuable time and money!
a. Use social networking sites to ask questions or create a poll
b. Research the actual site hosting the certification
c. Search for certification comparison tools online
d. Join forums and ask questions
e. Find free webinars to get more information
2. Research the career path your new certification will take you, ask yourself, “Is this where I want to go with my career?” For instance, CCNA is a stepping stone to higher Cisco certifications for which you’ll have to study for 4-5 more exams for the next level certification. Where the CISSP is one certification, but then you must maintain 120 CPEs per every 3 years, and pay annual dues of $85.
3. Research the tools you’ll need to pass the certification. Books, classes, webinars, CBTs, switch/router simulators, time off from work, time dedicated for home study…all these factors should be taken into consideration before deciding on your certification path.
4. Use a tool such as a Certification Comparison Tool to compare over 95 certifications. This is an effective tool used to compare up to three different certifications at one time. Utilizing a scale from 1-10 (for example 2/10 being poor and 9/10 being very good), it compares:
a. Total Return on Investment (ROI)
b. Career Advancement
c. Industry Demand
d. Raise Potential
e. Cost Effective to Obtain
f. And more.
5. Research where and when the certification is given. For example, the CISA is only available in June and December at select cities. While many other certs are available anytime at many testing centers.
6. CramSession also provides free study guides to download so you can get a better understanding of what the certification expects. You just need to create a free online account.
7. You can always ask your co-workers and folks who have experience in the field you are interested in joining.
Take the time to research certifications, training and maintaining the cert. Once you choose your cert, stay focused! Don’t look at any other cert until you complete the first one. There’s always time for another, but get one under your belt to create momentum and prepare you for the next challenge.
Thank you for reading this article. Good Luck!
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