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Are industry and vendor qualifications really worth the money?

Over the past few months, we’ve covered IT degrees and diplomas in great detail, so it’s about time we look into another form of qualification – ‘industry’ and vendor-specific courses and certificates such as the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). Many universities and TAFE institutes include such programs as part of their curriculum.

Others offer them as optional and costly extras. Indeed, these ‘industry’ certificates can work out very expensive by the time you factor in the books and the examination fee, so the question is, are they worth it? Will having one or two of these certificates to your name actually help you get a job? Once again, we’ve turned to the forums for answers.

The ever-wise segger explains the situation best. “Does having the qualifications dramatically increase one’s chance of getting a job or [higher] rate of pay? No. It increases the chance of finding a job somewhat, but generally the first-level qualifications (CCNA, MCSA) are something a large number of applications have and are even sometimes a base expectation of the employer, despite the fact people can work through some of these courses, understand little and gain nothing in terms of learning.

Higher level qualifications (such as the CCNP, CCSP and especially CCIE) do make one stand out in the sea of potential employees and demonstrate an even more extreme level of commitment to learning about the technology. Holding such qualifications is seen as an indicator of skill by employers. The less common, highly technical qualifications do generally lead to higher levels of pay, but I expect this is more due to the more senior and technical positions (which the certificate may demonstrate one’s capacity to fulfil) rather than the certification itself.” Now, we don’t have the room to provide a detailed summary of every certificate that’s available, but here’s a general overview:

A+
The most widely known and probably most common of CompTIA’s certificates is designed for those looking at becoming computer technicians. It covers some fairly basic material – such as installing, setting up, fixing and maintaining hardware and software. And, as the website says, it’s vendor neutral. Forum regular tantryl wasn’t overly impressed by it. “It wasn’t expensive, but it personally wasn’t worth it for me,” he said. “I already had the kind of job this particularly low level qualification [can] get you. I didn’t really learn anything I didn’t already know, I just memorised currently irrelevant things like what IRQs are used for what.” He feels that A+ isn’t worth it “unless you’re a complete beginner.”

Cisco Career Certifications
There’s a string of Cisco certifications out there for those who’ve got the interest, time, money and/or need – from the entry-level CCNA program right up to the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) range. Obviously, they’re all designed for those looking at getting into or moving further up the food chain in networking. As segger said, the entry-level certificates are really common, so if you’re to stand out, you’ll need some of the higher-level ones to your name. In general, the feedback in the thread was pretty positive. The only points that really stood out to us were these two raised by user Smiffdog. “My main disappointment is that Cisco is quite slow to update its content and often the ‘Cisco answer’ is the right answer instead of the correct answer in the real world.”

Linux+
Another vendor neutral CompTIA ceritication, Linux+ gets into the nitty gritty of managing Linux systems, configuring software and managing servers and security. Leonid recommends it for those looking at becoming technicians.

Microsoft Certified Professional
As pointed out a couple of times in the thread, the MCP range of certificates are very Microsoft-centric. “I wouldn’t consider these for general network administration unless you want training specifically to manage a Microsoft environment (and then you’re talking server admin, not network admin),” said segger of the network-focused MCP offerings. Resident code monkey kikz, who’s done both the MCAD and MCSD, said that “getting certified was a positive step and helped with [his] understanding of [his] chosen tool (the .NET Framework).” He managed to do these on the cheap, though, by purchasing the books from Amazon and studying in his own time.

Novell Certified Linux Professional
As the website says, this is all about gaining the “necessary skills to become a proficient Linux administrator”. Worth noting is the fact that unlike CompTIA’s Linux+, which favours no particular Linux distro, Novell’s program focuses on SUSE. Leonid recommended it for those seeking employment as network admins.

VMware VCP
“The VCP wasn’t worth the cost,” said Leonid. The VMware Certified Professional Program, as the name suggests, covers the ins and outs of getting the most from VMware’s virtual machine software. At the time of writing this article, Leonid was the only forum member to provide a review, so we can’t claim to know much about its usefulness.

The Cisco and Microsoft certificates were, by far, the programs we received the most feedback on, simply because they’re without a doubt the most popular. Whether one really needs them or not was the subject of much debate, but the general consensus is that they are merely there to complement a good degree and extensive real world experience. While CompTIA proudly offers vendor neutral qualifications, most of the certifications mentioned both in this article and the thread relate only to a single developer or product. Granted, some of the skills acquired through doing these programs can be applied elsewhere, but it’s up to you whether you want to invest time and effort into something that’s going to only be relevant to a small number of jobs.

Of course, being an expert in a particularly obscure field can work out for you, as pointed out in these articles and on the forums in recent months. The economic cost of these courses may prove a turn-off too, although you’ll find that some employers will be happy to pay. Plus, you always have the option of making like kikz and buying the books online and studying in your own time.