n the past, I've only mentioned Microsoft certification. Again, if you're new and reading this article, then you might want to read my past articles to familiarize yourself with the certification process. Or you can point your browser to www.hardcoremcsd.com OR www.microsoft.com/Train_Cert/ to get more information.
In real life (when applying for a job), it really helps to have more than one certification. For example, you might want to get certified with several vendors: Microsoft, Cisco, Novell, Sun, Oracle, etc. At the moment, Microsoft and Cisco certifications are the hottest — if you want to become an Internet Guru. If you want to become a network administrator, then getting your certification from Novell (CNA or CNE) and Microsoft (MCP or MCSE) will increase your value in the marketplace. Most network servers are still based on NetWare 3.x and 4.x. This is because NetWare has a large installed-base.
If you want to become a programmer, then getting Microsoft-certified is a good idea ( MCSD ). Microsoft is the leader in many languages: C, C++ and VisualBasic; and not Sun Microsystems but Microsoft is the commercial leader in supplying Java languages. Although Sun did invent Java, Microsoft's commercial Java language is the market leader.
If you plan to become a webmaster/network administrator for a company that has intranets and extranets, then you'll need more than a fancy certificate to perform your job. To become a network adminstrator for a WAN nowadays requires that you have a complete understanding of the TCP/IP protocol, domain name services, CGI scripting (PERL or ActiveX), and routers. Getting Cisco-certified is a great idea to familiarize yourself with routers and the Internet backbone. However, getting CISCO-certified is a very expensive process.
The other thing you've heard about is the "Broswer Wars" between Microsoft (IE 4.0) and Netscape (Communicator 4.0). Since most wide area networks are now based on the TCP/IP protocol, you'll be required to know how to administrator and configure the browser, either Internet Explorer or Communicator. The browser is fast becoming the network interface — that's the reason Microsoft is integrating the browser with Windows 98. What this means is that you'll be expected to learn how to configure and manage a browswer if you want to manage a wide area network or an intranet or extranet.
As new technology comes out every year, IT professionals are required to update their skills on a constant basis.
I'll cover Novel Certification and Cisco Certification in my next article, but I won't go deep into them since this article is supposed to be on Microsoft certification. The reason I'll go into them is because multiple certifications are needed nowadays to implement and administrate the modern network. This can consist of several network operating systems, client operating systems, and now, the Internet.
