[thelist] Further Training

[Chris Spruck]

At 09:16 AM 9/5/02 +0930, Chris wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I have been given the oppurtunity to undertake about 800 $AU of further IT
>training.
>I already have Certificate III & IV in Information Technology but I was
>wondering if anyone has any suggestions about where best to apply this
>training for best job prospects.
>
>I have heard that MCSE's are always in demand but in what area specifically.
>
>I would like to stay in the web development area but at this stage, I am
>more interested in getting some more training that will lead to a steady
>income.

Chris,

 From http://microsoft.com/traincert/mcp/default.asp:

"The Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) credential is the premier certification for professionals who analyze the business requirements and design and implement the infrastructure for business solutions based on the Microsoft Windows® 2000 platform and Microsoft server software. "

When you look at the requirements, you find that the tests are geared towards servers, networking and infrastructure, which while not quite web dev, will generally lead to more stable income, if that's the kind of work you want to do. Maybe a Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) cert might be of interest? Be sure to check into all the related costs for something like this. Here in the US, any one test for a MS cert usually costs US$100 to take, so I imagine you could blow through 800 $AU pretty quickly, if you took 4-5 tests and got some study guides or books to prepare with.

The "Getting Started" info at http://microsoft.com/traincert/start/default.asp is probably good to look through too.

http://www.cramsession.com (registration required) is a good site that has lots of quick study guides in the form of PDFs for numerous certification programs.

Macromedia also has programs that are more web dev oriented, as opposed to networking and infrastructure.

http://www.macromedia.com/support/training/certified_professional_program/

Instead of a full blown certification track, it might be worth just taking some advanced classes in something you use or need to increase your skills in like PHP or Flash or whatever. You didn't really mention what you currently do within web dev or what technologies you already use, so I'm not sure if this stuff fits what you had in mind.

MS certifications are definitely a good way to go if you're looking to maximize your employability and are willing to go down the MS path, but that also probably depends on the job market near your location. Maybe there's a flood of unemployed MCSEs in the job market near you or for some reason, MS training isn't as well regarded as in other places. I would definitely check out the local demand for whatever you decide on, before you commit to anything.

HTH!

Chris