Certification Watch (Vol. 23, No. 15)

Written by GoCertify Staff

Published: 15 April 2020

In this week's roundup of the latest IT certification news, CompTIA launches online certification exams, Certification Magazine outlines the risks and rewards of doing work from home, and more.

Take Your Next CompTIA Certification Exam Online

For a variety of reasons, certification programs across the IT industry have held back from online certification testing for years. Despite the allure of convenience, concerns about exam security, cheating, and other complications have kept certification exams largely confined to the controlled environment of testing centers. Given the current global pandemic, however, online certification exams are suddenly, in many instances, the only kind that can be administered safely. Responding rapidly to pandemic complications, tech industry association CompTIA announced today that, in partership with testing titan Pearson VUE, it is making all of its exams available online effective immediately. (There are two exceptions: the exam for the CompTIA Certified Technical Training, or CTT+, credential will not be available online, and the Server+ exam will not be available online until May 1.) If you have questions about the online exam process, then there is a new post to the CompTIA blog that explains the process. Previously scheduled in-person exams that have been suspended due to pandemic problems can be rescheduled online.

Even Introverts Can Succeed Through Networking

In 2020, everyone is an introvert. Or, you know, everyone doesn't like talking to and/or interactiing with people they don't know. Call it what you will. If you have a hard time "putting yourself out there," then you may be intrigued by a new post to the ISACA Now Blog of cybersecurity and governance association ISACA. Guest blogger Lisa DiNezza, an ISACA-certified audit professional who works at the University of Pennsylvania, talks candidly about her struggle to interact with her professional peers, especially at professional gatherings like conferences and conventions. "I really had to force myself just to go to networking events," DiNezza said. "That’s one of the reasons I never delved into it much. You have to step out of your comfort zone and force yourself to make new connections." Making connections is important to any professional career, however, and DiNezza walks through her personal history to illustrate that even people who get nervous being around other people can gut things out and gain some ground through networking.

Course Development Professionals Can Work with IT Guys

Here's a fairly "inside baseball" item for people with a strong interest in IT training. A new post to the IT and Technical Training Blog at Training Industry outlines tips for course development professionals who are creating IT training, and the, er, IT guys who meld their ideas into online courses that can be taken via the internet. Individuals can prepare for most IT certifications using such training, so even if you're just a person who may someday take a certification exam, then you might pick up on some concepts that will help you in your preparation.