What Do Certification and Pancakes Have in Common?
Tech industry association CompTIA has had a flourishing certification program for many years. Just because something works, of course, is no reason to stop looking for ways to make that thing work better. And, what do you know, CompTIA has spent a lot of time over that past couple of years making its certification program better. A year or so ago, the CompTIA certification gurus began to group their credentials together to align them with certain IT industry job roles that call for more than one IT skill set. That was birth of CompTIA's new program of "stackable" certifications, a newfangled flourish that came up again this week in a post to the official CompTIA blog. Blogger Emily Matzelle gives an overview of what it means to stack CompTIA credentials, and then walks through a series of popular combinations. For example, to gain all of the skills needed to become a CompTIA Network Security Professional, an enterprising IT professional would need to study for and pass the Security+, PenTest+, and CySA+ certification exams. If you have a few of the basic CompTIA credentials, and you'd like to make yourself more employable, then it's worth looking into stackable certifications.
Which Is Right for You: CISSP or CISM?
Comparisons of certifications often have a whiff of the famous "two men enter, one man leaves" scene from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The emphasis often seems to be on definitively declaring one certification to be "better" (by whatever metrics come up for consideration) than the other. Whenever the topic comes up, defenders typically emerge to argue the case one way or the other (generally affirming or refuting the conclusion of whoever made the comparison to begin with). So you could be forgiven for guessing in advance what's in store from a blog post titled "CISM vs. CISSP: Where to Start." The headline of the post references two popular cybersecurity credentials that are often measured against each other, after all, and the word "vs." is right there for all to see. Contrary to what you might be expecting, however, blogger Josh Burnett, who wrote up the piece in question for the official blog of IT training facilitator CBT Nuggets, takes an even-handed approach, trumpeting the value of both credentials. As Burnett writes in his introduction, "Each certification has a distinct focus, and understanding the effect each will have on your career will determine which is a better fit for you."
Make a Better Impression In Your Next Likely-to-Be-Virtual Job Search
A lot of things that used to happen face-to-face have transitioned to the virtual realm these days. One thing that many in the information technology (IT) industry aren't likely to encounter in the short-term, for example, is an in-person job interview. It's easy enough for most people to meet and speak with a future employer over the internet – even before there was a global pandemic, virtual interviewing had become essentially the only form of "first round" interviewing that anyone still engaged in. A new post to the ISACA Now Blog of cybersecurity and IT governance association ISACA offers some solid advice for job seekers becoming accustomed to the new normal. Guest blogger Jessica McClain has three areas of focus, providing an overview of virtual career fairs, video interviewing, and pre-employment skills tests. If you're looking for work, then you'll find some sound advice here to assist you in your job search efforts.
Get Started on the Path to a Career as a Java Developer
The Java programming language that was born at Sun Microsystems and later adopted into the Oracle family of technologies is now old enough that, if it were a young adult, then we'd be questioning what it was still doing living in its parents' basement. (It's 25.) That sort of durability means that there are a lot of Java-dependent applications out there and hence a strong need for developers who know Java inside and out. If you have an interest in becoming such a developer but you'd like to know a little bit more about what's in store for you, then there's an excellent new article you should read over at CertMag.com, the official website of Certification Magazine. The article gives a good overview of the Java language and cycles through the expectations that would be placed on a professional Java developer before diving into the educational background and skill set that are required. Java has been used in mobile apps, web-based apps, enterprise apps, gaming apps, and Big Data apps, to name just a few.
That's all for this edition of Certification Watch. Please keep your certification news and tips coming to the GoCertify News Editor.
