ISACA Now: Let the Boss Pay for Your Next Certification
Certification costs money — sometimes it costs a great deal of money, depending on the manner of certification that you are seeking and how much training you require to prepare for your exam. There are a number of creative ways to offset the costs associated with certification. One of the more reliable, if less imaginative, approaches to controlling costs, however, is to simply pass the buck to someone who has ample resources: namely, your employer. It's always good to get a fresh perspective on this time-honored approach, and this week the latest new angle comes from a post to the ISACA Now blog of cybersecurity and IT governance association ISACA. Guest blogger Ravikumar Ramachandran briefly discusses the topic of employer-funded certification before delineating six key points to raise when it's time to actually ask the Big Cheese to dip into the privy purse. For example, paying some or all of the costs associated with a given certification is a great way to motivate and enable employees to pursue professional development that will ultimately pay dividends to their employer. In short, investing in you, is investing in the company and its long-term success.
Game Your Way Cloud Computing Mastery with Microsoft
There's probably no better way to introduce this topic than the way that Microsoft Learn blogger Puja Aneja kicks off a new post to the Microsoft Learn Blog: As someone once said (Aneja reports that it may have been Confucius), telling someone how to do something is limited in its effectiveness, showing them how to do it is more likely to help it stick, but helping them learn to actually do the thing on their own is the best way to lock in that learning. The point of this discussion is to introduce a brand-new Microsoft learning tool that provides the immersive experience that can really help new concepts become embedded in memory. Microsoft Learn's new Cloud Games feature helps learners explore cloud computing by playing various interactive games. For example, "Who Hacked?" teaches both principles of cybersecurity and specific Azure and Microsoft tools by challenging players to respond to a true-to-life hacking scenario. If you've struggled to grasp Azure concepts in the past, then you may benefit from this new approach. The game is afoot!
Advance Your IT Career Through an Internship
Especially for brand new IT professionals, it can be difficult to catch on with the employer of your choice. A solid first step on the path to career success is to complete an IT internship. There are quite a few internships available across the IT industry, and many more opportunities available from employers in other sectors of the working world who need IT assistance. Now there's a new article at CertMag.com, the official website of Certification Magazine, that discusses how to find and start an IT internship. If there's an IT internship in your future, then It will be well worth your time to click over and read through the article.
Big Cheese or Key Support Staff: Which Is Right for You?
Not everyone who starts an IT career is aiming to move up the corporate ladder and supervise the work of others. Some would prefer to settle in as a key cog in the machine, performing a vital role without having to worry about performance targets, annual reviews, departmental morale, and so forth. A new post to the blog of IT employment facilitator Dice offers some advice to those who are wondering which general direction is right for them. If you decide to focus on a particular technology and become a specialist, for example, then you should expect to become highly experienced and proficient in a particular area. You are likely to advise and mentor others without actually being responsible to directly oversee their work. You can have an excellent salary, but may not ultimately be among the top earners at your company. There's lots to consider, and this post is a good place to start.
That's all for this edition of Certification Watch. Please keep your certification news and tips coming to the GoCertify News Editor.
