ISACA Identifies Certification Exam Preparation Errors
Almost everyone remembers preparing both well and poorly for a big test in high school or college. Sometimes you walk into the classroom or testing center feeling ready for anything. And sometimes you take your seat praying to get lucky and figure out just enough correct answers to get a passing grade. It's quite common for test-taking advice to focus on what you should do to prepare. This week, however, a new post the ISACA Now blog of cybersecurity and IT governance professional association ISACA focuses on what you should not do. For example, guest blogger Ashief Ahmed suggest that exam takers should not be overly confident that their own individual professional experience will carry the day. Most exams are written with specific answers to specific scenarios in mind. A solution that gets the job done in the real world may not be what the exam is looking for. Click through to Ahmed's full post for more excellent advice.
AWS Board Certification Through Gamification Express
Last week in this space we discussed a new piece of the certification study and training puzzle that Microsoft Learn has just unveiled: games. This week, it's Amazon Web Services (AWS) that is encouraging learners to use games to make sense of IT concepts. A new post to the AWS Training and Certification Blog outlines how AWS Industry Quest: Financial Services can teach and reinforce the principles and processes needed to protect sensitive financial data. There's room for the AWS team to grown in terms of creative game titles — AWS Industry Quest: Financial Services is not quite as catchy as, say, God of War: Ragnarok — but there's clearly a trend taking shape here that may help involve the ever elusive next generation of tech professionals in IT training and certification.
CompTIA Discusses Getting Teens and Youth Involved in IT
Speaking of getting young folks to take an interest in information technology (IT), a new post to the official blog of tech industry association CompTIA reminds readers that the search for budding IT pros should actively reach as far down as middle school. Don't just wait for high school and college graduates to take up the IT baton, in other words. There's a critical need for IT newcomers across the entire industry, and some kids who are in middle school right now could probably take up full-time IT jobs in fewer than 10 years, so this is a topic that should capture the attention of everyone with a professional interest in IT.
IBM Training Holds Out Certification Holiday Grab Bag
Sometimes everything everywhere comes together at the same time, sort of like in that hit movie from earlier this year, Everything Everywhere All at Once. That's a bit like what is going on over at the IBM Training and Skills Blog, where there's so much certification and certification-adjacent goodness that blogger Natalie Brooks Powell crams five things into a single blog post. IBM Cloud Compass is an interactive tool that can help you assess where to turn next in your cloud computing training and certification journey. There are two brand new cloud computing credentials on tap. IBM has boarded the digital badging express with Credly. There's an individual account of one man who has earned 29 IBM certifications. And IBM and Pearson VUE are looking for cloud-certified individuals to share their success stories. Wow! There's something for everyone.
Soft Skills Are Essential to IT Career Success
Veteran tech writer Aaron Axline puts it this way: "Today’s employers are looking for more than just technical competence from new IT hires. Tech savvy is obviously important — but it isn’t the only thing modern businesses use to rate top job candidates." The other critical yardstick, Axline writes, is soft skills. And if that drumbeat isn't already echoing in your brain, then you need to read Axline's article, from the October issue of Certification Magazine, about the six most important soft skills for IT professionals. You can run, but you can't hide: If you aren't already working on honing your soft skills, then don't be surprised if you wind up on the fast track to career oblivion.
That's all for this edition of Certification Watch. Please keep your certification news and tips coming to the GoCertify News Editor.
