As our 2022 retrospective rolls forth, we're going back to the well of popular Certification Watch newsletters. As previously noted in this space, there were almost 50 Certification Watch newsletters this year. We rattled off the 10 most popular editions already.
Without further ado, lets cruise through from 11 to 20 on our countdown of the Most Popular Certification Watch newsletters of 2020:
11) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 5 (Feb. 2, 2022) — Random Quotation: Like the Force from the Star Wars universe, cloud computing is everywhere. It probably doesn't penetrate us (weird), but it definitely surrounds us, and even binds the world (if not the galaxy) together — in both literal and metaphorical senses. (Let's just ignore that part about it how it's an energy field generated by all living things. Come on, no allegory is flawless.)
12) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 29 (July 20, 2022) — Random Quotation: Structured Query Language, or SQL, is a hugely important tool in database management and data analytics. There are a number of different credentials that validate SQL knowledge and proficiency, but programmers often don't rely on certifications either for learning or street cred.
13) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 17 (April 27, 2022) — Random Quotation: Digital badges may not have entirely replaced ink-and-paper credentials across the IT realm over the last decade, but badging is definitely where IT certification is headed in the future. Many certification providers and industry associations have already jumped whole-hog into badging with both feet, which is definitely where IBM is headed.
14) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 30 (July 27, 2022) — Random Quotation: If it's true that cheaters never prosper — yes, yes, we know there's ample evidence to suggest that the opposite is frequently the case — then why do people cheat? More specifically, why do certified IT professionals cheat when attempting to pass a certification exam?
15) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 43 (Oct. 26, 2022) — Random Quotation: The collective "your mom" — theorized by philosophers and social scientists while frequently having various characteristics and actions ascribed to her in the popular discourse — is often said to have denounced the wisdom of doing something "just because everyone else is doing it." What, on the other hand, would your mom have to say about a given something that everyone is doing entirely or largely because it is the best way of accomplishing a certain aim? Well, here we are (again).
16) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 21 (May 25, 2022) — Random Quotation: E-learning needs to last long enough for, you know, actual learning to occur. That doesn't mean that learners have unlimited time, of course, or that everyone will need the same window of opportunity to master a skill or concept. This leads us to an interesting tidbit that popped up at the IBM Training and Skills Blog this week.
17) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 18 (May 4, 2022) — Random Quotation: CertMag.com, the official website of Certification Magazine, has turned over a new leaf. The CertMag team announced through various channels this week (including the official Certification Magazine newsletter) that the website had moved to a new CMS, as well as upgrading its security profile. There's not much to see on the front end, as CertMag.com has maintained its, er, companionably basic design and visual charm.
18) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 6 (Feb. 9, 2022) — Random Quotation: The only thing that most certified IT professionals probably thought they would ever need to know about a gorilla is not to tangle with it one-on-one if it — a belligerent gorilla, that is — somehow wanders into their office or at-home home workspace. Given the exceedingly low incidence of live gorilla attacks (even in settings where you might reasonably expect them to occur), you could certainly forgive the average certified IT professional for not having given much thought at all to gorilla-related questions.
19) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 12 (March 23, 2022) — Random Quotation: You can't walk the walk if you don't know how to talk the talk. Or maybe it's the other way around. Just don't start in about "walking the talk," because words have meaning and language is sacred and hearing that sort of puffed-up jibber jabber is when our blood begins to boil.
20) Certification Watch: Vol. 25, No. 35 (May 11, 2022) — Random Quotation: If you've heard us say it once, then you've heard us say it a million times: The world needs more skilled cybersecurity professionals. The much-publicized cybersecurity hiring gap — the shortfall between the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs and the number of skilled professionals available to fill them — consistently hovers at or above 2.5 million.
