Certification Plans for 2009

empc4000xl

CCVP, CCIE VOICE written in NOV/DEC09. Lab not until mid 2011

Bokeh

CCENT in Feb
CCNA in March
CCNA-Wireless - April/May
CWNA - Summer

Maybe some work on MS products as well.

darkerosxx

Cool to see everyone has some set goals. I know you'll all do well!

As for me, I'm looking at taking 6 of the remaining 8 of my MBA courses in 2009.

For certs, I'm looking to fill out the areas I'm lacking in that can help me be more of a serious candidate for a position requiring a master's degree. I'm going for a bit of Security Architecture, Project Management, System/Network Design, Storage Fundamentals, and possibly ITIL Foundation. I doubt I'll make all of this unless I get to attend classes, but I'm going to try.

The specific certs:
CEH (Early January)
CAPM (Late January, I have training in PM, just need to read the PMBOK)
RHCE (Will be taking the course and the exam)
CCDP (Have taken BSCI and BCMSN courses, this will round out in late 09)

Optional, if I have time:
SNIA SCSP(Storage Fundamentals to get some footing in that area, planned for mid '09)
ITIL v3 Foundations (mid to late 09)

LarryDaMan

I like these threads... optimism reins supreme this time of the year. I pushed back CCENT to Feb 17th because I have been side tracked with job interviews and holiday stuff.

2009... CCNA, some MS exams (MCSA?), and then maybe CISA or CISM in December.

I have been watching the Career Academy CEH videos and I would love to take that exam one day, but there is only so much time. Even if I never take the exam, I plan on learning more about various tools and methodologies. Fun stuff.

JDMurray

dynamik wrote:

CISSP (only qualify for an associate) might be another option while the SSCP material is fresh...

Get the CISSP exam out of the way first and worry about accumulating the experience later. To get the best boost from studying for the SSCP, plan on taking the CISSP exam no longer than three months after your SSCP exam. You wait too long, or start studying for other certs in between, and the knowledge fades.

royal

LoL dynamik. All those certs before end of June? You're crazy if you pull that off... I think you'd need to spend all your personal time studying and not having any social life whatsoever to pull that off.

Aldur

for 2009 I'm hoping to get my JNCIE-ER and a CCNA... figure that I'm going to have to learn cisco routers some time

dynamik

Nah, I'll have three or four of those done by the end of February. I've been busy with a college class and haven't had a chance to do the final review for those. I ended up having to write nearly 80 pages (double-spaced) since September. I was done with that on Tuesday, so now I have all this free time I don't know what to do with. I think its doable without too much sacrifice.

empc4000xl

dynamik wrote:

By end of June: VCP, ICND2, MCITP: EA, CEH, SSCP, CWSP, CCNA:S

After: Undecided about starting CCNP or CCSP. I'd like to do the NP first to get the foundation, but on the other hand, none of the SP exams overlap with any other track, and it's tempting to just get it out of the way so I can move on to the overlapping tracks after the NP. CISSP (only qualify for an associate) might be another option while the SSCP material is fresh...

I'm hoping to just get 1 cert done by late summer

carboncopy

Hopefully this is a good year for me I hope to have these accomplished by the end of next year in this specific order, CEH, GCIA, GCIH, CISSP.

UnixGuy

1. CompTIA Security+, Server+ (almost half way through).


2. Thorough review of SCSA, SCNA, and some serious SHELL scripting.


3. Veritas Storage Foundation 5.0 Administration for UNIX (i.e. Veritas volume manager)


4. SCSECA Solaris 10.


5. Sun Cluster 3.2 Administration


6. SNIA : SCSP


busy year...

grunjhed

MCSE 2003, starting with 70-270

bsddaemon0

Gonna take 70-646 and get my MCITP: Server Administrator.

Chivalry1

MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator

bugsy

1. Finish my last semester at school (Jan -> June)
2. If time permits it, finish BSCI and BCMSN by June/July

After that, hopefully get an interesting job in networking and finish off the rest of the exams required for the CCNP by the end of the year.

msteinhilber

Currently don't hold any certifications but I've been starting to study as I have time to help move upwards with my career away from system administration to eventually a position working either mostly with Cisco gear in more of a networking role or security, depending on which way my studies interest me the most as I progress.

Plan for 2009 is to finish up my B.S. in Technology Management (minor in network security) which will be around September at the latest. I also have started to research options to move forwards in pursuing a Masters degree somewhere to hopefully begin shortly after I finish my B.S.

As far as certifications go, I'm planning to sit ICND1 mid January and ICND2 within a couple of weeks of that. I've had a considerable amount of study time hands-on for the old 640-801 exam and I've spent a good amount of time studying in my home lab for the new exam as well as some hands-on at work, but I think since the cost is the same I'm going to play it safe and take the two exam route.

Also planning on the MCSE: Security (with Security+ as an elective) since the employer is going to be footing the bill for this. I don't anticipate much trouble with the MCSE studies since I've had a lot of exposure to the topics covered over the past several years at work, but I'll see how things progress and if they move along smooth I'm going to plan to either pursue further with the Cisco track or possibly look into something security related outside of Cisco, just not sure at this point which way I'll end up.

rfult001

MCSE 2003, CCNA, Linux+, Security+ and w/e else I can make time for when I am not bogged down by the rest of my life.

eMeS

First, congratulations to all for your accomplishments in 2008, and best wishes for a productive 2009!

1. Hopefully I passed the CISA exam in mid-December. If so, then I will be wrapping that up pretty quickly when I submit history of prior audit work that I've done.

2. I've been putting off since July 2008 taking 70-431, 70-441, 70-442, 70-443, 70-445, and 70-446 for the MS SQL Server 2005 MCITP Triple Crown. I've taught some classes and completed some work in these areas throughout 2008, so I think the exams should not be a problem at this point. I really want to get these done and be in position to start working on SQL Server 2008 if necessary.

3. I've also been putting off the IBM Certified Business Process Analyst - WebSphere Business Modeler Advanced V6.1 and IBM Certified Deployment Professional - Rational RequisitePro exams. I did quite a bit of work with these tools as well in 2008, and even wrote courseware for WebSphere Business Modeler and RequisitePro. I'm very familiar with these tools and the exams will be cake, but I haven't had time to take the exams.

4. Because WebSphere as an SOA solution is so hot right now, I will probably continue building my experience with the WebSphere Integration Developer, WebSphere Process Server, WebSphere Business Modeler, and other WebSphere products ad infinitum, with an eventual goal of taking the certification exams for these tools.

5. It's not really a certification, but I am now eligible through the American Society for Quality to upgrade my status to "Senior Member". I'll be submitting the paperwork for this soon. Before someone says something, this isn't an age related distinction!

6. When they release the requirements for the "ITIL Master" credential, I will complete that. It's been under development since May 2007, and still shows a status of "under development" on the official ITIL site. Hopefully they'll get this squared away soon because I really want to get this into my short-term plan.

7. At some point, I will likely complete the new ISO/IEC 27002 Foundation and Advanced certifications being offered by Exin. These are likely very similar to the ISO/IEC 20000 Consultant certification that I earned some time ago, which means they focus on the ability to understand, apply, and demonstrate aspects of the specific ISO specification.

8. I will start working towards the Certified Management Consultant certification (CMC). This is a really hard credential to earn, but it is highly sought after and very valuable in the world of independent consulting. I don't expect to complete this in 2009, but I will start on it and hopefully finish it in 2010.

9. Not to delve too far off topic, but I have a bit of work left to do to complete three books that are being published hopefully in Q1 2009. One is about using WebSphere Business Modeler as a "Business Analyst", the second is devoted entirely to configuration of WebSphere Business Modeler, and the third one on my plate is more of a study guide for the ITIL v3 Foundation material. These are important goals, especially the ones related to WebSphere Business Modeler, because I could have already sold hundreds of these if it had been ready when I did a series of WebSphere Business Modeler classes this year. I'll also be creating some supplementary material for the WebSphere items above.

10. Who knows what else...I like to keep my options open. The PgMp is on my radar screen, as are some others. It really depends on market demand. From my point of view, it's looking more and more like there will be huge demand for people who can make the WebSphere tools do what IBM says they can do when they sell them. I see my 2009 being largely sponsored by WebSphere.

There is huge demand in the market for people that can bring multi-disciplinary approaches to problem solving. For example, my strategy for the last couple of years and in the near future is to both understand and be able to coordinate the application of both ITIL best practices and SOA concepts and technology. This has set my partners and me apart, as most consultants in this space tend to focus on one area rather than understanding how both approaches are complementary. There is always demand for a polymath.

MS

HeroPsycho

*Wrap up MCITP: Enterprise Administrator. I should have taken 70-649 by now, but I've been lazy/hating studying for the exam. *Security+ and CISSP if certain events occur (will explain later). *Anything I can get my hands on for storage.

the_Grinch

Well a job is the big order now because they bills are starting to roll in. But I have been doing some serious thinking on my certification goals and a lot of it has to do with the last job I interviewed for. So here are the definite ones I will be taking:

CEH - In January hopefully!
ICND2 - will start studying for it after CEH
CHFI - do it after ICND2
CCNA: Security - keep passing the book in Barnes and Noble and really want to take it

I am thinking of dropping Linux certs off my list because most of the jobs I see for it require lots of experience. I might go down the Microsoft tree because the job I interviewed for last would require me to work a lot with Microsoft stuff. I also believe I found what Masters program I would like to go for and might look to start teaching as I pursue that. We shall see!

coffeeking

Had some certification goals for 2008, but with only 4 days to go I don't see them happening. On the plus side I was able to gain some experience which is more valuable than anything.

For next year, here is the list:

CCNA
CCNA: S (might have to demote it depending on my Cisco exposure in next few months)
Security+
Linux+ (May be)
OSCP
CEH
CHFI

Not a huge list but I know it is going to need a lot of work.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU FELLAS WITH YOUR GOALS in 2009!

kerbydogg

Finish up all the old Microsoft stuff (MCDBA, MCSE:M)

Then some Cisco, a little Red Hat, then back to Microsoft for the MCITP stuff.

Happy New Year folks!

cblm123

CCIE R&S...

mattrgee

Bit unsure at the moment:

CCNA Security
CCNA Voice

Then depending how I feel about the above two I may continue with CCSP or CCVP or worse case CCNA Wireless!

Basically with the recession I'm trying to stay diverse.

stupidboy

2008 was a real blast, 8 exams passed in 8 attempts

2009 is going to be an all out offensive against knowledge and certification.

* VCP
* MCITP:EA (Upgrade from 2003 MCSE)
* Hyper-V
* XenDesktop (should have finished that this year)
* CCIA
* CCI (If the T3 course is run in the UK this year )
* Citrix Upgrades that appear over the course of the year.

These goals are now in my mind map, I need to stay focused and knock them off. No deviation and only take beta's if they fall between exams

Good luck to all.

Turgon

Mostly revision for me now. I have got what I could out of the hands on practice using examples from Cisco Press books and the vendor workbooks the last 18 months. So over the next two or three months it's looking like the following..

Carefully go over specific technologies in IWEB Vol II.
Command practice using the IOS Command Memoriser (good product).
Command practice on the home rack working the notes I have taken for technologies covered in IWEB Vol II.
More Doc CD reading
Complete six remaining IWEB labs and undertake a sequence of mock exams through January and February.
Read Odom's book and do practice tests from the book.
Transcender for BGP and QoS

Take the written exam. Then book the lab slot for around end of March.

Tough schedule.

GT-Rob

Its the home stretch Turgon. March will come fast!

Turgon

GT-Rob wrote:

Its the home stretch Turgon. March will come fast!

It sure will. Im trying to get something done each day. Read BGP yesterday in Odom and this morning went over some QoS commands.

CaptainCharisma

January-February - To go back over my CCNA material. I obtained my CCNA back in May, but the job I've been in doesn't let me use much of that knowledge, so I'm starting to forget.

February-March (Hopefully) - Find a new job that lets me do much more hands on with Cisco routers and switches and more networking.

Beyond February/March, I do not have a timeframe, but here is what I'll focus on:

CCNP
CCNA: Security (Heard this has overlap with ISCW)
CWNA
CCNA: Wireless

My two main goals for 2009 are to obtain a job more entrenched in networking instead of desktops/servers, and to work for and hopefully obtain CCNP certification before the end of the year. The other certifications I've listed, I'll work towards if I have time.

Good luck to everybody with their goals.

vanquish23

First and Second Quater of 2009:

A+
Network+


Third and Forth of 2009

CCNA