How do you determine?

How do you guys (and girls) determine what cert you are going to do? Is it purely based on ROI or interest in the material or both? Do you guys do market research or "go w/ your gut"? I've been trying to determine something and I have hit a wall and I wanted to see someone else's opinion....

I thought there was a post about this before but I couldn't find it.

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kriscamaro68

My decisions have been both on interest at the time and the ROI that I thought I would get. So far my certs havent really been a factor in getting any of my jobs. I hope that will change though as I get into the much more serious certs here soon. But for the most part now its Security stuff I study and that is because it is the most interesting part of I.T. for me and I love learning it.

networker050184

Interest, ROI and experience. If I'm working with a technology that interests me I'll get certified on it. This way when I'm looking for a new job I can show a potential employer that I'm certified and experienced on the technology they use. Thats where the ROI comes in.

phonetic.man

I am like kriscamaro and networker in that I go for interest and ROI (but tending more toward interest). I will be going for Proj+, 70-680, CCENT, CCNA, CCNA:S in that order for my degree but I don't know exactly what order I want to go for after I finish WGU.
These are all certs that I will sit for after WGU - CWNA, CWSP, WCNA, CEH, MCITP:EDA7, MCITP:SA, CCNA:V, CCNA:W and maybe a couple others. The order will depend on what I want and see as useful at the time.

QHalo

I keep moving from technology to technology and haven't certified in anything since 2008. My interests continue to move around so much and my thirst doesn't just stop at something like say networking. I start thinking about virtualization and then I start reading more about VMware, Xen, and Hyper-V. Then I hear something about security and start reading Darril's book again. Now I'm on this storage kick and I've been reading about Fibre Channel. I wish I could settle on something but alas, I love it all!

Devilsbane

Interest is my biggest motivator.

This is why I'm struggling with the 298 and 299. The interest just isn't there. It is too much review and my only reason for finishing is for the MCSE. I don't really care about the material anymore, which is making it more difficult than it should be.

undomiel

Some of them have been assigned by my employers but it has always been along the line of what I'm interested in so far. The only one I've pursued out of pure interest, and never ended up testing for, was the RHCE.

demonfurbie

at this moment its roi after i get that sorted it will be interest

rogue2shadow

Right now its ROI; once I hit the maintenance phase of my majors certs, I'll work on the unrelated certs I've always been interested in

mikej412

If I don't have an interest in it, I don't care what the ROI is.

Most of the people I've worked with over the years who were just chasing the money didn't last long enough to make the money.

ipchain

If you don't have any interest on the subject matter, no matter what the ROI is, you'll have a difficult time finding motivation to study. Personally, the first thing I look at is interest, for it is what will get me going. I then look at the ROI and potential avenues for future growth.

It's important to get certified on things you can immediately apply at your workplace, for example, if you're working with Cisco gear, it might be wise for you to pick up CCNA and even CCNP along the way.

Claymoore

Interest is my preferred way of deciding on exams. If it's something I use or something I want to learn, I rely on the certification as a sort-of structured learning resource.

However, I am often required or requested to complete certain exams to fulfill some type of partner requirement. That's why it's taken me a year to get back to Exchange 2010. In that time I took 6 other exams that were of little value to me personally. Between the changes in partner requirements last year and the projects I happened to run, I needed to go in some different directions.

Panzer919

I don't even think about ROI, I base it strictly off what I want to do with my career. I want to be a Cisco Network Engineer so I took my NA, I'm studying for my NP, and plan on getting the CCIP. From there I will either go for the CCIE R&S or get the design certs then go for IE.

I like security voice and wireless but they do not appeal to me nearly as much as Routing and Switching. I would rather be certified in Routing, Switching and Design and know Security, Wireless and Voice. I don't want to get stuck doing just Sec, Wireless or Voice and if I were to get certified in it, the possibility of that happening goes up. IF I were to ever get certified in one of those areas, it would be after all the others are done.

networker050184

Panzer919 wrote: »

I don't even think about ROI, I base it strictly off what I want to do with my career.

Well, wouldn't the better job be the ROI?

Panzer919

True, I guess I always looked at ROI from just a monetary standpoint.

networker050184

The job is going to pay you money. At least I'd hope it would.

Panzer919

Yeah, but I think of it as in, if I get my ccnp and my ccvp ill make more money than if I have my ccnp and ccip. Ill have more money but I won't be as happy.

I've taken jobs just to chase the cash and I've always ended up miserable. So now I'm all about making the most out of what I want to do.

networker050184

Panzer919 wrote: »

Yeah, but I think of it as in, if I get my ccnp and my ccvp ill make more money than if I have my ccnp and ccip. Ill have more money but I won't be as happy.

I've taken jobs just to chase the cash and I've always ended up miserable. So now I'm all about making the most out of what I want to do.

Oh, I agree, but I'm not going to waste my time on a certification if its not going to help me career wise and financially. Thats why its a combination of ROI and interest for me. If it was purely interest I wouldn't waste money on the exams. I'd just learn the topics for pleasure.

Panzer919

Well I guess I have to add ROI to my answer. I'm just glad my interest pays well

Turgon

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

How do you guys (and girls) determine what cert you are going to do? Is it purely based on ROI or interest in the material or both? Do you guys do market research or "go w/ your gut"? I've been trying to determine something and I have hit a wall and I wanted to see someone else's opinion....

I thought there was a post about this before but I couldn't find it.

I dont chase certs anymore. After a certain level they are less important. The CCIE process is useful in and of itself but other than that, Im more inclined to follow technology and commercial trends within and without the company and leverage my experience.

SteveO86

Depends.. My role as Network Analyst I work mostly with Cisco stuff so I go over some of my most recent projects and see if any Cert tests overlap..

I worked a lot with BES for years... and after chatting with my RIM rep I got a few free vouchers to take the cert test.. So I said sure I'll give em a shot.. Since they were free vouchers I didn't care. (Plus BlackBerries rule for enterprise [my opinion])

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The certs I go for, pertain to what I work with... I figure after I work with the technology in production see how it works and why, the easier the test will be.

NetworkingStudent

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

How do you guys (and girls) determine what cert you are going to do? Is it purely based on ROI or interest in the material or both? Do you guys do market research or "go w/ your gut"? I've been trying to determine something and I have hit a wall and I wanted to see someone else's opinion....

I thought there was a post about this before but I couldn't find it.

Sounds crazy, but lately I post and ask questions on TE forums before pursuing a said certification. I trust the knowledge, wisdom, advice, and experience of the IT veterans on TE forums. I mention my skill level, my current job, and where I want to be and the TE members weigh in and give me their advice. Currently, I’m studying for the Windows 7 70-680 certification.

I was on a help desk HDI certification kick for a bit, because I thought it would guarantee a help desk job, atlas I was wrong. I wanted to get almost every HDI certification, plus the ITIL certification. I just thought being HDI certified would make me stand out, but there is so much more to a help desk role than being HDI certified. Also, I think the Comptia certs carry more weight than HDI certs. I haven’t gotten one question about my HDI certification , but I have had a few about the Comptia certs. I saw the success that Mike-Mike had with the HDI certifications and I wanted to have the same amount of success that he had. Follow your heart, but also use the advice of others, because they have been in your shoes.

If I was younger and worked in IT(I’m still looking for that entry level help desk job) I think I would just have a dead year. For one year I wouldn’t cert, but I just learned and soak up as much as I could in my current role.

mikedisd2

I just want my skillset to be solid. Around here, all companies use the same vendors, MS, Cisco, VMware, Citrix. So it makes sense for me to have MCSE, CCNA, VCP, etc. It also goes parallel with my experience and this can be of value nearly anywhere around the world.

Of course, it's going to be about ROI and hopefully make me a bit more marketable during tough times. As for interest, I'm very interested in achieving competence in what I do and being an asset to my company.

Priston

Personal interest, difficulty level, marketability, and of course if i'm being required to get certified in it.

MentholMoose

Claymoore wrote: »

Interest is my preferred way of deciding on exams. If it's something I use or something I want to learn, I rely on the certification as a sort-of structured learning resource.

Same here.

mattlee09

I more or less imagine it like career day in high school. I look through job sites every so often and see whats available, what I like, and what the minimum/preferred requirements are, and shoot for that.

I'm gunning for CCENT/CCNA currently, because I 'think' I would enjoy being a network engineer. I'm not sure I'd 'fit' however - If it doesn't work out in the end, it won't be because I didn't try or didn't have the required qualifications. Likewise, I got the free Dreamspark voucher earlier this month and registered for 70-680, first MS exam.

To (very) crudely paraphrase a post I read earlier somewhere, a good Cisco engineer will have at least a basic understanding of the things that connect to his network, and a good Systems Admin will have an idea of what network connects his systems together. Regardless of whether my life (I meant career I think..lol..but subconsciously typed life..) takes me up the path of CCIE or MCM, it'll never hurt to have a 'basic' or higher understanding of the other side.

I suppose I'm still young (20), but I hope I find my calling in one of the two soon and can move out of my Helpdesk/first-contact role as quick as possible

For me, its definitely always something I'm interested in though. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who seems to be interested in just "learning IT"

zerglings

Turgon wrote: »

I dont chase certs anymore. After a certain level they are less important. The CCIE process is useful in and of itself but other than that, Im more inclined to follow technology and commercial trends within and without the company and leverage my experience.

Best answer so far, in my opinion.

Dakinggamer87

It's a combination of personal interest, ROI, and experience.

Dakinggamer87

networker050184 wrote: »

Interest, ROI and experience. If I'm working with a technology that interests me I'll get certified on it. This way when I'm looking for a new job I can show a potential employer that I'm certified and experienced on the technology they use. Thats where the ROI comes in.

Yep this what helps me determine the certs I go after

Bl8ckr0uter

Thanks guys. With that in mind, you have helped me make my decision. I am going to go for the WCNA AND SSCP in April and May respectively. Thanks for the help guys.

For those of you who are interested, the reason I started this thread was the WCNA and cost vs worth. $300 is a bit of money, so is $250 but if it helps me get a 5K increase in my next jump, than it was worth it.

Turgon

Bl8ckr0uter wrote: »

Thanks guys. With that in mind, you have helped me make my decision. I am going to go for the WCNA AND SSCP in April and May respectively. Thanks for the help guys.

For those of you who are interested, the reason I started this thread was the WCNA and cost vs worth. $300 is a bit of money, so is $250 but if it helps me get a 5000K increase in my next jump, than it was worth it.

Always be mindful of what you spend your hard earned money on. Most people on this forum are blue collar and will not make the big time, and there is *nothing* wrong with that. But dollars on training materials come out of the family pot so invest your hard earned dollars wisely. If it will *really* help your bottom line, invest. If it will not, run away..far far away. Faceless vendors and training vendors will not feel your money, but you will.