PDA's and cell phones

Ivanjam

I am hoping to join the IT workforce soon and I have a few half-baked thoughts that maybe someone could shed some light on. I have noticed that a number of tech support jobs advertised require knowledge of PDA's, cell phones and other handheld computing and telecommunications devices. I assume that there is some connection between this and the rise in popularity of telecommuting, whether working from home full-time or just finishing a report at the local coffee shop. Thus, I have a couple of questions:

(1) Does the rate of growth of telecommuting jobs in such areas as business and finance translate into any meaningful potential increase in the number of tech support jobs here in the USA?

(2) Are there any widely-regarded industry certifications in the area of integrating handheld computing and telecommunications devices into networks?

WafflesAndRootbeer

1. No. Don't confuse telecommuting with an increase in mobile device usage in the workplace. Mobile devices simply are a part of today's workplace and they weren't ten years ago. Telecommuting is a whole different game and they almost always bring their stuff into the offices just like anyone else who works for a company and they can only rely on remote support whenever they are truly away from the workplace.

2. No. Windows 8 will bring some mobile enterprise certs from Microsoft as it is a genuine cross-platform OS and that is all there is for the foreseeable future as Microsoft is the only company that has anything integrated to such a great degree on their roadmap. RIM (Blackberry) is pretty much gone from the workplace and will probably be replaced by Windows 8 in the near future as that OS integrates far better into the scheme of things than iOS or Android due to it's Microsoft DNA.

Ivanjam

Thanks, WafflesAndRootbeer. That did set me straight.