Whew, I just realized I spent a cool grand $$$$

longhorn79

The wife came up to me yesterday, and she wanted to talk. I was like ok? She whips out the past few months credit card statements. She told me in the past 4 months i have spent over a grand on getting my certifications, books and materials. Comptia A+, Net+, and Sec+. I was a bit in shock on the total myself. After awhile all i could think of saying is "Honey, I still have more to go!" Then she got up and smiled and under her breath she says "Honey, you gonna owe me big time." So make this story short the wife was able to get one up on me again.

docrice

"They're not expenses. They're long-term investments."

Geek1969

You need to find a job that will re-imburse you for those. I have been paid back, plus mileage for all of my exam fees. I buy the study material on my own because I do refer back to it at different times and want it to be "mine" rather than my employers.

Psoasman

They are also education expenses, which you can deduct on taxes.

N2IT

They add up that's for sure. Space them out and make sure to get your employer to take on some of the cost. You are a resource to the company and it benefits them to have their resource improving. If you aren't working in IT I would suggest doing that next.

eansdad

The cost only gets higher...

Hypntick

Ain't that the truth. However, it is an investment in yourself, it does pay off.

SteveO86

You don't want to know how much I've spent on books, certifications, lab equipment, random study material lol.

longhorn79

Well the funny thing I really never told my wife what the intial cost would be. She just wanted to get it over with. So I chuckled a bit when I told her the amount i will probably be spending for the CCNA. She just wants a vacation for the summer and doesn't want to see a tech book laying around the house. I guess I'm lucky guy or that she seems to get her way in a strange way??????

ayori

Psoasman wrote: »

They are also education expenses, which you can deduct on taxes.

Do you know if this applies to Canada as well? Please please..

N2IT

Balance is the key that's for sure. My budget keeps shrinking year after year. My first year started in 2009 and that's when I did the Microsoft Office 2007 exams. I was in help desk at the time and my boss and his boss said they would explorer the opportunity of transitioning into the office and visio specialist in the support center. It was a good feeling and I probably should of stopped there

Then I locked on with a 6 month project doing project planning and then support. It was a hybrid position. It was nice the owner was really into the PMP and ITIL. At the time I had no clue what the PMP was to be honest, but I was all over ITIL and had them pay for that and my Excel exam. I also had BMC remedy training paid for. That was cool, even though I don't list it on my resume, maybe I should

Anyway from there it went down hill no other employer since then paid for a certification and I have done a lot. 5 CompTIA's and ISO security and service management and a few other high level ITILS etc. They are good, but I could of probably been just as well off with 1/3 of my certifications. ***Somewhere in there I had an AS400 course through the my employer at the time the DOA. But honestly I could of given a crap less back then. I wouldn't even remember what the cert was called if I even received one.

I'm a guy who believes in experience. A worker with A+ but has real world virtualization and server experience out weighs a guy with 6 months and bunch of certs. At least that is how I view it.

I never want to purposely discourage someone from doing certifications. I just like to say, "make sure you have direction when you start to embark on them".

To just randomly get certifications to better you knowledge is really a piss poor idea. Why I think you should continue to read and learn, grabbing cert after cert to prove you worth is not going to work very effectively.

I know this because I have done it. Before I take on a certification I make damn sure it aligns with my goals.

NetworkingStudent

REMOVED UNNECESSARY QUOTED REPLY FROM PREVIOUS POST


+1 I agree

I’m in the same boat! The cert game never seems to end. I feel like I need to keep getting certs to maintain knowledge, but it does get old. I’m starting to take jobs on work market to add to my experience. I have had interviews with hiring managers that say “everything looks great, but my lack of experience is concerning. “ I think certs are great, but I do agree with what you’re saying. Just mindlessly getting certs with no direction is just silly. This method will leave both yourself and possibly your significant other frustrated.

Another thing is if you don’t use the knowledge gained from a cert, you will lose it. Also, anything you put on a resume, especially certs can be questioned in an interview.

I thought this website would be cool to use to save for certifications

http://www.smartypig.com/

Note-I do remember just signing up for the HIT exam, because pearson vue was offering a deal on the book and the exam voucher. Everyone on TE said that you learn most of the stuff on the exam while in the hospital environment, so I skipped this exam.

Iristheangel

+1 to Smartypig. I used them for awhile before switching over to Netspend since they give 5% APY on all savings accounts through them. Smartypig was great for goal setting.

N2IT

Network Student good follow up.

That's why any certification I am going for now is either aligned with Project Management or Service Management. You put me on the spots in those areas and I am on it. Start asking me questions about Security + or Network + I could get into trouble .

I probably should only list server, A, and project +. I would need to reread Mike Meyers book to answer any network + question with any regularity. Security + is even worse. I literally read "the book" and took the exam, barely passed at that.

swild

N2IT wrote: »

Balance is the key that's for sure... Before I take on a certification I make damn sure it aligns with my goals.

I completely agree for most people but not for all. Muscle memory applies to knowledge, at least for me. If there is something that looks appealing, I start reading about it, eventually I decide to take a cert test to prove to myself my exposure to the content. When a job comes along that I want to apply to, I don't include certifications that don't directly apply to that job on my resume. I change my resume for each job I apply to.

My point is that being exposed to the content once makes it so much easier to pick back up later, when time could be critical. Also, if you come up against an odd issue during the system testing phase of your newly programmed application, you may be able to pull the fix out of your ass from your previous exposure during either your Win 7 or CCNA certs, shocking the hell out of your coworkers and supervisors. That one how-the-f*ck-did-you-know-that moment makes all that 'useless' trivia totally worth it.

This way of thinking is the entire thought behind a Classical Education, or in more common terms, the difference between a bachelor's degree and a trade school certificate. That one time that I learned about Meyers-Briggs typing in Sociology has reared it's ugly head more times than I care to admit to. Even the Project+ information from 6 months ago has allowed me to prove to management the uselessness of certain individuals, leading to one getting a swift kick out the door.

Even with all of this, my technical supervisor believes that the business will not be able to monetize an investment in certifications for anyone in my position. Ergo, it's time to find a new employer.

In a futile attempt to swing this tangent back to the OP's topic, I never think that any investment in education is a bad thing. Certain individuals may choose to waste other people's money, but that rarely applies if the money is coming out of your own pocket. Anything and everything that is of interest to you, could prove useful in the future.

powerfool

I can name three years years where I have spent over $10k/year on certifications, alone (two of those year were completely reimbursed by employers). It is something that happens if you take your career seriously. But, as others have said, make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons. My first big spend was for the MCSE, and that made a solid foundation for my career after I had a few years of experience under my belt. My other big spending years were for requirements from my employer, and it was nice to get that extra push and to get them to pay. They have tightened the belt a lot lately, so I will likely be paying a little bit of the bill going forward, but they still provide a decent pool of money.

RomBUS

Wow you can get a tax break from certification spending? I never knew that....it is legally allowed right?

tpatt100

I have claimed cert expenses for taxes but I don't really get much of a break due to income bracket if I remember correctly.

I decided to only get one Microsoft cert on Server 2008 mainly to upgrade something but I want to focus more on just learning the basic in and outs of Windows Server for security reasons. I don't do sys admin stuff anymore but I want to be somewhat familiar with the OS. If I get a job in the future and I do more work with Windows Servers then I will more than likely go full steam ahead with the certs for Microsoft.

Psoasman

RomBUS wrote: »

Wow you can get a tax break from certification spending? I never knew that....it is legally allowed right?

I've been using Turbo tax for years to claim my cert expenses. It doesn't add up to a lot, but every bit helps. l think the key is that it must be work-related certs.

Somnipotent

Psoasman wrote: »

They are also education expenses, which you can deduct on taxes.

i thought you could only do this if you itemized your taxes? correct me if i'm wrong.

swild

Somnipotent wrote: »

i thought you could only do this if you itemized your taxes? correct me if i'm wrong.

As far as I know, yes. Get a few investments going and itemized is your only choice.

lordy

Just in case somebody from Germany ever reads this: You can also get a tax break for your study/certification expenses. I did this last year and listed my RHCE material, the trip to the test-center, the night at the hotel and of course the exam fee. Those costs will be subtracted from your total earnings so you basically can pay all the stuff from pre-tax money. For me this meant that I get about 30-40% of the money back at the end of the year.

I don't remember who said it, but it's definitely true: Investing in yourself returns the highest yield.

AlexNguyen

longhorn79 wrote: »

She whips out the past few months credit card statements.

Get yourself a standalone credit card. Don't share your credit card with your wife. Register for an online credit card statements and don't get paper mail sent to your home.

tpatt100

AlexNguyen wrote: »

Get yourself a standalone credit card. Don't share your credit card with your wife. Register for an online credit card statements and don't get paper mail sent to your home.

Yeah hiding bills from your spouse is a good idea

NOC-Ninja

I spent:

2011 - $2,750
2012 - $7,825

I'm going to spend more on my CCIE lab attempts. I believe that you need to spend money to gain money.

NetworkingStudent

I know you see the certs as professional advancement, but your wife sees them as something that competes for your time with her. I suggest taking a break from certs and just taking a vacation, because it sounds like this is something your wife wants, and it would be good for you too. Don’t bring any books; just plan something fun you and her can do together. Once you get back you can tackle the CCNET and CCNA. This is just my suggestion.

traceyke

AlexNguyen wrote: »

Get yourself a standalone credit card. Don't share your credit card with your wife. Register for an online credit card statements and don't get paper mail sent to your home.

I'm not even married, but even I know thatdoing ^^THIS^^ wouldlead to a chaotic breach of trust in a marriage!

Somnipotent

NetworkingStudent wrote: »

I know you see the certs as professional advancement, but your wife sees them as something that competes for your time with her. I suggest taking a break from certs and just taking a vacation, because it sounds like this is something your wife wants, and it would be good for you too. Don’t bring any books; just plan something fun you and her can do together. Once you get back you can tackle the CCNET and CCNA. This is just my suggestion.

this is a good idea. my wife knows the values of my certifications and actually encourages me along the way. once you tackle a cert though, it's a good idea to reward yourself and your wife for dealing with your nonstop studying by doing something nice, a vacation or an expensive dinner to celebrate. it keeps harmony within your house.

AlexNguyen

traceyke wrote: »

I'm not even married, but even I know thatdoing ^^THIS^^ wouldlead to a chaotic breach of trust in a marriage!

I'm married over 15 years with the same wife. We have a share bank account but also our own separated account and credit card. We discuss if it's a big expense (house, car, trip, private school for kids, etc.). Otherwise, I don't need to "ask a permission" to my wife to buy electronic gadgets or certification fees. Who's the boss in your house ?

tpatt100

It's not about being a "boss" in your house. It's about knowing what is going on in both sides of the house due to shared responsibilities when it comes to finances. I don't need to be a boss in my house, I have a partner.

petedude

. . . to spend $1000+ on a basic Cisco cert.

By the time you get done buying books, rack time (maybe), lab kits, test prep software, exams and maybe even sitting through classes/boot camps, you may have spent the same as for one semester of college at an inexpensive school. Worse, unless you have years of related experience under your belt, you've no idea what you will really need until the end (not to mention panic or "I wants" setting in).

It's not cheap. Passing a Cisco exam is a good feeling, so I can't knock it. I will say, though, that for some folks it might be better to work through a Microsoft or CompTIA program instead. For others, better that they put that time/energy/money to use wrapping up a college degree.