Any hidden gem or obscure certifications that you would recommend?

We always hear about the common ones like Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, etc. I was wondering if any of you all had the opportunity to learn or certify in a certain certification that most of the public would not be aware of.

Maybe firewall certifications or something specific to a certain technology. I'm interested in seeing who values what and if there is something out there that really added value to someones profession. I don't really have any honestly, I know the CAPM is relatively an unknown and I have done some reading on ISACA COBIT and CBAP certification on Books 24-7.

My boss who spent 15+ years at one of the big 3 service providers was HUGE on COBIT and ITIL. Take it for what it's worth

Thoughts?

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Comments

the_hutch

N2IT wrote: »

But you have to do PowerPoint 2010 first!

You're right. And I'm as committed to my agreement to taking Powerpoint 2010...just as much as my company is committed to switching over to IPv6.

MickQ

the_hutch wrote: »

You're right. And I'm as committed to my agreement to taking Powerpoint 2010...just as much as my company is committed to switching over to IPv6.

No wonder it's taking so long with those monkeys you have working for you.

@ Aldur
Thanks for the heads up on that. I might have to lurk around there.

BeginCOBIT

Different certifications are good for different environments. If you work in a data center then a Foundation Certificate in Green IT, followed by the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centers certificate, could be beneficial. If your business is interested in the cloud then the Certified in Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) certificate might be helpful. If you work for a service-oriented business then one of the many ITIL certifications would be helpful.
If you are interested in project management you could pursue the PRINCE2 Foundation Certificate followed by the PRINCE2 Practitioner certificate or you could consider the CompTIA Project+ qualification. If your business works with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) then you might want to consider the COBIT 4.1 Foundation Certificate, because COBIT is often used to help businesses comply with the IT control requirements of SOX.

As a general rule try to get qualifications that are in areas loosely related to your current job (or current qualification set) so that you slowly broaden your knowledge; make yourself multi-skilled.

If you want to move up the management ladder consider things like People Management, and also Finance for Non-Financial Managers.

paul78

I often forget about PRINCE2 - while it's less known in the U.S., I do sometimes see project managers in larger U.S-based multi-national financial service PMOs carry it.

N2IT

COBIT, PRINCE2, and SCRUM have always peaked my interest.

Thanks for the great post Paul and BCobit

rwmidl

Certified Scrum Master (CSM). Oh wait, I did get that one

I may do the Oracle Web Logic certification this year.

N2IT

Yes you did RW!
They are offering a CSM training course in Minneapolis middle of next month. I may attend it's over the weekend. 2 8 hour days

rwmidl

N2IT wrote: »

Yes you did RW!
They are offering a CSM training course in Minneapolis middle of next month. I may attend it's over the weekend. 2 8 hour days

Yeah it's two full days (warning: the material can get dry really quick). But as I told you, it's a pretty easy cert to pick up. Let me know if you take the class.

N2IT

Waiting to hear back from the instructor to verify if the course adminsters the exam or provides the exam in come capacity.

rwmidl

It should. As part of taking the class, you are then given access to the Scrum Alliance portal where you can take the test.

N2IT

RW I just found out they won't give the exam.

rwmidl

Hmm...interesting.

nel

I wanted to backup my Cisco certs with an alternate vendor, and juniper has been an excellent choice. I would highly recommend them. Sadly i dont really work with them that in depth to warrant going too far. But it has raised a few positive eye brows! plus there free material and discounts have been awesome!

Prince 2 foundation is another i want to take to show that i do have some basic project management skills. PMP is an alternative that many people go for instead. However, in the UK, prince seems the popular choice.

N2IT

Nel thanks for the insight!