Why We Need IT Certifications

In a world of heavy competition in the job market and in our current economic state, it is more imperative than ever to have an edge over other applicants when searching for jobs or changing careers. From office managers to heath care professionals there are professional certificate programs and certifications that can be earned by attending approved training classes that are geared towards giving practical and hands-on skills that should carry on into the workplace. This type of training and certification provides employers a sense of confidence knowing that the certified individual can quickly learn their job function and carry it out with minimal supervision. This is certainly the case with many technical jobs especially in IT.
When it comes to your career in the IT field, whether you have years of experience or you are just starting out, there is tremendous strength and growth potential when you obtain the latest certifications in the area(s) you choose to become an expert at. Let’s face it, how many people do you know that have degrees in Information Systems that are still unable to gain employment? This is largely due to the lack of hands-on and practical training that the degree programs offer and many employers are aware of this.

You can start out by learning the fundamentals of hardware, software, and network support in a program like the A+ Network+. And there are even Vendor specific certifications such as the CCNA by Cisco and the MCITP-SA by Microsoft that once earned, let the employer know that you have expertise in these specific areas. So if you are looking to become a Network Administrator and want to be able to manage and configure the medium of which networks rely on, then the CCNA training and path is what you should look at. If you want to provide support in a server environment and become a System Administrator, the Microsoft certification path is for you. These are just a couple of directions you can go in the IT field. There is also, of course, the high demand for Security professionals in IT. With the threat of cyber attacks and those with malicious intent, companies are seeking the best solutions for identity protection, data loss prevention, and data recovery to ensure their business runs smoothly and with minimal liability. Many doors are opening and new positions are being created to combat these issues making IT Security a truly desirable skill to have. For those looking into the IT Security field or have experience without the certification(s), you may want to look at the Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker(CEH), and Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator(CHFI) certification courses.

The bottom line is there are many possibilities one can have when achieving IT certifications which indeed makes them more important than ever to have. Whether you are starting out or are already in the IT field, certifications can help you reach your potential.

APT - Advanced Penetration Tester

The results from day 1 of the Advanced Penetration Tester (APT) are in the reviews are awesome across the board. This class was the most highly anticipated class that we have seen in a long time. Live demos in class had students breaking into high security networks on day one.

A Quick Synopsis of the APT
Essentially, where CEH leaves people at breaking into networks that have relatively simple security and firewall setups, the Advanced Penetration Tester teaches people how to break into environments that spend HUGE money annually on security / information assurance / network and data intrusion prevention.

We'll post the results from the week on this very rare, highest level hacking class. Definitely looks exciting though!!

Welcome hackers, learn how you cannot be stopped.

Update on the DoD 8570 Directive

The DoD 8570 directive is something that has been making many IT Security / Information Assurance professionals sweat for the past couple of years. Strangely enough, the deadlines are never met and keep getting pushed back.

The latest addition to the DoD 8570 directive is the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification.

This certification is a very hands-on, practical, know what you are doing kind of cert, different from some of the others that appear on the 8570. In fact, if you take a CEH class you'll see what I mean. By nature, they are almost all hacking (using exploits, worms etc.) from start to finish.

So not only does the CEH certification's addition to the DoD 8570 break form from the norm (see CISSP, Security+ - theory / concept based certs) but in my opinion its a strange recognition by the DoD and the US Government of the latest trend in data security. CEH was made popular by good marketing by the EC-Council coinciding with a growing need (data threats via network penetration). The popularity that has been growing rapidly for the last two to three years is now being recognized by the Gov, which is not something were all too used to seeing.

Watch in years to come for certifications that are more theory based to go by the wayside and certifications that are application based to skyrocket in popularity. Things to watch: CEH, CHFI, ECSA, LPT and the Advanced Penetration Tester (APT).

Virtualization Training on the Up and Up; VMware and Hyper V Will Battle it Out

Virtualization training is easily one of the hottest training trends of 2010. After a brutal year in 2009, companies everywhere are looking for ways to cut costs and boost productivity. Virtualization management is catching on quickly, thanks to its proven success at saving companies money and increasing productivity.

Virtualization management allows you to create multiple virtual machines (software-based) on a single physical computer. Each virtual machine can run its own operating system and applications, completely isolated from other machines. Products like VMware and Hyper V by Microsoft let you utilize the full capabilities of your hardware, allowing one computer to do the work of several, which saves you money in IT energy costs and hardware costs. Companies everywhere are excited about the possibilities that come with virtualization, which is why VMware training and Hyper V training are one of the hottest trends of 2010.

Another Major Training School Closing? Computertraining.edu??

Here at ITTrainingBlog we have been closely following the recent announcement that Computertraining.com aka. Computertraining.edu has abruptly closed.

Here is the information we can furnish at this time about the closing and the effects it will have on their students as well as the process that students may be able to take in order to recover some of their losses.

**UPDATE** 1/5/10

Computertraining.com / Computertraining.edu has posted information on their website about the closing (keep in mind this is their side of the story and may or may not be the whole truth) and they have posted the appropriate state agencies to help students recover their losses.

**UPDATE** 1/4/10

We felt it important to make known the Google Group that a reader just told us about. If you have been affected by this closure, please visit: http://groups.google.com/group/computertrainingedu-took-the-money-and-ran

**UPDATE** 12/28/09

Here is a letter sent to us by a student of Computertraining.com moments ago that they received via email earlier today:

It is with deep sadness and regret that Computertraining.edu announces it will cease operation and close all of the Computertraining.edu schools, effective immediately. These actions are due to circumstances beyond the Company’s control. There will be no further classes held at any of our schools.
This letter serves as written notification that all future inquires should be directed to your state agency listed below:

Michigan Dept. of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth
Proprietary School Unit
201 North Washington Square
Victor Office Center-3rd Floor
Lansing, MI 48913

Very truly yours,
Computertraining.edu

To recover your losses from the Computertraining.com fall out visit your State Higher Education Agency or Commission. Examples would be for Maryland - MHEC, Virginia - SCHEV etc. This type of thing has happened many times in the past. The state's governing body for higher education is equipped and has policies in place to help the students recover as much as possible in this type of situation. You should be asking the Higher Education commission in your state about refunds and / or "teach outs". A teach out is where a local school will add you in to one of their classes (in this case for the MCITP) and the state will reimburse them at least a portion of the cost.


**Original Post** 12/28/09

This is unofficial at this point but our sources (who are VERY reliable) are telling us that Computertraining.edu (formerly computertraining.com) may be about to officially announce that they will be closing operations permanently. Computertraining.edu was a national leader in Microsoft's systems administration training. They specialized in the MCSE 2003 but recently made the change (as everyone did) to the MCITP-Server Administrator training because of the switch to Server 2008 and the fact that the MCSE exams will soon be retiring and unavailable.

We tried to call their national sales number and it goes to voicemail. We will have more on this as it breaks. What a wild week for the training school business...

State Higher Education Governing Agencies
Here is a list of some of the appropriate places to contact in order to begin to recoup your losses:

Maryland - Maryland Higher Education Commission
Virginia - State Councile for Higher Education Virginia
Pennsylvania -
Ohio - Ohio Dept of Education