Certification Magazine - February 2008 - (Page 3) EDITOR’S LETTER Tools and Techniques for the IT Professional The Coldest Month in IT DANIEL MARGOLIS It’s February, the shortest month of the year and the only month with fewer than 30 days. It’s also the month that houses Mardi Gras, the Super Bowl, the Westminster Dog Show, the Daytona 500 and Valentine’s Day, among other things. Despite this rich character, people tend to dislike February for one simple reason: it’s cold. But whether you’re feeling a slight chill in Florida or slogging through snow sludge up north, one thing is for certain, if you’re in IT, you’re in a growth industry. This month we present a batch of articles that highlight IT career management. Our cover story, Tech of All Trades, presents the ways an IT professional can best design his or her cert path and skill development for maximum versatility, yet target some specialties that get prospective employers biting. Our Techniques feature, Upward Mobility in IT, outlines how IT pros can best blend business acumen with their technical prowess to see their career trajectory go upward. A special sidebar features a self-described “serial CIO” to learn what it’s like to move from top chair to top chair in various IT departments. And our Job Roles feature takes a detailed look at project management, a very in-demand soft skill. Another common thread running through this issue is projections for ’08. Our Tech Careers column with Robert Half Technology’s Katherine Spencer Lee runs down what are likely to be the six most indemand skill sets for IT pros this year. Virtual Village, meanwhile, sees our forum members debating yet another “hot for ’08” tech skills list. What’s not hot in ’08? Depending on where you live, probably the weather. So let’s all seek shelter, hopefully not in the server room. 8 VOLUME 10 ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2008 GROUP PUBLISHER John R. Taggart | jrtag@certmag.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Norman B. Kamikow | nkam@certmag.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Mike Prokopeak | mikep@certmag.com SENIOR EDITORS Daniel Margolis | dmargolis@certmag.com Brian Summerfield | bsummerfield@certmag.com Kellye Whitney | kwhitney@certmag.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS Agatha Gilmore | agilmore@certmag.com Ben Warden | bwarden@certmag.com Lindsay Edmonds Wickman | lwickman@certmag.com DIRECTOR, CREATIVE & PRODUCTION SERVICES Kendra Chaplin | kendra@certmag.com ART DIRECTOR Kasey Doshier | kdoshier@certmag.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Linda Dziwak | linda@certmag.com PRINT DESIGNER Cassandra Schmutz | cassandra@certmag.com WEB MANAGER Chris Patterson | cpatterson@certmag.com WEB DESIGNER Spencer Thayer | spencer@certmag.com E-MEDIA MANAGER Kat O’Connor | koconnor@certmag.com VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS Gwen Connelly | gwen@certmag.com EVENTS MANAGER Trey Smith | tsmith@certmag.com EVENTS COORDINATOR Christen MacKenzie | cmackenzie@certmag.com EVENTS SALES MANAGER Tana Johnson | tjohnson@certmag.com BUSINESS MANAGER Vince Czarnowski | vince@certmag.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Cindy Cardinal | ccardinal@certmag.com LIST MANAGER Jay Schwedelson | mediatec@worldata.com REPRINTS reprints@parsintl.com OR call David Einziger at 212-221-9595, ext. 407 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR James R. Yeakel | jyeakel@certmag.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Dave Lienemann | davel@certmag.com Lisa Newton | lnewton@certmag.com PUBLISHER’S ASSISTANT Sarah Ryan | sryan@certmag.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John Lainhart Agatha Gilmore Brian Summerfield Julie Zinn Katherine Spencer Ben Warden Lee Erica Brath Kellye Whitney Ken Wagner Lindsay Edmonds Wickman Wayne Anderson Norman B. Kamikow PRESIDENT Philip S. Wolin GENERAL COUNSEL John R. Taggart EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Patricia Pierce CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Certification Magazine (ISSN 1529-6903) is published monthly by MediaTec Publishing Inc., 318 Harrison St., Suite 301, Oakland, CA 94607. Periodicals Class Postage Paid at Oakland, CA and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: Certification Magazine, P.O. Box 2083, Skokie, IL 60076-7983. Subscriptions are free to qualified IT professionals. Non-qualified paid subscriptions are available at the subscription price of $39.97 for 12 issues. Canada/Mexico orders must be prepaid in U.S. funds with an additional $15 postage charge. All other countries outside the U.S. must be prepaid in U.S. funds with an additional $40 postage surcharge. Certification Magazine, CertMag and CertMag.com are the trademarks of MediaTec Publishing Inc. Copyright © 2008, MediaTec Publishing Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of material published in Certification Magazine is forbidden without permission. Daniel Margolis Senior Editor dmargolis@certmag.com Printed by: RR Donnelley Inc., Mendota, IL February 2008 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE 3 http://CertMag.com
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