Certification - September 2008 - (Page 34)

“I suppose as an employee or an intended employee, the certification is probably a nice thing to have, but it’s been my experience that certifications are like a driver’s license: Just because you have one doesn’t mean you know how to operate the car properly,” he said. “It’s on-the-job experience, it’s actually getting out there and doing it and using the knowledge that you have that is more important than a certification or a diploma.” Yet Hiltner said if he had the opportunity to do it over, he’d probably get Cisco-certified. “I would take the certification for the knowledge more so than for the actual certification,” he said. and be able to communicate to that person what it would take to fix that problem.” The Future of Network Administration According to a recent study by Cisco on networking job roles, employers are looking for network administrators with experience in security, risk management and monitoring network performance, as well as troubleshooting and system management. These same areas are where employers are seeing skills gaps. “The areas are becoming more important just because of the way the network is evolving,” said Christine Yoshida, senior manager of Learning@Cisco’s product management team. “And security is becoming more and more embedded in the network.” Carol Norrington, a network support professional at Harris-Stowe State University, said security has become a vital part of her job, so she will be pursuing a security certification after she completes her Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) certifications. “We’re a public four-year institution,” Norrington said. “We have to protect the students, the faculty and other members from some of the things that are out on the Internet. We have to be ahead of the game. We’re just trying to make sure that we are not attacked and, if we are, that we are able to handle it.” Because of the emphasis on security and wireless, Norrington believes the demand for network administrators will only grow. “The key to being a good network administrator, whether it’s a small network or it’s a massive network, is being able to look past the problem, see the big picture and run through a list of variables in your head.” – Matt hiltner, Owner and President, OliveJar PC and Network Services “Even if I didn’t take the test, just sitting down and reading through books or taking a couple of courses to lead to the certification would be more valuable to me than the actual certification.” That’s because some of the most important skills needed to succeed as a network administrator are learned on the job. “You need to be able to communicate,” Hiltner said. “This would apply regardless of what role this network administrator is in, whether it’s someone like me who’s a freelance network administrator or you’re a network administrator for the largest conglomerate on the globe. You need to know how to listen to people’s problems, understand what the problem is “For this institution, nonprofit institutions and corporations, security and wireless have been major pieces of networking,” she said. “Anyone who might be starting in technology, the security and wireless areas [are] really good for them to go into right now.” As employers look for specialized candidates, the role of network administrator may subtly change during the next five years. “We think employers will be looking for [specialization] in wireless and voice,” Yoshida said. “And then there are places in the network where we may need administrators to specialize. It might not be the case today, but over the next five years, you’re going to see more and more demand for people who are specialized.” 8 – Lindsay Edmonds Wickman, lwickman@certmag.com CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE September 2008 http://www.cisco.com/ http://www.hssu.edu/ http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le0/le9/learning_certification_type_home.html http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le0/le9/learning_certification_type_home.html http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le37/le10/learning_certification_type_home.html http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le37/le10/learning_certification_type_home.html

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Certification - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Virtual Village Tech Careers Dear Techie Troubleshooting Academic Connection What We Like Look Ahead So You Want to Be an IT Major The Title Is Information Officer… Chief Information Officer Interface Network Administration: Working From the Ground Up Inside Certification Ad Index Endtag

Certification - September 2008

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