When you go to take an IT certification exam, you are entering a controlled environment that is the testing center site. The testing center ensures your identification and provides a secure and comfortably optimal environment, that promotes your best ability to showcase your talent and deep knowledge of the subject matter. The utter reality is that site guidelines have enough leeway to allow testing centers to differ widely in their implementation of operational procedures. Some are closer to the pristine meccas of scientific measurement one would hope for, while others tend to be no better and perhaps worse than your average high school. Before you choose a testing center, before you take the expensive test, do not waste your money’s worth and valuable time spent studying, go to the testing center and scope it out.
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With the high cost of IT certification exams, many people seeking IT certification discover sites and individuals offering discount vouchers for sale. Often these vouchers and discounts are purchased in bulk by companies or organizations wanting to save money while certifying their people in their employ. Both Prometric and Pearson VUE offer discounts on bulk purchases. Third-party brokers also buy vouchers in volume to be re-sold at a profit.

The typical major concern when purchasing a discount is whether or not the discount, voucher, or code is not only legitimate, but whether it is still valid. Without being able to verify if the discount is good until attempting to claim it, the purchaser does not have any recourse with the third-party broker. While the questionable validity of a third-party discount is enough of a reason to avoid the temptation to save money by purchasing a discount voucher or promo code from an unknown party, some companies go so far as to outright ban discounts purchased from a third-party. Cisco states in their certification policy that even “legitimate vouchers for attempted re-use,” in other words, valid vouchers that will allow you to take the exam but have been “obtained from an unauthorized source” have the potential, if caught, to “risk up to and including a lifetime ban on all future exams, the nullification of all previous certifications or other program sanctions at the discretion of Cisco.” If Cisco finds out that you used a discount voucher or promo code that was not originally purchased and intended for you or your organization, they can nullify your exam results, but also more importantly every Cisco certification you have ever earned.

The danger no longer only lies in invalid vouchers and discounts. It is no longer an issue of losing money on a phony voucher, but quite possibly losing all of your certifications for a specific provider. Do not risk nullifying your current IT certification by trying to save money by buying a discount voucher or promotional code from a third-party. Forget that the offer could be a scam; it could cost your current IT certifications.

The major questions surrounding IT Certifications are: 1) Do I really need them; and 2) What Certification(s) should I get?

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Certifications in a virtual realm would not likely be of any help to an IT professional. However, actual certifications in virtual machines would be, as virtualization has branched out from a once predominantly tech support tool to web and application development, server management, and even cloud computing. VMware has long been the leader in this industry, and they offer the following three certifications:

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If you’re looking to boost your resume and professional credentials as a LAMP developer, here are some of the certifications you should seek:

Linux There are various Linux certifications available, which makes choosing the right certification difficult. You could get a distribution/commercial level certification, i.e. from Ubuntu, Redhat, Novell, etc. However, these certifications could limit your career options if a job opportunity comes up utilizing a different distribution from what you are certified in. Therefore, a more general Linux certification would be ideal, and the Linux Professional Institute supplies this. In fact, this institute provides some of the same certifications listed above on behalf of those organizations, but also supplies their own tiered certification system. Depending on your career goals, you can choose one of three certification levels to aim for, but for the purposes of a LAMP developer, Level 2 is recommended. Cost: ($160 per exam ~ approximately $640)

Apache There is no official or widely accepted Apache certification. Therefore, obtaining a Level 2 LPI Certification will give you the proper background for Apache. Most of the objectives of the second exam in Level 2 of the LPIC revolve around Apache operation and configuration, and thus will properly certify that you know Apache. Cost: ($0 – Included in LPIC)

MySQL There are multiple options for MySQL certification. You can get one of four Sun Certified MySQL accreditations from Oracle. This is as simple as an Associate Certification, meaning you are familiar with basic operations of MySQL, to a Cluster DBA Certification, meaning you can build, administer, and maintain large cluster databases. In between these two levels are the Developer and regular DBA options, which is one of the certifications you should aim for if you are seeking a career strictly as a LAMP Developer. Cost: ($195 per exam ~ approximately $390)

PHP Lastly, there is PHP. Zend is the industry leader in PHP, and thus you should seek your PHP certification from them. Cost: (approximately $160)

Keep in mind there are other great LAMP related certifications out there, but that this mix is a good recommendation if you are building your career in LAMP Development. Let me know in the comments if you think I’ve missed a crucial certification.

In Part I , we covered some of the most popular and well known certifications. This time, we’ll talk about some of the more obscure and rare certifications.

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Today there are dozens of computer security certifications available. We’ll cover some of the more popular ones, some obscure ones, and their costs and differences.

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The value of certifications are always a debatable subject among IT professionals. Value aside, the cost prohibitive nature of certifications often keeps people from even trying to acquire them. Other certifications may require outrageous fees and travel to faraway locations, but the Linux Professional Institute’s LPIC-1 exam cost only $160, and the exam can be taken at a Pearson VUE or Prometric Testing Center. These testing centers are world, located in all continents and major metropolitan areas.

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