Certification can be confusing!  Some issues you may have are:

• What is a certification?
• Why is a certification important?
• What kinds of certifications are there?
• What kind of certifications can I take?

The story line:

You need to project yourself into the future. So climb into your time machine and project yourself in time, 3 years from now.  

You meet your older self and ........

You ask; "My instructor is pushing certifications on us, why does it matter?"  

Your older self responds and says; "WOW!  You're a good-looking kid, you look a little familiar ....  well I didn't try for the certifications because I knew I could do it and I didn't want to spend any money proving what I could already do. And I was right!"  

You think for a moment and decide that you are not going to waste the effort to get to this future time zone, so you ask; "What are you doing now? Are you in college or do you have a job?" 

Your future self says; "Nope, I took a vacation! But now I'm having trouble getting into college.  When I first graduated I did try for the same job that Bill G. finally got, but they took him just because he had a portfolio and certifications. It doesn't matter though, who wants to work for a company that isn't going to listen to you about what you know."  

You ask "Then why did they hire Bill G.?"  

Your future self says, "I guess the portfolio and certifications are more important than I thought. Get them while your skills and knowledge are fresh."

You say thanks, and spiral back to the present time.  Now continue on with the task.

THE TASK:

1. Name 3 vendors (companies) that have certifications.
2. Name 1 "non vendor specific" certification.
3. What is the difference between a vendor specific and non vendor specific certification (see compTIA)
4. What is the overall objective for:

              MOUS

               CompTIA A+

               CCNA

               MCSE

5. What kind of job can you get with a certification in:

               MOUS

               CompTIA A+

               CCNA

               MCSE

In a paragraph, explain why a company would prefer someone with a certification versus someone without a certification, even if both candidates are equally skilled.

REFERENCES:

We will be revisiting these sites, keep these short cuts handy.

MOUS  General information. (Navigate to benefits to answer some of the questions)

CompTIA General information (Navigate to Workforce and Certifications for related information)

CCNA General Information

MCSE General Information