The Big Question Rises How To Become Microsoft, Cisco, ComTIA Certified

The big question rises how to become the Microsoft certified , All Microsoft certifications are acquired by simply taking a series of exams. If you can self-study for said exams, and then pass them, then you can acquire the certification for the mere cost of the exam (and maybe whatever self-study materials you purchase).

You'll also need, at minimum (in addition to the MCTS), the CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+ certs; as well as the Cisco CCNA cert.

Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) - This is the basic entry point of Microsoft Certifications. You only need to pass a single certification test to be considered an MCTS and there are numerous different courses and certifications that would grant you this after passing one. If you are shooting for some of the higher certifications that will be discussed below, then you'll get this on your way there.

Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) - This certification was Microsoft's previous "Developer Certification" meaning that this was the highest certification that was offered that consisted strictly of development-related material. Receiving it involved passing four exams within specific areas (based on the focus of your certification). You can find the complete list of courses and paths required for the MCPD here.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) - This is Microsoft's most recent "Developer Certification" which will replace the MCPD Certification (which is being deprecated / retired in July of 2013). The MCSD focuses within three major areas of very recent Microsoft development technologies and would likely be the best to persue if you wanted to focus on current and emerging skills that will be relevant in the coming years. You can find the complete list of courses and paths required for the MCSD here.

The Microsoft Certifications that you listed are basically all of the major ones within the realm of development. I'll cover each of the major ones and what they are :

Most people, however, take some kind of course. Some colleges -- especially career and some community colleges -- offer such courses (though usually they're non-credit). Other providers of such courses are private... some of them Microsoft Certified vendors of one type or another, who offer the courses in such settings as sitting around a conference table in their offices. Still others specialize in Microsoft certification training, and so have nice classrooms set up in their offices.

There are also some online (and other forms of distance learning) courses to help prepare for the exams.

The cost of taking classes to prepare can vary wildly. Some are actually free (or very nearly so), while others can cost hundreds of dollars. It all just depends on the provider.

And here's a Google search of MCTS training resources (which can be mind-numbing in their sheer numbers and types, so be careful what you choose):

There are some pretty good, yet relatively inexpensive, ways to get vendor certificate training. Be careful not to sign-up for something expensive and involved when something cheaper -- like subscribing to an "all the certificates you care to study for one flat rate" web site -- would, in addition to purchasing a study guide or two at a bookstore, likely be better.

If you want a career in IT, then you need to have both an accredited degree in same (preferably a bachelors over an associates), and also a variety of IT certifications. The MCTS is but one that you will need.

You should probably also get the Microsoft MCSE and/or MCSA. The ICS CISSP. And the ITIL.

There are others, but if you have those, you'll be evidencing a broad range of IT expertise that will be useful, generally. Then, in addition, if the particular IT job in which you end-up requires additional specialist certification, then you can get that, too (hopefully at the expense of your employer who requires it of you).

Then, whenever (if ever) you're interested in a masters in IT, here's something really cool of which you should be aware...

There's a big (and fully-accredited, fully-legitimate) university in Australia which has partnered with Microsoft and several other vendors to structure distance learning degrees which include various certifications; and in which degrees, considerable amounts of credit may be earned simply by acquiring said certifications. It's WAY cool.

One can, for example, get up to half of the credit toward a Masters degree in information technology by simply getting an MCSE (though the exams which make it up must be certain ones which correspond with the university's courses). I've always said that if one were going to get an MCSE, first consult the web site of this university and make sure that one takes the specific MCSE exams that this school requires so that if ever one later decided to enter said school's masters program, one will have already earned up to half its degree's credits by simply having the MCSE under his/her belt. Is that cool, or what?

I wouldn't rely on them over experience (which is far and away the most valuable asset out there) but they are worth pursuing especially if you don't feel like you have enough experience and need to demonstrate that you have the necessary skills to land a position as a developer.

If you are going to pursue a certification, I would recommend going after the MCSD (Web Applications Track) as it is a very recent certification that focuses on several emerging technologies that will still be very relevant (if not more-so) in the coming years. You'll pick up the MCTS along the way and then you'll have both of those under your belt. MCPD would be very difficult to achieve based on the short time constraints (passing four quite difficult tests within just a few months is feasible, but I don't believe that it is worth it since it will be "retired" soon after).

No job experience at all is necessary for any of the Microsoft Certifications, you can take them at any time as long as you feel confident enough with the materials of the specific exam you should be fine. The tests are quite difficult by most standards and typically cover large amounts of material, but with what it sounds like a good bit of time to study and prepare you should be fine.

Certifications, in addition to degrees, are so important in the IT field, now, that one may almost no longer get a job in that field without both. The certifications, though, are so important that one who has a little IT experience can get a pretty good job even without a degree as long as he has all the right certs. But don't do that. Definitely get the degree... and not merely an associates. Get the bachelors in IT; and make sure it's from a "regionally" accredited school.

Then get the certs I mentioned (being mindful, if you think you'll ever get an IT masters, to take the specific exams that that Strut masters program requires so that you'll have already earned up to half the credit just from the certs).

If you already have two years of experience in working in the .NET environment, a certification isn't going to guarantee that you will get employed, a salary increase or any other bonuses for achieving the honor. However, it can help supplement your resume by indicating that you are familiar with specific technologies enough to apply them in real-world applications to solve problems.

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6 ways 'shadow IT' can actually help IT

Users love shadow IT, but IT departments hate the very idea. It doesn't have to be that way.
In most IT departments, the very words "shadow IT" conjure visions of out-of-control users merrily spreading sensitive data on insecure services and unapproved devices, risking huge losses and costing IT personnel lost sleep. From the CIO to the help desk, IT folks typically make their disdain clear to any user who will listen.

But most users aren't listening. They're too busy riding the wave of slick cloud-based apps and services and powerful consumer-oriented devices to do their work faster, easier, and cheaper than they can with the outmoded enterprise offerings available through official channels. They see shadow IT as essential to achieving maximum productivity.

Is there any way to resolve this fundamental disconnect? For shadow IT to provide real benefits to both users and the IT department?
I have long been convinced there was, so when Wayne Byrne, director of product at cloud provider KeyedIn, wanted to discuss the biggest threats from shadow IT, I changed gears and asked for his opinion on the biggest opportunities presented by shadow IT. Here's what he came up with:

Productivity. "You can't manage absolutely everything," Byrne said. You have to have a release valve for the things users care about most. Users are often stuck between a rock and a hard place, he noted, but "not getting the job done is not an option…A salesperson might get in trouble for using an unapproved app to manage his leads, but he'll definitely get fired if he doesn't make his numbers." If your company is still using clunky "dinosaurs" like Microsoft Sharepoint or Lotus Notes, Byrne said, they're wasting productivity.

Worker buy-in. The hard truth is that many shadow IT tools really do perform better than the company-approved alternatives, at least by the criteria that matter to users. Letting them use tools that make sense can generate a huge amount of user trust, buy-in, and enthusiasm—which can carry over to official solutions. Younger employees in particular are less willing to use bad technology just because the company mandates it. "Bringing employees into the IT conversation can be helpful for everyone," Byrne said.

Visibility. Shadow IT provides a window into what employees really need to do, and a peek at possible solutions. "It's a little like skunkworks," Byrne said. You can see what people need and what might work without having to spin up a massive IT project. If employees try various social collaboration tools, for example, seeing which ones are most popular and why could help IT choose the company's preferred solution to integrate and support.

Testing and troubleshooting. It can be difficult for IT to properly test and troubleshoot new applications and services unless they're being used at scale. Shadow IT can provide a base of users to test possible approved and managed solutions without a formal IT rollout. That's particularly helpful for testing the potential for user adoption. "The best proof that someone will use something," Byrne said, "is that they're already using it." Byrne recommended setting up a "sand box" where users can try out solutions they're interested in without causing problems, and IT can track the results.

Mobile. The key here, Byrne said, is to "bring Darth Vader to the light side of the Force" by offering users a flexible range of choices and devices. Give them access to the features and devices they want, but on a proper Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) system that can protect their data, include automated kill switches, and so on. Perhaps closer to BYOD than pure shadow IT, this point is still a step toward recognizing the value of letting employees find their own solutions.

Email and Microsoft Office. Many corporate email systems are so antiquated and insecure that even cloud-based consumer-oriented services offer an improvement, Byrne said. Older email systems often back up email on the smartphone, he said, creating security risks if the device is lost or stolen. Similarly, collaborating on Microsoft Office apps can be inherently insecure. Before you criticize shadow IT too much, be sure that your corporate system isn't worse, he concluded.

Let's hope most companies' existing corporate solutions aren't so bad that shadow IT alternatives represent improvements even in the areas that IT cares about most, like security and manageability. But even if your company isn't in such dire technological straights, there's still a lot to be gained by finding ways to embrace shadow IT instead of automatically trying to stamp it out.

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