This article contains at least a dozen good ideas to expanding your skill
set.
This story appeared on Network World at
http://www.networkw
.html
Five ways to get affordable certification skills
Employed IT professionals dealing with cut budgets and techies looking for
work need to keep high-tech skills sharp during the downturn
By Denise Dubie , Network World , 08/06/2009
As the recession takes its toll on tech budgets, IT professionals are
realizing their future careers could suffer as training dollars dry up and
the resources needed to update their high-tech skills are eliminated. With
choices limited for paid training, IT pros need to be creative in their
studies.
How to get more from your IT certifications
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040609-10-tech-
"Training is almost always the first to go when IT organizations have to cut
budgets, but that doesn't always mean employees or even unemployed workers
can't update their skills without spending a lot of money," says Beverly
Lieberman, a member of the Society for Information Management
<http://www.simnet.
Associates, an executive search firm in Westport, Conn.
According to IT professionals in the field, keeping skills fresh will
benefit the individual as much as the employer, so it makes sense for
techies to take the reins of their professional development. And for those
techies looking for work
<http://www.networkw
.html> , prospective employers will appreciate the training efforts made
during a candidate's downtime. Here we highlight five ways IT pros can get
certification-
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No. 1: Split the cost with employer
IT professionals working full-time, but faced with no training budget, could
argue their case to employers -- and offer to split the cost in a mutually
beneficial arrangement.
"Training can be perceived as expensive, but many companies today are still
having a hard time filling skills gaps, and it would cost more to bring in a
new hire than to train an existing one in the skills that are lacking,"
Lieberman says. "It is not out of the question for IT pros to negotiate with
their employer for training dollars that will ultimately help both parties."
For some, specific certifications are required for certain positions --which
would give an employer more reason to help fund the training effort. Colt
Mercer, network engineer at Citigroup in Dallas, says Level 1 engineers are
expected to have their Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA
<http://www.networkw
three months of being hired. In Mercer's case, he and others are scheduled
to get Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert
<%20http://www.networkw
-architect.html> training by 2010, but he wants to see that happen sooner.
"The company has internal goals for the engineers ... but I am trying to do
some of the training on my own because I don't want to have to wait until
next year," Mercer explains.
Gartner recently put out IT workforce data
<http://www.networkw
that showed a majority of CIOs don't plan to hire new staff in the coming
months, but the research firm advises employers to invest in existing staff
to ensure a more successful recovery when the recession abates.
"Employers need to continue to invest in career development and human
capital management planning, even during the recession, because when things
start to return it will be extremely costly to try to hire new staff with
skills or expertise in enterprise architecture or SAP, for example," says
Lily Mok
<%20http://www.networkw
ml> , vice president in Gartner's CIO Research organization, where she
serves as primary author of the research firm's annual IT Market
Compensation Study. "IT pros may stay with an employer because they need a
job now, but they will remember when the recession ends how the employer
treated them and could move on because of a lack of training or career
development.
No. 2: Techie, train thyself
IT professionals, employed or otherwise, can gain a wealth of knowledge from
self-study if they're disciplined enough to devote the time and energy to
online course, books, videos and Webinars.
"If you can afford self-based training kits, they are great because they
allow you to do it at your own pace and schedule the studying when you have
time. You don't need to travel or take time off of work," says Dwayne
Whitmore, senior systems engineer in the technology services group for
Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte, N.C.
Whether techies buy self-study kits on their own or get their employer to
foot the bill (or opt for free options
<http://www.networkw
skills during personal time can provide the flexibility many people need.
For instance, reduced or eliminated travel budgets could be seen as a
barrier to training, but online or self-study can provide the information IT
pros need without requiring them to spend cash on work trips.
Matt Barber, network analyst at Morrisville State College in New York, is
working on the Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA
<http://www.cwnp.
workplace purchased the self-study kit, which includes their official
textbook, sample tests and questions, and the cost of the exam all for only
a couple hundred dollars," Barber says. "A week-long training seminar or
course would have been hard to justify, but the kit was very affordable. It
does require that I put in the time and effort in addition to work, but it
is a very good way to learn the material."
For Michelle Lange, who works in WebSPOC Project Management at ValCom in
Itasca, Ill., buying the books that explain the best practices of ITIL
<%20http://www.networkw
> helped her self-train. She bought ITIL Version 3
<%20http://www.networkw
eBay for $30, and she purchased Network+ training books at Barnes & Noble.
"My employer offers limited reimbursement options," she explains. "I'm sure
there are others out there who are forced to be thrifty with training
options. There are so many other courses I'd like to pursue on [business
process management], COBIT and Six Sigma, but it's tough when budgets are
cut."
Another resource for IT pros looking to learn is CBT Nuggets
<http://www.cbtnugge
products online.
CBT Nuggets offers the same sort of in-person training you could get with a
firm, but it's all done online and it's far cheaper for the company or the
individual," says Bryan Sullins, principal tech trainer at New Horizons in
Hartford, Conn., and a Microsoft Subnet blogger
<http://www.networkw
certifications and training. "Sometimes buying such training packages in
bulk, instead of one class at a time, will be less expensive as well."
Some companies opt to purchase a license with CBT Nuggets, and those with
access can watch the available videos at their leisure. "My company
purchased that and I can watch as many as I want online," Citigroup's Mercer
says.
No. 3: Build your own network using free stuff
In Kevin Costner's case, building a baseball diamond turned his dream into
reality in "Field of Dreams." For IT professionals, building a home lab
<http://www.networkw
their careers. And according to techies who have already done it, the
process can be inexpensive.
Stacey Hager, a network administrator at a legal firm in Charleston, W.V.,
says he put together a home network in his garage with used parts
<%20http://www.networkw
> and software made freely available from vendors. The availability of a
network helped him while he was unemployed last year. Plus, now that he has
secured a new tech position, the lab gives him the chance to learn
technologies not directly related to his job functions, Hager says.
"EBay is my friend. I buy second-hand equipment, and for a modest amount --
about $400 -- I have scraped together a home lab that is conducive to
Microsoft and Cisco self-training,
VMware server for free and train yourself on that technology, which all
employers are looking for and if you can say you trained yourself while
unemployed, they will like it more."
Citigroup's Mercer also recommends IT pros look to Microsoft for free trials
of their products online, including their virtualization software. He
explains by using Virtual PC, IT pros can download a Virtual Hard Drive file
with Windows Server 2008 already installed and apply the knowledge they
learned in books to the actual technology. He also suggests using available
open source tools to round out a home network.
"There are two open source projects called Dynamips
<http://dynagen.
<http://juniper.
networks," Mercer says. "I am not talking about the software that gives you
a command line with limited command support. I am talking hardware
emulators: full-blown Cisco and Juniper operating systems supporting all the
features a router supports."
Yet Hager warns IT pros must realize what can be brought onto a home network
and used for training. Not all technologies are made available for free or a
low cost, and the time and money required might outweigh the benefits.
"There are certain things that you simply can't do at home, such as high-end
database system training. You have to find a practical way to bring those
technologies that are relevant to you into your network and make time to
train yourself, but if you are out of work you have to also build in time to
look for a job," he explains.
No. 4: Provide tech services for cheap
Another means of homing skills is using them. IT pros, working or not, can
offer their tech know-how to friends, family or even via a small side
business for low or no-cost to exercise their tech muscles during the
downturn.
"High-tech workers can offer their services for free and use that experience
on resumes and in interviews to show potential employers that they didn't
let their skills get stagnant," SIM's Lieberman says. "Also taking contract
work helps IT pros get experience with new technologies without having to
pay for training."
For instance, Hager says when he was in between jobs, he took any
opportunity he could to do side work. He suggests that IT pros charge for
their services, rather than offer them entirely for free.
"I took as much side work as I possibly could and used my personal networks
of people to do bigger jobs so I could show future employers I kept active
and my skills didn't get old," Hager says. "But I wouldn't offer them for
free. You wouldn't want employers thinking the tech services were poor
quality or the people you did work for were completely desperate."
Citigroup's Mercer also engages in freelance technical work to keep skills
sharp. He says the work not only makes him more appealing to potential
employers, but also serves as the beginnings of a potential consultancy
business if his employment situation changes due to the economy or other
reasons.
"If I ever want to set up a technical consultancy business of my own, this
work will go a long way toward making connections,
No. 5: Shop for bargains
IT pros should also remember that the economy is not only hurting their
companies' businesses, but also impacting training firms and vendors.
New Horizons' Sullins says firms like his and others are offering
"recession" pricing on training packages that won't last when the economy
returns.
"I wouldn't discount talking to any training firm right now because the
recession promotions and recession-buster sales at these IT training firms
mean training is dirt cheap," Sullins says. "As soon as the economy recovers
that won't happen again, trust me."
And don't discount vendors as a good source of free training, Mercer says.
He has a meeting with Oracle planned that he says will serve as an
educational experience for him.
"Oracle is going to do a presentation on Oracle security, and that will be
my free training," he explains. "They might be trying to market stuff, but
for me it's free training because I can't get that type of information on my
own."
Do you Tweet? Follow Denise Dubie on Twitter here.
<%20https://twitter.
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