This article appeared in daily the Nation, July 4, 1010 issue.
Rapid changes in computer and related technologies and desire to reach the pinnacle of excellence require Information Technology (IT) professionals always on the learning track. Few would argue that all those who opt for IT professions, more than any other, need to follow the path of development and keep their knowledge and skill levels updated or they may not bag a job let alone survive one. One way to stay ahead is through certifications. However, certification credit is being marred due to plethora of braindumps available on the internet.
Rapid changes in computer and related technologies and desire to reach the pinnacle of excellence require Information Technology (IT) professionals always on the learning track. Few would argue that all those who opt for IT professions, more than any other, need to follow the path of development and keep their knowledge and skill levels updated or they may not bag a job let alone survive one. One way to stay ahead is through certifications. However, certification credit is being marred due to plethora of braindumps available on the internet.
Certification is a formal process of making certain that an individual is qualified in terms of particular knowledge or a skill. Certification programs are often fostered or supervised by some certifying agency, such as a professional association. Some major computer software and hardware vendors provide a certification program for installers of their products, such as Microsoft's Certified Systems Engineer for its Windows operating systems, IBM's Certified Lotus Specialist, and Cisco's Certified Internetwork Professional. The A+ certification program is a certification that attests to general computer installation and customization knowledge and capabilities. But instead of going for real certification, many users have been found looking for short cuts like MCSE Braindumps and CCNA Braindumps.
Validation of skill levels through product or platform wise certification and recertification goes a long way in career development; to stay current and excel in the computing professions. It improves skills and sets relevant international standards that increase individual professional standing throughout the world, where ever a particular product or application is being used. In these tough economic times when jobs are harder to come by anywhere in the world and traditionally so in developing countries, certification certainly adds to professional credibility and recognition leading to advantages in the competitive high tech job market or to improve on the performance of those who already happen to be working.
Let us first look at the IT education to ascertain the need of certification. "IT education is a failure if professionals do not deliver," says Arthur Kamal, the Project Director in an IT institute in Lahore, Pakistan. "The ways IT graduates are struggling to find jobs are a reflection of how IT education is faring anywhere in the world. Large number of IT institutions has come up but too many who graduate each years are seen performing poorly in the field because they lack state-of-the-art skills changing every day in the competitive milieu of the information age. One would like to see IT colleges and universities thrusting far more towards equipping young people for the world of business rather than giving them just a degree in a hurry," adds Arthur Kamal.
Savvy professionals aspire to pursue careers in fields related to IT, thanks to IT hype of the time. This has created waves in education sector and demand for IT education has shot up immensely. It is during this time that trend for certification has also picked up. At the same time braindumps have also sprung up. Many private sector institutions offer courses for preparing professionals for various kinds of certifications abroad whereas braindumps are working equally hard to give them undesired shortcut just to make some money.
Sadly, braindumps are relegating certification once again to a non-issue. Reasons are obvious: in presence of braindumps there is no learning in the first place. Though private sector concerns taking advantages of IT tend to chose certified professional over degrees holders, or certified degree holders, but the candidates can't perform on ground and disappoint the employer. Another unintended result of braindumps is that while fresh graduates at their own cannot afford to pay foreign certifying agencies, associations or international IT companies offering certification on their systems and or products, the disappointed employer don't sponsor them anymore. "Why should I pay for the certification putting in all the efforts and money with no promise that the certified individual will be able to perform," says Muhammad Humayun who has done Masters in Computer Sciences and is taking care of an IT company.
Moreover, it is also not always easy to maintain the skills and spirit required to continually reinvent — the supreme survival strategy in any of the IT fields - for anyone whether employed or not, permanent or on contract.
Unlike other traditional fields, the IT profession is an open one. Even for those trained in the latest skills, getting a job and starting a career in IT these days is not quite as easy as it is generally presumed. The field is notorious for an ever accelerating pace of change, and for the rate at which yesterday's hot skills become out of date tomorrow. This puts an extra demand on professionals though it does not make the status of IT profession any less than those more established professions. Certification is one of the ways to improve professional standards, credibility and prestige in this line of work.
Jobs opportunities are low all over the word. More so, in developing countries' IT sector there is no corresponding rise. So far there are only a few ventures that are seen leveraging IT for competitive advantages and only they can offer better career opportunities to the IT professionals. "No organization, small or large, can achieve advantages necessary for financial and competitive reasons at global level without IT applications yet market scouting reveals that there are only a few new openings for IT professionals," Zaheer Hassan, human resource development practitioners predicts, "high profile IT jobs growth will not come by till the individuals conforms to international practices.
In order to correct this problem, some serious actions are required against wild growth of brain dumps.
In my opinion IT skills can be enhanced by certification and recertification but going through braindumps specialization does not provide professional recognition for even degree holders. It might help them in getting a job but they may not deliver what to talk of excelling.
Certification embraces not only the workforce; it touches the whole of IT technologies, business methodologies and corporate practices. It does set the tone of professionalism in IT fields. My recommendation is this: Keep your knowledge and skills updated through certification and recertification and have a claim to know your area(s) of interest in depth but not through braindumps.
