Get Certified & Get Ahead, Millennium Edition (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sure, there are many books ready to train you in the technicalities of the certification exams, but what are these things, anyway? If, as an IT professional, you've been considering taking the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), the Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD), the Certified NetWare Engineer (CNE), or any of the others, this book will answer your nuts-and-bolts questions. What does it mean to be "certified?" How much will it cost and how long will it take?

Anne Martinez begins with a few chapters of questions-and-answers for these, and other, queries. After digging into the basics, Martinez makes a point to provide some real-life examples. She conducts informational interviews with three IT professionals who have gone through the certification process. These pages of resumes, class listings, and "reports from the field" act as a helpful mirror for anyone wondering what kind of investment these training courses might be.

She also outlines common -- and costly -- mistakes make by potential students. She treats the certification as the major expense that it is -- similar to buying a used car, a vacation or, say, a large, fancy electrical appliance. By encouraging her readers to "comparison shop" with eyes open, she provides the perspective needed to avoid potential hucksters.

Get Certified and Get Ahead is an unusual mix of consumer guide and study resource. The final effect is similar to sitting in on a class full of students who have gotten their final exams back, and are ready to talk about what they've been through. For anyone contemplating the investment of time and money the certification exams require, it's a conversation well worth listening to. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Martinez presents a high-level discussion of career certification in areas such as webmaster, Cisco routing, IBM, Java, Microsoft, Novell, PowerBuilder, SAP, and Visual Basic. This is not the book to use to get certified, but it will help readers to consider if certification would be worthwhile. Martinez discusses what certification means in various arenas, the benefits and payoffs, the types of certification and pitfalls in choosing, how to study for certification, and how to stay certified, and she offers a complete list of certification programs. This is an excellent book for public libraries of all sizes.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 568 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (January 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007134781X
• ISBN-13: 978-0071347815
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,397,346 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is huge. And its hugely useful!, July 15, 1999

By	David Firoozi, Training Manager (david@firooz... (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

Along with the information revolution come new paradigms; of identity (e.g. Domain names), of rewards (e.g. contract rates), of time parameters (e.g. email), of space parameters (e.g. cyberspace), and now new ways of learning _ certification.

Certifications have created a new class of education; not university based, no minimum standards required, fluency in English a must, very flexible, very global, and very rewarding. The certified are the leaders in the information revolution.

The underlying concept of the book is that of the Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK). What is called an " . . . agreed upon baseline . . ." (p.xvii Foreword). The author doesn't say it directly, but I think she believes these CBOK's are converging into vendor-neutral certifications. This is because of her vision in seeing what is just over the horizon. A trend to look out for. Actually, this is also a comment on the role of Professional Associations into the future in determining minimum standards of competencies for professionals as well as things like ethical behavior.

In the meantime, "Certifications of a lower quality and less value will fall by the wayside, while a handful will gain increasing prominence" (p.35). And also, multiple platform certifications to show cross-platform expertise (p. 68) as well as "middle-of-the-road certifications" and "hybrid certifications". (p.110)

The IT field continues to be a worker's market but; "when you consider that most of the major industry vendors and many of the minor ones have already launched programs, it's obvious why the rate of growth can't continue apace; most of the players are already in the game" (p.28). Furthermore, " . . . certification is becoming a tool to define a path for professional development" (p.29). And finally, "certification will go from its current status as a qualification that elevates one professional above another to one that is present on more resumes than not" (p.36) " . . . people who have ignored the trend will have to play catch-up" (p.42)

Don't expect the author to spell out which certifications are best and which ones are useless. It depends on your background and where you are going. What you have to do is to read between the lines, e.g. the question of tainted certifications on page 22 and the various quotes from interviewed individuals who recommend what worked for them. The closest she gets is on pages 114 to 115 Choosing a Certification Because it's Hot. One very clever thing is that of categories between one to four for all the 200+ certifications quoted.

This book should be called the A to Z of certifying yourself. And it's a good test of your possible success in certification. To get the most out of it, you have to knuckle down and read it end to end!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The book not well covered for specific certification., February 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Get Certified and Get Ahead (Certification Series) (Paperback)

I dont think any readers will get enough detail about A+, MSCE, CNA and many other computer related certification. This book talked about career planning, it doesnt say anything about what certification is good and what is not I would say buy other book pertaining to your interest, specifically exam guides.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for New People or Career Changers, October 12, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Tempe, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Get Certified and Get Ahead (Certification Series) (Paperback)

This book has some great information but is written for people new to the Industry -- I am an MCSE and would have liked to seen more upto date/accurate numbers and talk about which certifications are becoming saturated etc. and which certifications are still rare but in demand. Great overview book of certifications for beginners.