- I Don't Have the Background, Experience, or Education to Get a Job in IT.
- 2: I Have a Little Bit of Experience, But I am Not Certified, and I Can't Get an Entry-Level Job.
- 3: All the Advertisements I Look at Have a Ridiculous Number of Job Skills Required. Who Has All those Skills?
- 4: I Have Worked with Only One Vendor's Platform. Can I Still Move Up in the Field?
- 5: I Don't Have the Money to Get Certified. The Classes Are Too Expensive. How Do I Get Started? Is There an Inexpensive Way to Get Certified?
- 6: I Am Afraid Of Failing.
- 7: I Was Just Laid Off. Who Can I Ask for Help and Guidance?
- Conclusions
4: I Have Worked with Only One Vendor's Platform. Can I Still Move Up in the Field?
The problem here is being vendor-dependent. When I got certified with Novell, I was immediately confronted with the following question: What if Novell drops off? What will I do then? Since I can remember, I always believed that being vendor-dependent is an obstacle. It is bad for business, and can be devastating if there is a major shift. As it turned out, I was right. Interest in Novell began to shift in late 1997 and 1998.
Thankfully, I was proactive. I earned the MCSE twice over (3.51 and 4.0), several of CompTIA's certifications, and was working on several other prospects. I made a decision when I entered IT that I would not become a negative statistic. Thankfully, up to this point, my strategy has worked. The strategy is simple: DIVERSIFY! I have continued increasing my skills through advanced certifications and support challenges. Many friends have laughed at me sitting in a testing center, stockpiling authorizations and certifications. What I have found is that the stockpile has kept me working. When one vendor goes through a slowdown, I can keep working because I wear multiple hats.
When I teach classes, I try to encourage my students to be dual-certified. Not because I will make a living off them taking classes, but because dual-certification offers job security. You can move up the ladder with a single certification, but dual-certified people have an easier time being promoted. I don't care if the dual certifications are Novell-Microsoft, Microsoft-Cisco, or Microsoft-Oracle. It does not matter. What matters is having a means of staying employed and earning a good living. Again, it is a matter of attitude. It is easy to get certified, and rest on that certification. For job security, diversification is the answer.