IT Training In Tough Times: Certifications for Trainers

Today on Tom's IT Pro: Top 5 IT Training Certifications for Trainers and Making It in IT: Keep Your Current Job!

Tom's IT Pro 's publishes the latest articles by IT training and certification expert Ed Tittel. The first presents some essential certification options for IT trainers. Certified trainers provide materials and instruction that guarantee successful results for IT pros.

As Ed points out, this area isn't for everyone: You have to know your stuff cold and work long hard hours. However, "with over 3,000 independent training centers in North America alone, and jobs for the cream of the crop with certification sponsors themselves, there are lots of opportunities for people who do possess these characteristics all over the world," he adds.

In his article, Ed provides his picks for the top five certification for trainers.  These certifications  fall under  “trainer training” or “training certification,” as  these credentials seek to identify those capable of instructing IT certification candidates in a real or virtual classroom setting.

The story is the latest in our important series of articles that tackle a subject close to the heart of information technology professionals, that of IT training and certification. Especially in the current economy, training and certification increase the marketability of IT pros, leading to greater job mobility and opportunities to do the most interesting work.

Second, in the latest post to his  Making It in IT - Certification & Training blog, Ed advises a reader to hold tight to his current job while furthering his IT career.

“I know I'm pretty late getting into the game, but I feel it's never too late to earn an education,” the reader writes. “So overall, what would you suggest for someone who's already 29, and working full-time trying to break into the IT industry?”

Ed points out that, at 29, the reader is still plenty young enough to make a great career in IT. And, as he emphasizes, “you have the luxury of holding a job already, so I'd suggest you keep holding it. After you finish your AS and CCNA, look around and see what kind of other opportunities are available to you."

See here to check out the reader’s full message and Ed’s helpful and knowledgeable response. Also, you may want to read another recent article in Ed's Tom's IT Pro blog; where he offers thoughtful and useful advice to a reader with a welcome degree of self-awareness.

Recently, Ed also examined the Top 5 IT Certifications in Healthcare, Top Programming Certifications for IT Pros, Top Virtualization Certs for IT Pros and the Top 5 Computer Forensics Certifications, 

The first presents some essential certification options for health IT workers. As Ed explains, with the rising interest in Healthcare IT, there are numerous certifications targeted specifically at health IT workers. He adds, "it’s reasonable to expect this number to grow, both in terms of sponsoring organizations and in the number of credentials on offer, in the years ahead."

The last covers the often convoluted world of computer forensic and digital investigation programs and certifications, while in the previous article, Ed points out how virtualization skills and knowledge, and by extension virtualization certifications, are good for any IT professional who works with systems, networks or IT infrastructure or architecture to pursue and possess.

Another recent article in the series, Top 5 Cloud-Related IT Certifications, covers the growing importance of IT-related Cloud Computing certifications to IT professionals. After all, the Cloud has become a permanent fixture for companies and organizations around the world over the last five years. So it behooves the ambitious IT pro to, at the least, investigate the Cloud Computing credentials available to them.

Our first article in our IT training and certification group of stories provides a comprehensive overview that explains what 36 IT training companies do and how well they do it. The article includes several quick-read tables to assist busy IT pros looking to increase their knowledge and advance their careers. The tables grade and describe training providers that cover most subject areas as well as those that are vendor or niche specific, such as those that are focused on information security, forensics and more.

Additional articles delve more deeply into specific subject areas such as security, networking, system administration, programming, forensics, database, ERP and so on. There is also a sub-series that focuses on evergreen certifications, as well as articles covering DIY certification programs, online and classroom training, never-fail exam tune-ups, getting the best bang for your IT certification dollars, finding the best exam prep courses and, of course, how to plan a brilliant certification career.

James Alan Miller is Managing Editor of Tom's IT Pro. He is a veteran technology journalist with over seventeen years of experience creating and developing magazine and online content. Founding editor of numerous business and enterprise computing sites at the internet.com network, James headed up the After Hours section at PC Magazine, as well as hardware and software sections of various Windows publications.