Prerequisites And MCSE Cramming Sessions

What does having an information and communications technology (ICT) certification mean?

Basically, it defines that you have acquired a certain level of knowledge and skills, which is endorsed by a recognized authority to become an expert in an area (or areas). More importantly, it means that you are able to demonstrate the skills in a real-life environment.

Though this is the fundamental of getting certified, there is also presently the option of getting certified minus acquiring the skills, which some people are opting for. They can pass certification exams by going to certification boot camps, memorizing the questions in a simulation test program or finding answers to tests at some "brain-dump"

Web sites without gaining real-world experience.

These people hold "paper certifications", which NetSecure Advisor Sdn Bhd's technical services consultant John Kuan says have no real value in the job market. He adds that while they can fool employers during interviews to secure a job with their certifications, they might not be able to hold out when they are given projects to handle. As far as paper certification holders are concerned, they know how to take the exam but do not how to transfer the learned skill set to the real-world environment.

Besides recognizing that the path to getting certified the proper way is tough, he advises those interested in pursuing a certification to pick up some real-world knowledge along the way.

"For example, if you are pursuing the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) CRAM certification, the MCSE study guides often don't tell you everything you need to know to administer an NT network in the real world.

You have to learn about other operating systems, networking and security solutions and the way it integrates with Windows NT and Windows 2000," Kuan says.

Paper MCSE. According to him, among the ICT certifications, the MCSE certification is most often criticised as "paper" qualification. People realising the value of a MCSE certification are looking out for shortcuts to gain the certification quickly.

"'Paper CRAM MCSEs don't have a balanced knowledge of computers. They might have a fair amount of book knowledge about Windows NT, but when it comes to being able to walk the talk about Unix or about how NT and NetWare work together, they usually don't have a clue."

Kuan cautions candidates not to use brain dumps sites and not to over rely on practice exams. He suggests that candidates use practice exams or cram materials only when they have achieved a good deal of familiarity with the product and to measure their level of mastery.

With this, they can work through labs and test out theories as they study.

If there was one pre-requisite for certification that I could recommend, it would be a home practice network. Every person has to have a home network in place to practice on before they can take a Microsoft exam, for instance. Setting up the network itself will be a tremendous learning opportunity.

In addition to having real-world technical experience, Kuan maintains that communication and other soft skills are just as important to secure a job quickly.

MCSE Certification