As of 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated the median annual income for computer and IT occupations in the United States to be $81,430, more than double the median annual income for all occupations of $36,200. If you add a certification to that already supercharged earning power — look out! In this issue of the magazine we take an intense look at the impact of certification on IT salary through the prism of our annual Salary Survey. There’s lots of other good content as well, including Part 2 of our quest to answer the oft-asked certification question: What does it take to build a great certification program from scratch?

In 1991, Linux was an experimental freeware project on the FTP server of the Finnish University and Research Network. It wasn’t even called Linux (yet). Close to 40 years later, Linux is the most widely distributed OS on the planet — except for among personal and workplace computer users. We’ll tell you what certified Linux professionals have to say about that and other topics, venture into the world of certification study guides, and more. We also have our usual mix of profiles, as well as a discussion of Mark Zuckerberg’s worst nightmare: Is it time to break up Big Tech?

Now that almost every function of work, education, or society involves a computer or computer network, the need for skilled security specialists is greater than ever. There are many more security problems, of course, than just the supply-and-demand employment issue. We’ll tell you what certified security professionals have to say about their industry, break down the history of Git and GitHub, and more. This issue also contains our usual mix of profiles, as well as a clarion call to CompTIA to stop using two A+ exams.

Humans have always had a healthy appetite for data: Just ask the ancient historian Livy, who filled up 142 volumes with his far-reaching history of Rome. With the dawn of information age, however, we may have bitten off more than we can chew. We’ll tell you what certified Big Data professionals have to say about that and other concerns, address the growing popularity of role-based certification, and more. We also have our usual mix of profiles, as well as a timely discussion of the problem of ageism in IT.

You can’t talk about politics and religion, and you should never ask someone how much money they make. Except that every year we ask total strangers how much money they make — and then we tell you all about it. (The scandal!) That’s right, the Salary Survey issue is here. In addition to survey results, we’ve also got advice for exam takers, an overview of the technology trends that will shape 2019, and more. We also visit opposite sides of the United States to profile two strong women, one a teacher and one a student, who are conquering IT.

The distance around the Earth at the equator is still 24,901 miles, and if you set out to walk from San Diego to New York City, you’ll still have to leg it more than 2,700 miles. Computer networking makes the world feel smaller, however, as the internet continues to expand, reaching out to touch every person place and thing. This issue of the magazine includes results from our latest survey, advice for D-I-Y certification training, and more. We also get to know six high school kids who banded together to conquer CompTIA’s A+.

In the early decades of the information age, tech support professionals — the guys who could fix your malfunctioning PC, or build a new one from scratch — were close to the top of the IT food chain. In 2018, many are in danger of being replaced by machines. This issue of the magazine includes results from our Computer Support Technician Certification Survey, advice for support professionals who want to become their own bosses, and more. We also make the acquaintance of Martin Ballard, who walked away from a prosperous family business to teach high school kids about computers.

Remember the childhood game where you point to a cloud in the sky and tell your buddy what it looks like? Did either of you ever say, “That one looks like a versatile business infrastructure solution,” or, “That one looks like unlimited personal data storage,” or, you know, stuff like that? The true shape of cloud computing, sort of like with actual clouds, is sometimes found in the eye of the beholder. This issue of the magazine includes results from our Cloud Certification Survey, a rundown of top cloud computing certs, and more. There are even things not directly related to the Cloud, like career advice for aspiring technical trainers, and an overview of the return of adaptive testing.

Is your employer paying you what you’re worth? Our annual Salary Survey issue is back, with data from more than 4,000 certified IT professionals. There’s a new Salary Survey 75 list, a new list of which certifications are high on the to-do list of working IT pros, and much more. Also in this issue, we have suggestions for teachers helping students to master Microsoft Office, guidance for promoting the value of your IT credentials in a crowded market, and a look at technology trends that could change the industry in 2018.

The world has need of employable cybersecurity professionals. Many more of them than we have now, in fact. Experts estimate that there are currently more than 1 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs, and there will be 1.8 million unfilled jobs by 2022. That’s just one of the looming cybersecurity challenges discussed in this issue, along with the results of our latest certification survey. Also in this issue, we give tips to promote success in online learning, consider the value of a college degree in computer science, and more.

Do you know what a zettabyte is? It's a whole lot of data — 1 sextillion ordinary garden variety bytes — and also not very much at all. Merely a single year's worth of traffic on the internet. What are we doing with all of that data, and how can it benefit us? It can benefit working professionals who hold Big Data certifications, for one, as we learned from our latest salary survey. Also in this issue, we help you get better at motivating students to take and pass certification exams, check in on the state of digital badging, and more.

More than 25 years after its initial (and humble) release, Linux is the mouse — make that penguin — that roared. The open source OS not only supports vast swaths of the internet, but popularized a software development model that is currently among the hottest trends in IT. Linux certifications aren’t particularly plentiful, but certification is still an excellent way to both enter and explore the Linux realm. And the salary can be pretty good as well. This issue of the magazine also looks at the hiring crunch in cybersecurity, ponders the future of IT exams, and more.

It’s been estimated conservatively that 20 billion internet-enabled devices and objects will be linked to the internet by 2020. That’s a lot of connections, and there’s a great deal of opportunity in IT realm of networking. In this issue of the magazine, we provide salary data on popular networking certifications and look at networking from a number of different angles. We also tackle a frequently asked question that has an answer too complex for any mere FAQ: What does it take to build a certification program from scratch? Grab a copy of this issue and find out for yourself!

Failure is good when it advances our understanding of what doesn’t work. If we’re humble and willing to learn, it can lead us in new and exciting directions previously unconsidered and unimagined. Of course it’s less expensive and frustrating to fail virtually than in the real-world. So it is that virtualization and accompanying certifications are opening new and wondrous possibilities in IT. That’s why virtualization ranks among the top five categories in which companies plan to increase spending in 2016. This issue also includes a Q&A with the inventor of E-Mail and a look into the bright future of IT certifications via a look back.

FROM THE EDITOR THE TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGIN’, OPINION STEM NEEDS TO INCLUDE CYBERSECURITY, JOBS AND SALARY TAKE A STEP UP TO PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, CERTIFICATION SEVEN PROJECT MANANGEMENT CERTS, CERTIFICATION ARE YOU (SECURITY) MANAGEMENT MATERIAL?, BUILDING CERTIFICATIONS WITH BIG DATA, HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGERS, and more.....

The people have spoken. More than 11,700 IT professionals from 101 countries around the world responded to our annual Salary Survey. We used all of that data to create a bigger, better index of the top-salaried certs in the survey — the Salary Survey 75 is back — find out what certifications are at the top of everyone’s to-do list, and more. You can also read up on what you need to know to succeed at any IT job interview, how to study effectively for any certification exam in just minutes a day (and why it works), and more.

When everyone and everything is at risk of being hacked — from CIA director John Brennan to the POS transaction system at Target — where can individuals and organizations turn for safety and stability? We all need to get smarter about cybersecurity, but until that happens, skilled IT data and network protection professionals will be cashing increasingly substantial paychecks. Our latest Salary Survey PLUS confirms that escalating demand for security skills is driving skyrocketing salaries.

Is Linux a quirky tech hobby for geeks, or the OS of champions? Casual personal computer users probably assume it’s the former, but if you work in IT, then you know it’s definitely, inarguably the latter. Since bursting onto the IT scene in 1991, Linux has become the backbone of the internet and the gas in the tank of nearly all of the world’s supercomputers. This issue includes the results of our Linux Salary Survey, IT career advice, profiles of certified professionals, and much more.

Data is everywhere. From the cash register at the supermarket, to the fitness band that counts the steps on your morning run, to the app on your phone that logs the stats from all those games of Worfeud or Words with Friends — each of is just a thousand points of light in someone’s data storage cluster. Big Data is more than a buzzword, though. Businesses and governments are starting to tap the rich potential (and potential riches) of all those vast quantities of information. In this issue of the magazine, we look at the Big Data phenomenon inside and out and explain how certification can help you get a piece of the action.

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Each issue of Certification Magazine includes feature articles, columns, research and resources to help certified IT experts advance their careers through skills development, education and professional credentialing. Certification Magazine examines the various job roles of IT experts, looks at existing and emerging certification programs and shares ideas, resources and advice from industry icons and thought leaders. Visit CertMag.com to learn more!

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Certification Magazine - January 2017

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