Wireless Certifications

Wireless certifications are currently being offered by 5 organisations:

Planet3 Wireless offer the Certified Wireless Network Professional (CWNP) program.

SANS offer the Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) Assessing Wireless Networks or GAWN

OSSTMM offer the OSSTMM Wireless Security Expert (OWSE) certification

ThinkSECURE offer the Organisational Systems Wireless Auditor (OSWA) and Open Source Wireless Integration Security Professional (OSWISP) certifications.

Cisco offer the Cisco Wireless LAN Specialists program.

AreTec offer the AreTec Wireless Career Certifications (AceWP) program.

NARTE offer the Wireless System Installers Certification program.

Certification homepage: http://www.cwnp.com/

Planet 3 currently offer 5 vendor-neutral wireless certifications:
Wireless# an the entry-level wireless certification for the IT industry.

Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) is a foundation level wireless LAN certification for the CWNP Program.

Certified Wireless Security Professional (CWSP) designed to give you the knowledge you need to keep hackers out of your wireless network.

Certified Wireless Analysis Professional (CWAP) designed to give you the knowledge to troubleshoot and increase the performance of your wireless network.

Certified Wireless Network Expert (CWNE) designed to give you the skills to administer, install, configure, troubleshoot, and design wireless network systems including: Packet analysis, intrusion detection, performance analysis and advanced design.

Certification homepage: http://www.giac.org/certifications/security/gawn.php

SANS offer GIAC certifications for all of the major IT Security competencies and the GAWN is their Wireless Security offering. The course to accompany the certification is the GIAC Assessing Wireless Networks (SEC-617) which can be studied for with the SANS mentor program or covered in one of their global SANS training events.

Official SANS GIAC Certification overview

"The GAWN certification is designed for technologists who need to assess the security of wireless networks. The certification focuses on the different security mechanisms for wireless networks, the tools and techniques used to evaluate and exploit weaknesses, and techniques used to analyse wireless networks." -SANS




Certification homepage: http://www.isecom.org/projects/owse.shtml

"The OWSE certification program is designed for those who want to learn more about the various ways to technically execute a comprehensive and professional wireless security audit within the internationally recognized Open-Source Security Testing Methodology Manual (OSSTMM) framework." -OSSTMM

The OWSE certification exam is a practical examination requiring a total number of 100 responses within the 4 hour examination period.




Certification homepage: http://securitystartshere.net/page-training-oswisp.htm

ThinkSECURE currently offer the following vendor neutral WLAN certifications:
Organisational Systems Wireless Auditor (OSWA)

Open Source Wireless Integration Security Professional (OSWISP)
"Accredited by the international security institute ISECOM (Institute of Security & Open Methodologies), the OSWiSP™ teaches a vendor-independent approach to practical deployment, auditing and securing of both private and public Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) based on the PRACTICAL WIRELESS DEPLOYMENT METHODOLOGY (PWDM), a peer-reviewed, open-source methodology." -ThinkSECURE



Certification homepage: http://www.cisco.com/

Cisco currently offer 3 wireless certifications:
Cisco Wireless LAN Design Specialist: Associated exam: Wireless LAN for System Engineers (642-577 WLANSE)

Cisco Wireless LAN Sales Specialist designed for Cisco device resellers. Associated exam: Wireless LAN for Account Managers (646-102 WLANAM).

Cisco Wireless LAN Support Specialist: Associated exam: Wireless LAN for Field Engineers exam (642-582 WLANFE).




Certification homepage: http://www.aretechnologies.net/

AreTec currently offer 4 vendor-neutral wireless certifications. All of the AreTec Certifications cover Applications Development, Wireless Telecom Carriers and Networks, Wireless Networking and Security and Wireless Embedded Systems just to an ever increasing level. In order the certifications are:
AreTec Certified Wireless Engineer (ACWE)

AreTec Certified Wireless Developer (ACWD)

AreTec Certified Wireless Architect (ACWA)

Certified AceWP Instructor (CAI): designed for ACE WP program trainers.




Certification homepage: http://www.narte.org/

NARTE offer 2 wireless installer certifications both designed to certify those who install wireless LAN systems, Bluetooth, UNII devices, AVIS, and unlicensed PCS Systems:
Wireless Installer Engineer

Wireless Installer Technician

IT Certifications In Demand

What Credentials Are Hottest Right Now?

According to a 2007 Robert Half survey of more than 1,400 CIOs from American companies with more than 100 employees, the top five IT skills in demand are Windows administration, network administration, database management, firewall administration, and wireless network management. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that more than a million new IT jobs will be created by 2014. However, UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute reports a 70% drop in computer science majors between 2000 and 2005. While many enterprises jockey for recent technology graduates from colleges and universities, others have relied heavily on targeted professional certifications as a metric for potential new employees. Experienced technology professionals often use technology certifications to advance their careers without investing time and money to obtain an advanced degree. Additionally, organizations are choosing to foot the bill for their existing staff’s certifications to increase employee retention while reaping the benefits of a better-educated IT staff. Eddie Zeitler, executive director at (ISC)², a globally recognized standard for certifying information security professionals based on the strict criteria of a globally recognized benchmark (ANSI/ISO/IEC Standard 17024), has also witnessed senior executives, such as CIOs and CISOs, adding a professional security certification to their resume. He says, “As senior management becomes more aware of security issues, there’s a strong demand for certified players.” Just about every IT vendor and discipline has some sort of professional certification. Boot camps, IT training centers, and independent certification bodies, such as (ISC)² and the Wi-Fi Alliance, also provide certificate programs for core disciplines. Zeitler explains the different types of certifications and why both are necessary: "Someone who has to work only on a specific product, like a firewall, needs to have specific training on that box, model, version, etc. That's valuable. But to frame the security policy for a corporation, to talk about information assurance across the board with auditors, regulators, and compliance officers, you need a more senior person with a good strong grounding in information security.” But many IT professionals question spending the money and time obtaining professional certifications in such a dynamic industry. Nancy Freelan, an enterprise IT recruiter for the last 18 years, explains the importance of certifications: “It gets your foot in the door.” While many of the organizations hiring Freelan do not require certifications, she uses it as a method to identify potential employees who have a commitment to their profession. Popular Choices Since the introduction of the MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) certification 14 years ago, it has been the top-ranking professional certification. Recently, Microsoft (www .microsoft.com) has overhauled its certification program. The model is composed of three series (technology, professional, and architect) and four credentials (Microsoft Certified Support Technician, Microsoft Certified IT Professional, Microsoft Certified Professional Developer, and Microsoft Certified Architect). Microsoft’s aim is to provide standards through which IT managers are able to qualify and validate core technical, professional, and architectural skills. Following the lead of newer oversight bodies that developed more stringent testing criteria to alleviate “professionals-on-paper,” candidates for Microsoft’s senior-level IT architect certification, MCA, must have a minimum of 10 years advanced IT industry experience and must appear before an oral board of industry peers. Before there were Microsoft certifications, the de facto standard often offered in conjunction with university extension programs was the Certified Novell Engineer, or CNE, certification (www.novell.com). Today, NetWare remains popular with companies, educational institutions, and government agencies, so the demand for trained Novell engineers and administrators continues to remain high. With more data centers and IT departments integrating Linux into their infrastructure, IT professionals are also obtaining the Novell CLP (Certified Linux Professional) and CLE (Certified Linux Engineer). “Any certification from Cisco puts a potential employee at the top of the pile,” says Freelan. With more than 90% of Internet traffic through Cisco (www.cisco.com) routers and switches, the demand for trained professionals to maintain and troubleshoot networking equipment has ballooned. Cisco offers multiple tiers of certifications—Associate, Professional, and Expert—within several disciplines, including Routing and Switching, Design, Security, Storage, and Voice, as well as Specialist Certifications for Data Centers, IP Communications, VPNs, and Wireless LANs. Routing and Switching continues to be Cisco’s most popular track, as it covers not only information about its products but also comprehensive information regarding network traffic, protocols, network interfaces, and access control lists. The Big Picture Freelan has also seen a sharp rise in resumes listing technology-specific certifications, such as those for databases, wireless installations, and IP communications. Database giant Oracle (www.oracle.com) offers an extensive array of certifications from its Oracle University covering databases, middleware, applications, and Linux. The professional certifications garnering the most interest from both IT professionals and employers focus on security. “Enterprises don’t want to take chances when it comes to their security. If they are going to demand a certification for potential employees, it’s usually for some type of security training,” Freelan notes. Due to the encompassing and holistic nature of security, enterprises want to see a nonvendor-specific certification, such as the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) offered by (ISC)². Similarly, emerging certifications for VoIP are following. With the growing popularity of IP-based communication, many organizations, such as Cisco, Avaya (www.avaya.com), IBM (www.ibm.com), and 3Com (www.3com.com) are turning to the CCNT (Certified in Convergent Network Technologies) certification to set the educational standards for emerging applications in converged telephony and data communication technologies. The demand for certifications is constantly evolving along with new and maturing technologies. However, Freelan says, “Experience will always trump certification.” “If I’m going to employ someone, I want to have some confidence as to their knowledge and skills. It just makes sense,” says Zeitler. “We want people certified for their jobs.” by Sandra Kay Miller The Major Categories Of Certifications Discipline Popular Certifications Administration • MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) • Linux Certification • Novell Professional Certification • SCSA (Sun Certified System Administrator) Database Management • Oracle DBA (Database Administrator) OCP (Oracle Certified Professional) • Lotus Professional Certification • MCDBA (Microsoft Certified Database Administrator) Networking CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) Security CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) VoIP CCNT (Certified in Convergent Network Technologies)

Cisco Certifications: An Overview

IT, or information technology, professionals can benefit from having a Cisco certification through expanded knowledge and experience. Read on to find out what a Cisco certification is, how you can benefit, and what options are available.

What is Cisco Certification?

Cisco career certification is a computer networking certification provided by the company Cisco Systems, Inc. (or Cisco for short)-a company that provides networking solutions and devices for the internet. Why obtain a Cisco career certification? It makes you more marketable in the job world. Employers feel confident knowing that they have an IT employee with standardized and up-to-date training concerning their network infrastructure. If you already have a job, a Cisco career certification can give you greater knowledge (thus greater value) for the devices you work with.

Types of Cisco Certification

Cisco career certifications come in the following six separate categories according to Cisco Systems, Inc. :

• Routing and Switching
• Network Security
• Voice
• Design
• Storage Networking
• Service Provider

In addition, Cisco offers three levels of education depending upon how much you want/need to know about each category. The levels, represented here in order of lowest to highest achievement, are as follows:

• Associate
• Professional
• Expert

There is one more training option Cisco offers-the specialist. The 'Specialist' is a certification focused on a specific technology, solution, or job role according to www.cisco.com. Wireless, Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, and security are just some of the specializations available to interested IT professionals. Furthermore, Cisco frequently adds new specializations.

Some Practical Advice

Naturally, it will be cheaper for you or your company to obtain Associate-level training in one category specific to your job than to obtain Expert-level training in all the categories. Evaluate your networking need, your learning style, and your budget to find the best program for you. Also, check www.cisco.com for special discounts. For example, Cisco offers learning credits, which are good towards training sessions. These credits can be obtained from purchasing Cisco products among other ways.

To Learn More

Training is available from instructor-led courses, remote access labs, e-learning solutions, and seminars. Cisco even offers some free online classes. To learn more, search www.cisco.com for a listing of all available training options, locations, and prices.

Top Tech Certifications for 2009

From About.com

This handful of top tech computer certifications was chosen based on what I hear from all of you readers out there. The choices were made based on the profitability of the certifications, the relevance in today's market, and from the popularity of the certifications discussed here on About.com.

I have tried to include salary information for each of these certifications but the figures are just averages. Salary is always commensurate with experience and location.

CCIE
The CCIE always ends up on lists like these, and with good reason. With a pass rate of only 26% it is certainly the most difficult of all IT certifications. Once you place this on your resume, you know you have a truly impressive credential and can expect to earn an average salary of $93,000.

CISA
With the economic climate these days, big business needs auditors more than ever. The CISA is designed to certify audit skills, both technical and ethical. According to GoCertify.com, the average CISA can earn as much as $115,000.

CCSE
The CCSE is another high level security certification that created for individuals who work with Checkpoint products and must maintain secure VPNs. The demand for this certification is evident in the pay as shown on PayScale.

MCSD
The Microsoft Certified Solution Developer certification is designed for people who like to problem-solve. You are expected to know about enterprise solutions and Microsoft products. You will be expected to use business analysis skills to decide which solution is best for a particular environment or business. Here is the PayScale for the MCSD.

PMP
The Project Management Professional certification is here because it is another that requires an extensive amount of skill and experience to obtain. Once you have passed the exam and fulfilled the requirements you can pull in around $101,000 (based on a ZDNET Salary Survey).

CISSP
Notice a theme on this list? Security certifications are very hot right now. The Certified Information Systems Security Professional demands a good salary (around $94,000) and can be obtained with just a few years of experience or equivalent education. Only one exam is required.

RHCE
If you can configure networking and security on a Red Hat OS then the Red Hat Certified Engineer is a great certification for you. The exam is not actually an exam, it's a five-hour hands-on test of your Linux skills. You certainly can't braindump your way through this one. Although it is not exactly entry level, Red Hat has several training programs for all levels of experience. Once you get through the testing process your salary could jump to $83,000.

SCJP 6.0
Ideal for all web developers, the SCJP is a start on the path to many other development certifications. You can build on the SCJP to get the SCJD (Sun Certified Developer for the Java 2 Platform), SCWCD (Sun Certified Web Component Developer for the J2EE Platform), SCMAD (Sun Certified Mobile Application Developer), or the SCBCD (Sun Certified Business Component Developer).
You can also use your SCJP 6.0 Certification toward the Oracle Certified Solution Developer and Oracle Certified Enterprise Developer programs, and the Master CIW Enterprise Developer certifications.
SCJP 6.0 covers a few new topics including Console, NavigableSet, and NavigableMap. Salaries for SCJP certified professionals range from $75,000 to 100,000.

CAPM
The CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) certification is a great choice for project managers who can verify 1,500 hours of project management experience (versus the more demanding 3-5 years of experience for a PMP). The CAPM is for team members who support projects.
The group that offers the CAPM and PMP is the Project Management Institute (PMI). The PMI is highly respected in the industry and the demand for good project managers is steadily growing. These two facts put together are the reason why the CAPM is on the list. Once you are certified you can earn up to $75,000.

MCSD
Earning the MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solution Developer) certification shows that you are not just a developer. You also have the skills to analyze and design leading-edge Microsoft enterprise solutions. This is a certification for software engineers and software architects. Salaries for MCSD's range from $70,000 to over $100,000.

About IT Certifications

By Warren E. Wyrostek

Less than 10 years ago, certification was a surefire way to enter the growing IT sector. But certification no longer guarantees that you will be able to find a high quality job in IT. It still has its place, but the IT certification industry has faced some systemic problems that no one has addressed since its emergence. Warren Wyrostek calls on personal and real-world experience to share the top 10 problems with IT certification.

Since the early part of this decade, when I wrote several certification articles for InformIT, IT certifications have changed a great deal, and the industry’s perception of certifications has waned. IT certifications have fallen out of favor in the eyes of many.

Less than 10 years ago, I had no reservation about recommending a certification to a person interested in entering the IT sector. Certification and the training needed to "earn" an IT certification was a great way for a career changer, a displaced worker, or someone simply looking for a career to get a foot in the door on a growing field and land a good job with a lot of growth potential.

Certification no longer guarantees that you will be able to find that kind of job in IT. It still has its place, but the IT certification industry has faced some systemic problems that no one has addressed since its emergence.
Having jumped hook, line, and sinker into the certification world in 1995, I have a bit of historical perspective about where we have been and where we are and what the problems are.

But before we can fix the problems, we have to define those problems. On to the problems.

1. Certifications are Vendor-Centric
IT certifications, as they are currently marketed, are vendor-centric. Their purpose is to quantify a person’s understanding of some of the functionality of a vendor’s product.

A vendor’s certification helps a potential client feel a sense of ownership when it comes to a product. Those who support a vendor’s IT products are encouraged to certify in the product(s) to validate their skill levels.

The problem is that every vendor has its own set of certification criteria; none of them match, and there is no uniformity. Whatever Vendor A says you should know is what you need to know in order to achieve validation.

If you have ever taken a Novell exam, a Microsoft exam, a Cisco exam, and/or a CompTIA exam, you probably have been told to answer the questions on the exam the way the given vendor wants you to answer the questions.

Don’t worry if the answer is ridiculous; if you want to get certified, give the Novell answer, or the Microsoft answer, or the Cisco answer, or the CompTIA answer. For the same question, each vendor could potentially have different correct responses. This is maddening at best.

2. Certification’s Life Cycle Is Short!
Because IT certifications are vendor-centric, a vendor can revise, revamp, or completely redo a certification as often as it wants. Much is based on the life cycle of a given product, such as an operating system. If you want to feel like you are simply chasing your tail, keep up your certifications based on a vendor’s whim and whimsy for how long they feel a product’s life cycle is.

Here’s a good example from my experience. In 1995–1996, I earned the Microsoft MCSE for NT 3.51 through a lot of hard work. Not six months later, however, Microsoft changed the MCSE requirements for the MCSE in NT 4.0. The seven exams I took for 3.51 no longer had legs. I had to take six or seven more. So I did.

Well, guess what happened in 1999–2000? Windows 2000 came out, along with a whole new series of exams—which almost killed me. Now in less than 4 years I had taken close to 21 exams to earn 3 Microsoft certifications that I needed to teach the most up-to-date Microsoft classes. Several years later, Windows 2003 came out with two more upgrade exams, which so far I have not taken/passed because of disgust with the process. I will probably have to take them before long because the Longhorn roadmap "encourages" MCSEs to be at least 2003 to avoid taking all exams again.

Now a sane person would say that I did not have to be MCSE-2003 if I did not have to teach those classes. I have supported Windows Server 2003 since it was in beta without a MCSE-2003 and never had a problem.

I would agree until recently, when I was talking to an HR recruiter who told me that a company that was interested in me would not consider any of my experience unless I had the latest-and-greatest MCSE. Three earlier MCSEs and 15 years of field experience made no difference. If I did not have the MCSE 2003 they would look elsewhere.

Guess what? They looked elsewhere.

3. Certifications Are Not Real-World Oriented
Because certifications are vendor-oriented, they do not prepare you for the real world. Every vendor would have you believe that every enterprise environment is made up of only their platform or application. In today’s market nothing is farther from the truth. Every environment is integrated.

No environment is made up of just Microsoft, or UNIX, or Novell, or Linux. The real-world enterprise is made up of at least two platforms, and tens if not hundreds of applications from a host of vendors. The real world is a fully integrated environment. If you are focused on one vendor’s platform/application, could you in practice manage a real-world enterprise comprised of numerous platforms, or do you have to outsource what you don’t know—thereby giving up ownership to someone else?

If you earn the MCSE from Microsoft, are you qualified to administer a Lotus Notes environment or a Cisco environment? If you are a certified Linux admin, are you qualified to manage a Windows 2003 environment running SQL 2005?

4. Certifications Have Been Devalued
This next problem is no secret. IT certifications have been devalued since their heyday in the mid- to late 1990s. The reasons for the devaluation could be the basis for a book. Some of the major reasons why many in the industry do not respect IT certs are the following:

• Brain dumps let you get all the questions on a live exam. You can then pass the exam without knowing the technology.
• Paper certs: those who have used brain dumps or so-called study guides that many sites sell to prep a person for the live test questions. People earn the certification without training and without experience, and advertise themselves as experts. This makes everyone look bad and devalues the certification process.
• Testing issues are legendary. There are some vendors, such as Microsoft and Cisco, which are trying to improve the value of the testing experience by incorporating simulations. But in my opinion it is a band-aid. Knowledge-based cognitive exams are awful. Many are poorly written, poorly edited, not real-world oriented, and not in tune with the needs of the industry.
• It is difficult to truly accept whether candidates know their stuff based on these exams. If you pay enough, a trained chimp could pass many of these exams.
• Practicums, which in my opinion are the best testing methodology currently available, are not widely used. When a practicum is done right, knowledge and experience are absolutely needed. Brain dumps are useless. What matters is skill.
• In short, testing has been inconsistent and all over the map devaluing certification.

5. No Oversight Body
Because certifications are vendor-centric, no one is overseeing the whole process.

6. Degree vs. Certification vs. Experience
There is still tension in the market over the value/need for a degree versus the need for a certification versus the need for experience. The battle rages on with absolutely no resolution.

Because certifications have been devalued, what is really needed when you want to apply for a job in IT? A degree? If so, which degree covering which disciplines?

Many universities offer the CIS or MIS degree. But when it comes to running an enterprise environment, don’t you need to know a bit more than what is offered in the CIS or MIS programs to administer a multi-platform/application environment?

Nevertheless, most advertisements require a degree. What about the folks like me who came up when the CIS or MIS were not even on the radar? How many Master’s degrees does a person need to get a job? Academics look down on certifications, yet they require numerous certifications when they are hiring staff to support their infrastructures.

I have several former students who have Master’s-level degrees and no certifications. They ask me which certs to get so that they can get a good job; they cannot find one with just an MIS.

So how do we assess a person’s skills and experience? Maybe there should be a balance between certifications, education, and experience. What about the person who has no degree, has no certs, but has 20 years’ experience and could write most of the books except s/he is too busy running the enterprise 24/7?

The answer is that the degree wins in 2007/08, which puts those with certifications and/or experience at a distinct disadvantage.

7. HR People Are Not In Touch with the Real World
HR people, including headhunters/recruiters, give no guidance and do nothing to help the situation in IT. In fact, most just muddy the waters by asking for a laundry list of certifications that are completely other-worldly.

I have met no one who meets a majority of the requirements that most HR folks list on IT jobs.

• Some want no part of certifications.
• Some "demand" the most up-to-date certifications.
• Others want it all.

This leads to complete confusion when planning a course of action if someone wants to enter IT through the certification path. If I were coming into IT now and looked at some of the unrealistic certification criteria required for entry-level jobs, I would find another way to make a living. It is discouraging.

8. Budget Cuts
Cuts have killed training dollars—and consequently the certification market—because it costs money to get certified. So unless you bypass the training with brain dumps, you will not entertain certification as a viable path because training is not available.

Additionally most employers will not train their folks toward certification because of the fear of losing their investment. When people get certified, they start looking for greener pastures. Employers are gun-shy, especially in times of budget cuts.

9. Glut of Certified People
This one should probably be higher in the list. But it is a major reason for the waning interest in certification. There are just too many certified IT folks—those that know what they are doing and the paper certs who have killed the market.
Simple supply and demand. When the supply goes up, the demand goes down. There has to be a way to weed out those who have killed the market.

If the supply were not as high, the demand and wages would improve.

10. No One Knows Which Certs Matter
No one really knows which certs you need to get a job, to get a foot in the door, and to prove that you know your stuff, while not scaring people off.

In short:

• No one knows how many certs you need.
• No one knows which certs have value today.

Until those two points are addressed, people get fed up and move onto to another path. If a guru could tell you to get this cert and you will get a good job, you would be all over it. But those days are over for many of the reasons previously mentioned. Will one cert do it for you or do you have to have 10 or 20?

The best advice I can give you at this point is to assess what the environments are using in your geographical area and what the demand is. Then look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself whether that is what you want to do. If you have passion for it, get the needed certs.

Conclusion
So we have problems. Significant problems. I would not give up on certification. Next, I will outline my solution to the problems with IT Certification: A New Program that revisits what now exists but presents it in a new package. It does not address all the problems, but the majority of them are put in their place, and I don’t have to tear the building down to renovate the kitchen.

Stay tuned.