What's with all the certifications?

I was wondering what is behind all the different certifications out there. For example, what do CIW, MCSE, A+, CNA, etc., mean to me and to companies in the business world? Who else recognizes these awards or certifications?
Chris Parkinson
overlord007@yahoo.com

Chris, certification is a requirement for many tech jobs these days. The reason is that employers need to know that a candidate possesses certain minimal skills before even taking the time to interview him or her.

Depending on your career choice, the most common and sought-after certifications are those you mentioned (Certified Internet Webmaster [CIW], Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer [MCSE], A+ computer technician certificate, and Certified Novell Engineer/Administrator [CNE/A]) plus the Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA) programs). Any one of these certifications would be a good first step toward a successful tech career.

That said, certification is just a first step. Experience is often more important than training, and can only be acquired through internships, volunteering, and the like. In rare cases, you could get a job with just the certification in hand and gain experience along the way. Also, we recommend vendor-neutral training, which will give you access to a more varied set of job openings than restricting yourself to Microsoft-, Novell-, or Cisco-specific programs.
James Mathewson, editorial director

The April 2000 issue of Computer User has an article--"The peak tech career"--that contains misleading information. I have been a computer programmer and analyst for 17 years, the last three of which I spent using DB2. I was laid off from my contract position Feb. 29. None of the agencies I have contacted have any open positions. All have told me that DB2 is passe as a database and that jobs related to it do not exist.

I have searched the job Web sites and found exactly three current postings. There are ads in the local paper, but when you go to the listed Web site, current listings do not appear for anything other than Oracle- and Web-related positions. This is why when I read the statement "IMB DB2 is coming on strong" in the article, I looked for an April Fool footnote somewhere to go with it.
Normajean Graybill
nrglebo@aol.com

Normajean, from all that I've read and heard, DB2 is coming on strong. IBM has repositioned it as an Internet-centric database. Gone are the days of only using DB2 on the mainframe. I would suggest that you check out your local DB2 user group accessed from the International Association of DB2 User Group's page and try to make contacts that way.

That said, I would recommend poking around in some other enterprise-level database technologies, such as SQL. As Molly's article states, the basic principles of relational databases are the same regardless of the platform. So, learning a new database environment will be much easier for you than for someone without a lot of database experience.

For example, a friend of mine had about a dozen years of DB2 mainframe experience and is in the middle of a successful transition to a client/server model using Microsoft Access. He enjoys the challenge of the new platform and only had to take two courses to get up to speed on it. If your local DB2 user group can't help you out, try changing platforms. Database engineers will be in great demand for a long time.
James Mathewson, editorial director

To start a discussion or ask a question, e-mail james@computeruser.com. Letters may be edited for style, length, or content.