Is network certification still worth the effort and will it get you a job

Is network certification still worth the effort and will it get you a job? Stuart Mark sifts through the growing number of options available.

Network Certification

The phenomenon of IT product accreditation has existed for a number of years. Pioneered by Novell in 1990, it started out as a method for IT professionals to attain an independent, tangible measurement of their skills which could be used by employers and recruiters as a valid selection criterion. The concept rapidly took off. In a climate where technology refused to stand still and employers, light on technical expertise, often had no other way of gauging a candidate’s suitability, a technical accreditation went at least some of the way to ensuring the company wasn’t duped into an incongruous appointment.

What started as a few specialised areas of study has grown into an industry and, in the same way that other technology companies saw the value in a certification programme, so did peripheral organisations begin to tailor their products to the needs of the IT examinee. Publishing now generates substantial revenue from technical reference publications, study guides, examination guides and online-learning. Testing and Education are also big winners with some companies existing solely to provide training for IT accreditations and some small boot-camp operations only concentrating on a single certification.

The networking industry has joined the accreditation bandwagon with some vigour, not only following the formula used previously but, in some cases, evolving the mechanics of accreditation to fit the industry’s needs. In 1993 Cisco introduced the Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE) program. This took accreditation to a new level and quickly became recognised as one of the most difficult to achieve. Most accreditations required the candidate to pass a number of timed, multiple-choice exams. If one was failed, the candidate could simply re-sit it. Cisco took a different approach by requiring a CCIE candidate to first sit a multiple-choice exam followed by a two-day hands-on examination in a laboratory environment. With an 80% pass mark this accreditation is still one of the most coveted in the IT industry.

Other networking companies have taken a similar approach to certification. Juniper has an almost identical certification requirement in that a two-day exam is involved but, again, it has evolved to be of more relevance to the ISP market. Whereas the CCIE test lab is standalone, Juniper’s version is connected to the web and requires the candidate to be competent in handling the routing issues that face any ISP. Nortel are a more recent entrant to the accreditation realm and their CCIE equivalent, the Nortel Networks Certified Architect (NNCA) takes a fundamentally different approach. Instead of a lab exam, a NNCA candidate must first submit a detailed application proving that he or she has the required degree of industry experience. If accepted, the candidate must make a written response to a real world case study within six weeks.

Relevance

There are now few IT product companies who do not offer some form of accreditation program. How relevant these are is open to some debate. Most IT professionals are aware of the problem of ‘paper certification’, the situation where someone has gained an accreditation and, in many cases, a job without any hands on experience. This is particularly true of multiple-choice exam certifications. For example, by passing a single exam, each costing around £100, it would be possible for someone with little IT experience to call himself a Cisco Certified Network Administrator, a Microsoft Certified Professional, a Checkpoint Certified Security Administrator, the list goes on. With the proliferation of examination ‘prep’ books and study guides, passing such an exam is easily within the reach of anyone with a basic grasp of IT and enough money in their pocket. More demanding, multiple exam accreditations can also be gained with little experience. While IT training courses used to be attended by people eager to learn skills necessary for their jobs, many now have an associated exam and there is usually a large representation in the classroom from those on the accreditation trail. It is not unusual for an instructor to pander to these IT academics, highlighting topics that he knows will be tested at the expense of other parts of the course or be badgered about the test throughout the course. Not much use for someone with no interest in accreditation.

With the continued introduction of new groups of letters to place after your name, accreditation obviously hasn’t been affected by such shortcomings but the context in which it is viewed has changed. Matt Stevenson of European IT recruitment specialists, Progressive Computer Recruitment Ltd. says of typical clients’ requirements, “Some prefer applicants to have a strong commercial background and others will specify that the candidate must have a CCNP or CCIE accreditation etc. The latter is often only because the client may wish to gain their next partner status e.g. Silver to Gold Partner Status.”

Many IT product companies run a partner program that requires, among other things, a partner to retain a specified amount of accredited employees. In some cases, the program is tiered; the more certifications held in-house, the better the partner status and the more financial benefits received. For example, Cisco has a three-tiered partner program. The highest, Gold, must employ four accredited sales experts, four Associate level technicians, four Professional level technicians and four CCIEs. Practices like these serve, in a small way, to maintain the popularity of certification. It is a convenient arrangement; the product company insists that partners certify employees for discounts so the partner has either to pay to certify employees to gain its discounts or hire already accredited candidates on premium salaries. Good news for everyone, product company gets guaranteed revenue from its partners (at $1250 per labtest, this is almost inconsequential to Cisco but the required annual lab spend from a partner isn’t), partners get product discounts and technicians will never be unemployed as long as they hold the correct certification.

Experience

Of course, it is rare for a company to hire solely on IT accreditation. It is always a good idea, if not common sense, to take as much note of experience as of the letters after the candidate’s name. Many IT professionals scorn the practice of accreditation, preferring instead to build on their experience in the industry. This view is sometimes shared by employers but not often.

As Stevenson points out, “On rare occasions, clients can indicate they could not care less what accreditations candidates have and that it is commercial experience that is what they require. However, it is quite rare for clients to be that negative. On the other hand, it is quite often that candidates can not understand why their commercial experience is not enough for an accreditation-driven type role.”

If a company is looking for their fourth CCIE to achieve Gold Partner status, all the experience in the world will mean nothing next to a career CCIE. This contrived market force is well understood in the industry and it is what makes CCIE and its equivalents so sought after. People want to achieve the highest certifications because it means security. So strong are the benefits that the backing to study for and sit the CCIE exam is now regularly offered as part of job packages. In fact, CCIE’s popularity caused Cisco, in October 2001, to reduce the waiting list by cutting the lab exam from two days to one. This was seen by many as a ‘dumbing down’ of the accreditation but Cisco cite relevance and less disruption as the main reasons for the change.

So the message is that accreditation is here to stay but beware of what it promises. It is now incumbent on employers to understand the plethora of certifications out there, including the ease with which each one can be acquired. Conversely, it must now also be considered good practice for IT professionals to at least look into the accreditations available in their particular field, and there almost certainly will be something. A few letters after your name won’t do any harm and may make the difference in an increasingly uncertain employment environment.