While Microsoft's MCP and MCSE may be the most widely held certifications, Cisco's CCIE is by far the most sought after. After all, a CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) rakes in an average of almost $70,000 a year, a CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) cashes in at almost $80,000, and CCIEs make up to $115,000. In contrast, MCSEs make only about $58,000 per year on average, according to recent salary surveys by Web publications TCPmag.com and MCPmag.com (see "Average Salary by Certification," below).

These salaries reflect the difficulty in attaining Cisco certifications compared with Microsoft certifications; Cisco's exams more accurately predict job performance. There's a supply-and-demand factor, too, as only about 200,000 people hold any Cisco certification, according to Michael Metz, director of marketing for Cisco's Internet Learning Solutions Group. That's far fewer than the number of Microsoft-certified workers in the market.

Average Salary by Certification Click here to enlarge

Cisco's certification program is hierarchically structured and has two different tracks. The base of the hierarchy is the associate level, the next level is the professional, and the zenith is the expert. The two tracks are network and design. The network track focuses on installing, configuring and operating networks, and leads to jobs such as network engineer or systems integrator; design aims at presales functions, such as network requirements, prototypes and network designs, to meet the requirements.

The hierarchy starts with the CCNA and CCDA (Cisco Certified Design Associate). Each track requires you to pass one exam and remains valid for up to three years. This program aims at entry-level IT workers with six to 12 months of experience working with low-end Cisco routers and switches, but it's also useful for anyone trying to move into the network-engineering field from another computer-related position.

The next steps are the CCNP and CCDP (Cisco Certified Design Professional), which have overlapping requirements. The same three core exams (routing, multilayer switching and remote access networks) are required for both, but the fourth exam distinguishes the two tracks. The CCNP certification includes an internetwork troubleshooting exam, whereas the CCDP has an internetwork design exam. Because of the overlap, many people commonly take the extra test and become certified for both.

At the pinnacle, the CCIE is considered the most tantalizing and rewarding certification available. It requires passing a traditional written exam and a two-day hands-on lab. It's so challenging, it has been known to leave grown men and women crying (though no self-respecting CCIE candidate would go on the record to say so).

No single book can prepare you for this exam; the lab portion demands a minimum of three to five years of experience for you to have a fighting chance. With only about 5,500 CCIEs worldwide and the salary supremacy over other certified professionals, this is clearly the crème de la crème of certifications.

Sunset for Novell Certs?

Although Microsoft and Cisco are the heavy hitters in today's certification world, this industry would not have succeeded if not for Novell, which offered the industry's first big certification program. Novell has three major certifications: CNA (Certified Novell Administrator), CNE (Certified Novell Engineer) and Master CNE. The CNA and CNE are roughly equivalent to Microsoft's MCP and MCSE, except that Novell's programs test your knowledge working in a NetWare environment with NDS. The Master CNE is aimed at professionals who work in multivendor environments that need to integrate NetWare with the other vendors' technologies. Despite its initial success, Novell's certification program has lost popularity and usefulness as Novell shops dwindle in number.

Unix and Linux Options

Unix and Linux gurus can take advantage of several certification programs as well. Sun Microsystems, for example, offers two courses. The first, a certification program for network administration, requires passing one exam. The second, for systems administrators, has two exams, one on interaction with the operating system and another on advanced networking features such as NIS (Network Information Services), NFS (Network File System) and the Solaris Network Environment. Gauging the success of Sun's program is difficult, since the company doesn't release any statistics about the exams. However, a recent search of major job sites indicated that managers rely less on certification when hiring Unix administrators compared with when they're looking for network administrators and engineers who work with Microsoft and Cisco products.

In conjunction with its increased deployment, however, Linux certification programs have grown in popularity. Most vendors offer exams pertaining to their particular flavor of Linux, but the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) is the most popular. This certification requires passing a three-part, six-hour exam that contains hands-on installation and troubleshooting components. There are a number of vendor-neutral Linux exams, but they lack a hands-on component -- an essential part of any useful certification.

Oracle also has an extensive program that includes certifications for DBAs and DBOs (database operators). The DBO is more entry level and is considered a starting point toward becoming a DBA. Its four exams cover topics such as installation, creating and configuring databases, and populating them with data. The more advanced DBA certification has five exams that test your skills in database programming, backup and recovery, performance tuning and network administration.

FYI Non-IT companies expect their IT workers to remain on staff an average of six months longer than their IT-company counterparts. Average acceptable tenure for the former is 36 months versus 30 months for the latter. -- ITAA

Vendor-Neutral Programs

As if these programs weren't enough, a handful of vendor-neutral programs, led by the 10,000-member trade association CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association), focus on the technology instead of a particular product.

CompTIA's most successful certification, A+, is aimed at entry-level PC technicians and focuses on hardware and software troubleshooting. The Network+ certification tests general networking skills that are applicable to every vendor (Ethernet, topologies and so on) and industrywide networking standards (TCP/IP, OSI Model). Server+ is CompTIA's newest certification, and it aims at advanced PC hardware issues pertaining to servers, such as RAID configuration, SCSI, SANs and multiprocessing. Finally, CompTIA's Linux+ exam tests general Linux knowledge of networking, shell and kernel interaction, and troubleshooting, without specifying a particular flavor of Linux.

Vendor-neutral certifications hold few benefits for technical workers, however, since they don't indicate skills using any particular products. Organizations are more likely to care about certifications that pertain to products they use.

"Vendor-neutral is more valuable when it focuses on managing cross-platform technologies, but if it's just about how to do something and it's not tied to a product, then it's a waste," says Cushing Anderson, an analyst with Learning Services Research at IDC. This may explain why, outside of its A+ exam, CompTIA's certification program has not received much industry acclaim and doesn't hold the same value as vendor certifications.

Preparation Strategies

There are numerous methods to prepare for certification exams, but instructor-led classes are the most popular and generate the most revenue, according to Kevin Brice, vice president/general manager of MeasureUp, which helps people prepare for exams by building online and offline practice tests. The reason is simple, he says: People tend to feel comfortable learning in this type of environment since it's what they are used to from their school days. Another benefit to an instructor-led class is that it spreads the curriculum over a period of time, giving newcomers a chance to absorb the material. The presence of an instructor also helps when problems or questions arise. Career changers and industry newcomers benefit most from classroom instruction, according to Brice.

Another method becoming more common is "boot camp," an intensive one- to two-week training course taught by vendor-certified trainers. Although there's no statistic on how many boot camps are offered, the programs are readily available. IT trade magazines, their Web sites, IT certification Web sites and almost every other information source for technology are littered with advertisements for classes and boot camps. You can also use a search engine and keywords such as technology, certification (or the name of the certification you are pursuing), boot camps and classes to get a list of Web sites for organizations that offer these services. The fast-paced level of work and compressed time frame make boot camps more suitable for experienced workers with solid technical skills.

One disadvantage of both boot camps and instructor-led classes is that the cost is usually around $2,000 to $3,000 for the lower-level certifications and more for higher-level certifications. However, they do provide students with coveted hands-on experience in lab environments, in conjunction with lectures and study guides. A number of organizations offer such classes at comparable prices and the same skill levels, so it's usually a matter of finding a convenient location or time frame rather than going out of your way to use a particular company when choosing classes.

Web-based learning is supposed to be the next generation of education, with analysts predicting it will eventually replace classroom learning, but it still has to mature before it replaces the more traditional methods. E-learning is supposed to present all the benefits of instructor training at lower prices, and offers students the flexibility to move at their own pace and study whenever they want to, though the lack of face time with teachers and other students can be a deterrent.

FYI Managers at IT companies ranked vendor certification 3.4 on a five-point scale measuring importance in hiring, and managers at non-IT companies ranked vendor certification 3.1; industry certifications scored 3.7 and 3.4, respectively. -- ITAA

By far the most inexpensive preparation method used is self-study. Many people will just purchase study guides, usually running $75 to $125 depending on the certification, and then pay for the exam, which usually costs $100 (more for some higher-level and hands-on certifications). Numerous certification Web sites offer everything from industry news to practice questions and exams. The big disadvantage of self-study is its lack of a hands-on element. To supplement self-study, consider setting up a small home lab with inexpensive equipment. Note that this option isn't feasible for all certifications. Cisco routers and switches in a home test lab? You might as well spring for boot camp. However, solutions are also available in the form of simulators at a fraction of the cost of classes or real equipment.

Of course, each person learns differently, and the ideal preparation method should be selected on a case-by-case basis. All the strategies discussed here have proven successful for some people and unsuccessful for others, so it's up to the individual to do a cost-benefit analysis to determine the most cost-effective study method. Self-study is the most practical method, but you have to be motivated and disciplined, and be able to learn technical skills without help. If you have a job and can have your company pay for the training and exams, consider the best boot camp money can buy.

Certification is a good way to assess a worker's skills with a particular technology -- especially if that certification has a hands-on element, such as the CCIE and RHCE. But people have to be educated on what certifications they should be seeking to move their career where they want, and for which certifications they should be looking when hiring for particular positions. Adeptness in this assessment will determine how valuable a tool certification will be for both managers and employees in the IT job market.

Michael J. Senno is a research associate at the Center for Emerging Network Technologies at Syracuse University. He provides technical support, network administration and technical research, and holds CCNA and MCP certifications. Send your comments on this article to him at mjsenno@syr.edu.