Join Microsoft for a free live, interactive webcast on the growing need and opportunities for cloud-trained IT professionals—March 12, 2013 starting at 8:30am PST
Where do you want your career to go? It's a question that many of us ask ourselves as we chart our career path, whether we're just starting out or years on the job. One response to that question: Go where the jobs are.
A new study by market intelligence firm IDC reveals global businesses are adopting cloud computing at an escalating rate, with fewer “cloud ready” IT professionals available to administer cloud computing services. One in four IT positions worldwide is currently unfilled and 28% of those are cloud computing related--that's more than 1.7 million open positions. In 2015, an estimated 7 million job computing jobs will be vacant.
Why vacant? Hiring managers can't find "cloud-skilled" IT candidates, citing a lack of training, certification and experience as the top reasons cloud computing positions are not filled. To bridge this IT cloud skills gap, employers need professionals—just like you—with the right set of skills that will help business move forward.
It feels like an opportunity, doesn't it?
Take the first steps to transform your career: Join us for Certified Career Day--March 12, 2013
Certified Career Day is an interactive, LIVE panel discussion with IT industry experts who will be your Cloud career counselors for the day, providing you with guidance to help advance your career to the Cloud. We've scheduled a full day of events featuring leading experts in the IT and cloud computing industry (all times are Pacific Standard Time):
Check out the full agenda at certifiedcareerday.com --space is limited, so register today!
Interested in a career in data platform administration or business intelligence, but not sure of your next steps? Check out our visual guide to SQL Server training and certification, the second in our series of infographics designed to help plan your career path.
Like the visual guide to Windows Server, the image below links to a full-size image with clickable links that point you to additional resources. We encourage you to save or bookmark the guide to help you chart each milestone along the way, and feel free to share the visual on your blog or favorite social network.
Click the image below to get started!
With the announcement of new Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) credentials, many developers are working on getting current or upgrading their certifications. We admire your enthusiasm around developer certifications and want to help you succeed.
One of the most important questions from you is about the retirement dates for Visual Studio 2010 exams. We have heard you and re-evaluated the schedule. The following Visual Studio 2010 exams that were previously slated to retire on July 31, 2013 will now remain available for all candidates until further notice. No new retirement date has been set. We will announce it when there is an update so you have plenty of time to complete your current VS2010 certification path.
We are in the process of updating these exam detail pages on our website, but wanted to post this clarification here now so you can confidently schedule and prepare for your next VS2010 exam.
Ready to move forward to Visual Studio 2012 certifications? See the MCSD page on our website for more information.
Questions? Please let us know in a comment below. Thanks!
TechEd, Microsoft's premier event for IT professionals and enterprise developers, will take place in New Orleans and Madrid in June 2013. Registration is set to open on February 12. Registration is now open for both events! See links below. See the event website for updates. http://www.msteched.com/
The Microsoft Learning team looks forward to seeing our Microsoft Certified Professionals (#MCP) and Trainers (#MCT) at both events. If you're going, let us know on Twitter @MSLearning.
TechEd North America
TechEd Europe
Last month I talked about the use of brain dumps and why they are a bad idea—and got a lot of great responses. I’m glad to see the enthusiasm for that topic, even from those who disagreed with me about the nature of brain dumps as legitimate study materials. I will acknowledge what some of you pointed out: that addressing this subject on a Born to Learn blog is like preaching to the choir. Still, if anyone reading had any doubts or confusion about brain dumps, and I helped clarify, I achieved my aim.
To that point, why do people choose to use the materials (legitimate or otherwise) that they do? There are many reasons, of course, and getting to the heart of those reasons is one facet of managing an anti-piracy program. To combat cheating I need to understand the motivations behind cheating.
Understanding our test-takers is one step. Last year, I collaborated on a white paper with the IT Certifications Council (ITCC) on “Securing Certifications” (full paper here.) Below is an excerpt on the types of test-takers we identified (referred to as “candidates,” because they are candidates for a certification).
Before issues surrounding test security can be resolved, it is important to understand how the ITCC categorizes candidates and others who take tests. The ITCC has identified three main groups of test takers:
This does not fully address all the reasons for test-taking behavior, both good and bad, of course—this is just one element. My goal is to make sure the first category remains the largest group, that the second group is transformed into the first, and that the third group—the cheaters—are removed. I want candidates to feel good about the certifications they work hard to earn; and making sure they are not compromised by a select few is one way to make sure that happens.
Got a tip for me? Let me know at [email protected].
Kerri Davis