| Foreword | p. xix |
| Introduction | p. xxiii |
| Why Certify? | p. 1 |
| Getting Ahead By Getting Certified: 20 Quick FAQs | p. 3 |
| What Does "Certified" Mean? | p. 3 |
| What Certifications are There? | p. 4 |
| Who Benefits from Certification Programs? | p. 5 |
| Will Certification Help Me Earn More? | p. 6 |
| How Will Certification Affect My Marketability? | p. 7 |
| Can Certification Compensate for Inexperience? | p. 8 |
| Can Certification Help Me Move Into Something New? | p. 8 |
| Which Program Is Best For Me? | p. 9 |
| How Much Will it Cost? | p. 10 |
| Is Financial Assistance Available for Certification Training? | p. 11 |
| How Long Does Earning Certification Take? | p. 12 |
| Where Will I Have to Go for Certification Training? | p. 13 |
| Do I Need a College Degree? | p. 14 |
| How Do I Decide Between an MBA or Certification? | p. 14 |
| What if I Don't Remember How to Study? | p. 15 |
| What Resources are Available to Help Me with Certification? | p. 15 |
| What Resources Provide Current Certification News? | p. 16 |
| How Can I Promote Myself And My Certification? | p. 17 |
| What's the Future of Computer Certification? | p. 18 |
| Can This Book Help Me Advance my Career through Certification? | p. 19 |
| Evolution of Computer Certification | p. 21 |
| The First Certification | p. 22 |
| Novell Dives In | p. 23 |
| The 90s: Certification Takes Off | p. 25 |
| Recent Developments | p. 30 |
| Moving into Academe | p. 31 |
| Blending and Blurring the Boundaries | p. 33 |
| Remote Training | p. 36 |
| Looking Into The Crystal Ball | p. 36 |
| Opportunities and Benefits | p. 39 |
| More Options, Better Pay | p. 40 |
| Jobs, Jobs, Jobs | p. 40 |
| Training to Train | p. 42 |
| Adding to Your Bottom Line | p. 44 |
| Leading The Crowd | p. 45 |
| Career Shifting | p. 46 |
| Power Perks | p. 47 |
| Priority Technical Support | p. 48 |
| Technical Databases | p. 49 |
| Exclusive Forums | p. 50 |
| Training and Conference Discounts | p. 50 |
| Product Discounts and Beta Participation | p. 51 |
| Free Subscriptions | p. 51 |
| Use of Logos and Marketing Materials | p. 52 |
| Database Listing | p. 53 |
| Other Payoffs | p. 55 |
| Study Dividends | p. 55 |
| Peace of Mind | p. 55 |
| Code of Ethics | p. 57 |
| Food for Your Ego | p. 58 |
| Inside Perspectives | p. 59 |
| The Way In | p. 59 |
| Reports from the Field | p. 60 |
| Michael J. Corby, CCP, CISSP | p. 60 |
| Eric Charbonneau, MCSE, IBMPSE, and other Certifications | p. 62 |
| Sample Certification Plan | p. 66 |
| June 1997 | p. 66 |
| July 1997 | p. 66 |
| August 1997 | p. 66 |
| September 1997 | p. 66 |
| October 1997 | p. 67 |
| Wayne Lindimore, CNE, MCPS, IBM CLSE, 3COM 3Wizard | p. 69 |
| Putting the Pieces Together | p. 70 |
| How to Get (Happily) Certified | p. 73 |
| Dollars and Sense: Financial Answers Before You Begin | p. 75 |
| Total Expenditure | p. 76 |
| Creating A Worksheet | p. 77 |
| How to Cut Your Costs | p. 79 |
| Getting Subsidized | p. 79 |
| Questions to Ask the Budget Minders | p. 81 |
| Training on the Cheap | p. 85 |
| Taking Advantage of Tax Breaks | p. 91 |
| Do You Qualify? | p. 91 |
| What You Can Deduct | p. 92 |
| Claiming Your Deductions | p. 93 |
| Related IRS Forms Publications | p. 96 |
| Types of Certifications | p. 97 |
| Vendor-Specific Certifications | p. 98 |
| Multiplatform Computing | p. 99 |
| Qualifying for a Vendor-Sponsored Certification | p. 100 |
| Vendor-Neutral Certifications | p. 104 |
| Qualifying for a Vendor-Neutral Certification | p. 107 |
| Hybrid Certifications | p. 108 |
| Certification Mistakes You Don't Have to Make | p. 111 |
| Choosing the Wrong Certification | p. 112 |
| Choosing a Certification Because it's "Hot" | p. 112 |
| Choosing a Certification Because it's Easy to Get | p. 113 |
| Failing to Ascertain a Certification's Practical Applications | p. 115 |
| Unrealistic Expectations | p. 116 |
| Underestimating Cost | p. 117 |
| Mistakes While Working Toward Certification | p. 119 |
| Purchasing a Complete Certification Package Right Away | p. 119 |
| Assuming Your Employer Will Pay for Your Training | p. 120 |
| Assuming Your Employer Won't Pay for Your Training | p. 120 |
| Failing to Shop Around | p. 121 |
| Ignoring or Missing Time Constraints | p. 121 |
| Failing to Get Certified After Your Employer Agrees to Pay | p. 122 |
| Neglecting Your Job to Study for Certification | p. 123 |
| Assuming You Don't Need to Study | p. 124 |
| Assuming You Know the Best Way to Study | p. 124 |
| Failure to Set Deadlines for Yourself | p. 125 |
| Mistakes After Certification is Achieved | p. 125 |
| Forgetting About Continuing Requirements | p. 126 |
| Failing to Take Advantage of Perks and Privileges | p. 126 |
| Failing to Advertise Your New Status | p. 128 |
| Plan, Perform, and Follow Through | p. 129 |
| Which Certification is Best for You? | p. 131 |
| Identify Your Employment Goals | p. 132 |
| Assess Your Current Employment Situation | p. 137 |
| Determine Your Available Resources | p. 142 |
| Time | p. 142 |
| Money | p. 142 |
| Effort | p. 143 |
| Make a Preliminary List | p. 143 |
| Research the Certification's "Real-World" Potential | p. 145 |
| And the Winner Is | p. 146 |
| Learning Alternatives | p. 149 |
| Workbooks and Study Guides | p. 151 |
| Speed Learning | p. 153 |
| Computer-Based Training (CBT) | p. 154 |
| Online Classes | p. 156 |
| Ziff-Davis University | p. 157 |
| Microsoft Online Institute | p. 158 |
| DigitalThink | p. 159 |
| Authorized Training Centers | p. 160 |
| College Courses | p. 162 |
| Online Resources | p. 165 |
| Unofficial Training Programs | p. 167 |
| Training Videos | p. 169 |
| Your Personal Training and Certification Road Map | p. 171 |
| A Word on Tracks | p. 173 |
| Getting Credit for What You Know | p. 174 |
| Deciding How to Prepare | p. 176 |
| How Do You Learn? | p. 176 |
| How Certification Candidates Study | p. 180 |
| Finding Preparation Tools | p. 181 |
| How to Evaluate a Training Center | p. 184 |
| Following Your Plan | p. 185 |
| Study Secrets | p. 187 |
| You Might Have Heard That | p. 188 |
| When to Study | p. 190 |
| Where to Study | p. 192 |
| How to Study | p. 194 |
| How to Read a Textbook | p. 194 |
| How to Get the Most from a Class | p. 196 |
| Note Taking 101 | p. 198 |
| Shorthand Substitutions | p. 199 |
| How to Remember | p. 201 |
| Taking Tests | p. 209 |
| Before the Test | p. 210 |
| Adaptive Testing | p. 210 |
| The Day of the Test | p. 212 |
| A Half Dozen Ways to Beat Procrastination--Today | p. 214 |
| Making an Educated Guess | p. 214 |
| Study 15 Minutes a Day | p. 215 |
| Put Procrastination to Work for You | p. 215 |
| Quell Household Distractions | p. 215 |
| Respect What You're Doing | p. 216 |
| Get Regular | p. 216 |
| Entering The Zone | p. 217 |
| Putting it All Together | p. 217 |
| Utilize Your Certification to the Max | p. 219 |
| Advertising Your New Status | p. 221 |
| Looking Good in Print | p. 222 |
| Marketing Magic via the Internet | p. 223 |
| A Quick Guide to Getting Connected | p. 224 |
| Internet Connection Resources | p. 226 |
| Direct Email | p. 227 |
| Your Cyber Billboard | p. 228 |
| Web Site Design Tips | p. 230 |
| Networking and Lurking | p. 237 |
| Moving Up | p. 243 |
| Up or Out? | p. 244 |
| Laying the Groundwork | p. 244 |
| Understand Your Manager | p. 245 |
| Share the Good News | p. 245 |
| Be a (Visible) Problem Solver | p. 246 |
| Asking for a Raise | p. 248 |
| What are You Worth? | p. 249 |
| How Does Your Employer Pay? | p. 251 |
| Internet Sources of Salary Surveys | p. 251 |
| How Has Your Organization Been Performing Lately? | p. 252 |
| Preparing Your Case | p. 252 |
| Timing | p. 254 |
| Raise Day | p. 254 |
| Securing a Promotion | p. 255 |
| Promotion to What? | p. 255 |
| Honing in on Your Target | p. 256 |
| Get on the Schedule | p. 256 |
| Preparing for the Interview | p. 257 |
| The Interview | p. 258 |
| Follow Up | p. 258 |
| Increasing Consulting Rates | p. 259 |
| What to Do If Your Efforts Don't Work | p. 260 |
| Finding Career Advancement Advice on the Web | p. 261 |
| Moving On | p. 263 |
| Before You Start Your Search | p. 264 |
| A Resume Tune-Up | p. 265 |
| Books to Help | p. 268 |
| Keeping it Hush-Hush | p. 271 |
| How to Find Job Openings | p. 272 |
| Headhunters | p. 273 |
| Print Advertisements | p. 275 |
| Job Fairs | p. 277 |
| Online Job Hunting | p. 279 |
| Networking | p. 282 |
| Going Independent | p. 282 |
| Follow Up | p. 285 |
| Spare Those Bridges | p. 285 |
| Keeping Current | p. 287 |
| Where to Get Continuing Ed | p. 289 |
| Academic Courses | p. 291 |
| Independent Training Companies | p. 292 |
| Training Offered by Certification Sponsors | p. 293 |
| One-Day Conferences and Seminars | p. 294 |
| Company Training | p. 294 |
| Do-It-Yourself Options | p. 295 |
| Training Directories | p. 297 |
| Bonus Benefits | p. 298 |
| Record Keeping | p. 300 |
| Taking Advantage of Perks and Privileges | p. 303 |
| About Those Subscriptions | p. 305 |
| Taming the Paper Pileup | p. 306 |
| Electronic Issues | p. 306 |
| Becoming A Contributor | p. 309 |
| Getting the Most from Restricted Forums | p. 309 |
| How to Benefit from Priority Tech Support | p. 312 |
| Putting Priority to Work | p. 314 |
| Directory Assistance | p. 315 |
| Landing in the Spotlight | p. 317 |
| Image Enhancers | p. 318 |
| Using Your Certification to Save Money | p. 319 |
| Tech Ed | p. 319 |
| Deep Discounts | p. 320 |
| Beta Participation | p. 321 |
| Another Certification? | p. 323 |
| More Can Be Better | p. 324 |
| Drawbacks | p. 326 |
| Selecting Additional Certifications | p. 328 |
| The Bottom Line | p. 330 |
| Resources | p. 331 |
| Certification Programs | p. 333 |
| 3Com Corporation 3 Wizard Headquarters | p. 333 |
| Adobe Systems Incorporated | p. 334 |
| Ascolta Training Company LLC | p. 337 |
| Baan Company, The | p. 338 |
| Banyan Systems Incorporated | p. 341 |
| Bay Networks Incorporated | p. 344 |
| Borland International | p. 349 |
| Building Industry Consulting Service International (BICSI) | p. 352 |
| Centura Software | p. 354 |
| Chauncey Group, The (A subsidiary of Educational Testing Service [ETS]) | p. 355 |
| Check Point Software Technologies Ltd | p. 356 |
| Cisco Systems | p. 358 |
| CNX Consortium, The (sponsored by 8 companies) | p. 360 |
| Cognos Incorporated | p. 361 |
| Compaq Computer Corporation | p. 364 |
| Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) | p. 367 |
| Corel Corporation | p. 369 |
| Dialogic | p. 371 |
| Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) Accreditation and Certification Worldwide | p. 373 |
| Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) International | p. 374 |
| Folio Corporation | p. 376 |
| Hewlett-Packard | p. 377 |
| IBM | p. 378 |
| Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) | p. 408 |
| Informix | p. 409 |
| Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) | p. 411 |
| International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc. (ISC2) | p. 413 |
| International Programmers Guild (IPG) Society | p. 414 |
| Learning Tree International | p. 415 |
| Lotus Development Corporation--Education and Certification | p. 439 |
| McAfee Associates | p. 447 |
| Microsoft Corporation | p. 452 |
| Motorola Information Systems Group (ISG) | p. 457 |
| Net Guru Technologies | p. 458 |
| Network Professional Association (NPA) | p. 466 |
| Newbridge Networks Corporation | p. 467 |
| Novell Corporation | p. 470 |
| ObjectShare, Inc. (formerly ParcPlace-Digitalk, Inc.) | p. 480 |
| Open Software Foundation (OSF) | p. 481 |
| Oracle Corporation | p. 482 |
| PC DOCS Group | p. 483 |
| Project Management Institute (PMI) | p. 484 |
| Quality Assurance Institute (QAI) | p. 485 |
| Santa Cruz Operation, The (SCO) | p. 486 |
| SAP Partner Academy | p. 489 |
| Software Publishers Association (SPA) | p. 490 |
| Solomon Software | p. 491 |
| Sun Microsystems | p. 493 |
| Sybase | p. 496 |
| Symantec | p. 500 |
| USWeb | p. 502 |
| Xplor International, The Electronic Document Systems Association | p. 505 |
| Helpful Resources | p. 507 |
| Books and Magazines | p. 507 |
| General | p. 507 |
| A+ | p. 507 |
| IBM | p. 507 |
| Java | p. 508 |
| Lotus | p. 508 |
| Microsoft | p. 508 |
| Net Guru | p. 509 |
| Novell | p. 509 |
| PowerBuilder | p. 509 |
| Study | p. 509 |
| Web Sites | p. 510 |
| Training Tools | p. 515 |
| Index | p. 527 |
| Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved. |