The player will show in this paragraph
What is credentialing for jobs or careers? Credentialing is usually a certification, not necessarily a degree, but a certificate that attests to the qualifications, competence, education, and practice of a skill evaluated by a competent third party. Certifications usually lend themselves to careers that have a specific set of rules, guidelines and objectives that must be mastered. Most certifications allow for a tier-type structuring where there is testing for a base level before moving to the next level and then another level, as in certifications in the Information Technology field. Certifications can stand alone or in conjunction with a Bachelor Degree in the area of expertise.
Visit the Certifications Community web site to see up-to-date information on certification exams, practice tests and study guides to help prepare you for most IT certification tests available.
Most of these certifications are known by an acronym for the complete name of the exam. Some have individual names, as well. Novell, CISCO and Microsoft are in the forefront of the certification program industry creating tests at multiple user levels that allow for growth within an industry which is beneficial to both employee and employer. Microsoft offers certification for individuals who are advanced in the Microsoft Office areas of word processing, spreadsheet and other software. It also certifies individuals with extensive knowledge in the areas of writing databases, working with operating systems, working with networks and other products for business solutions.
One certification commonly acquired at the high school level is the A+ certification from CompTIA. The A+ certification is CompTIA’s leading entry-level, vendor-neutral (means that it is not specific to any specific software) exam for computer-service technicians. This certification can be used to pursue various advanced certification of leading vendors such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco and Novell. There are two tests that you must pass to get this certification. The first is the A test which is the core test and then pass one of the elective tests which includes IT Technician, Remote Technician or Depot Technician.
CompTIA has upgraded this certification and it now offers specialization in areas such as desktop support, remote support, security and help desk support.
Within Career/Technical Education there are many fields that also have certification programs including manufacturing, healthcare and agricultural science. As you continue your career search, keep in mind certifications can help you advance your career choices.
