Remember back in the day (the late 90s) when the technical certification craze was going on? At one point I had an MSCE, MCDBA, MCT, A+, CCNA, Compaq ACE, and a few others that I can’t even remember. Many of those certs are still around, I just don’t think as much attention is paid to them as was in the past.
A set of certifications that I will pay attention to, however, are the ones coming out of the newly launched BlackBerry Certification Program that was just announced today.
Research In Motion today announced a new BlackBerry® Certification Program that will extend a reliable, comprehensive certification testing service in support of the BlackBerry® wireless platform. The new BlackBerry Certification Program is intended to provide an empirical means of measuring and validating the real world skills and knowledge used in planning, administering and supporting BlackBerry product deployments.
We’ve listed the BlackBerry certifications that you will be able to get this year and next year after the jump…
Certifications planned for availability in 2008 include:
- BlackBerry® Certified System Administrator – for technical professionals who install, configure and manage the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution – available May 13
- BlackBerry® Certified Server Support Specialist – for technical specialists supporting BlackBerry Enterprise Server and its associated components – available Fall 2008
- BlackBerry® Certified Support Specialist – for specialists who support BlackBerry smartphone users in a BlackBerry® Internet Service or BlackBerry Enterprise Server environment – available Fall 2008
- BlackBerry® Certified Solution Designer – for technical professionals who provide pre- and post-sales technical consulting services to organizations that have deployed the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution – available Fall 2008
Additional certifications for individuals planned to be available in 2009 include BlackBerry® Certified Enterprise Application Developer, BlackBerry® Certified Trainer, BlackBerry® Sales Expert and BlackBerry® Expert User. Organizational certifications planned for 2009 include BlackBerry® Certified Reseller and BlackBerry® Certified Training Center.
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Just another great marketing ploy like MS did with the whole MSE, MCDBA, MSCSD, etc. Some of my best engineers are not certified because their too busy to sit there and take the tests. One of the big issues with certs though is that back in the day they were required in order to get discounting from some of the box companies out there like Compaq and their ASE cert. A non-ASE certified techie that touched the box and busted it would void the deal (that’s if a Compaq ever found out, and usually just applied to servers). Then Dell changed all that, but then came out with their own certification program. Go figure.
Certs are over rated in my opinion. It’s nice to have them if you work for the government, have the time to take the tests for them, etc. As for BB coming out with the Certs, I’m sure it will be hot the first year or two, but quickly fade just like the others.
Anyone ever walk around wearing their CNE pins when attending tech shows? LOL… 🙂
The new BlackBerry Certification Program is intended to provide an empirical means of measuring and validating the real world skills and knowledge used in planning, administering and supporting BlackBerry product deployments. The program, which is designed for IT professionals and consultants as well as wireless carriers and other BlackBerry partners, will be available in 135 countries.
The BlackBerry Certified System Administrator,Certified Server Support Specialist,Certified Support Specialist and Certified Solution Designer certifications would be very helpful to professionals who wish to enter the telecom industry. What remains to be found out is where these certifications would be accepted, but 135 countries would cover almost every major city.
I hope Ballsillie uses the money for a good cause i.e. move Nashville to Hamilton.