Top IT Certifications in Demand Today

By Linda Leung

June 2009

When the economy was good and IT professionals had the pick of jobs, some organizations were willing to overlook a candidate's lack of technical certifications if they could demonstrate experience in their particular business sectors. But as organizations cut jobs in a tight economy, businesses that are hiring have the pick of candidates, and they're demanding certifications as well as experience, says Daniel Guelzo, director of field operations at nationwide IT staffing company Technisource. He says he is seeing this being played out in the Midwest as IT professionals, losing their jobs in the east and west coasts, are moving back to the Midwest, and employers there are demanding certifications plus industry sector experience.

Guetzo polled 15 recruitment managers at Technisource, and they cited project management, IT framework, and security certifications, as well as certifications from Cisco and Microsoft, as designations that are most in demand.

Robert Half Technology in April released the results of a survey of CIOs and their investment goals in the next 12 months. Topping the list of investments include information security, cited by 43% of respondents, virtualization (28%), data center efficiency (27%), and VoIP (26%). Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology says organizations are demanding individuals with specific certifications as they invest in these technology areas.

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP): Both Guetzo and Willmer cited (ISC)2's Certified Information System Security Professional certification as sought after by employers. Candidates for this 15-year-old certification are required to have five years of experience in information security and pass an exam. Candidates must also be endorsed by another (ISC)2 certification holder, and may undergo an audit. CISSPs maintain their credentials by accruing professional education credits.

Willmer says a candidate's security skills could be a deciding factor for employers, even if the skill isn't in the job description. Midsize organizations are more likely to hire professionals who have multiple skills because they don't have the budget to hire separate security specialists. Willmer believes network admins are ideal candidates to attain security certifications because their work touches on security.

Cisco and Microsoft certifications: Cisco and Microsoft are perennial favorites of hiring managers. In particular, Microsoft's Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Cisco's Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), and Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) were cited by both Guetzo and Willmer as being most in demand. U.K. recruiters and IT pros in a recent survey by The IT Job Board, cited Microsoft certifications (MCSE, Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator and Microsoft Certified Trainer) as the most valued IT certifications, as mentioned by 43% of respondents, followed by Cisco CCNA and Cisco Certified Network Professional (29%).

MCSE certification is aimed at pros with one to two years of experience in designing, installing, configuring, and troubleshooting network systems. MCSEs can also take exams to demonstrate specializations in messaging and security for Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. While MCSE certification still remains popular, it is expected that the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) will gain more prominence in the coming months as Windows Server 2008 continues to gain market acceptance.

CCNA is Cisco's associate-level certification and validates an individual's ability to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot medium-sized route and switched networks. CCNA is available for routing and switching, security, voice, and wireless specializations.

CCIE is Cisco's highest level of certification and is known as the hardest certification to achieve in the IT industry. Candidates are required to pass a written exam and an 8-hour hands-on lab exam. CCIEs command a median salary of $100,723 for a senior network engineer, and $114,650 for an IT architect, according to a recent search on PayScale.

Project Management Professional (PMP): Technisource's Guetzo says employers want the Project Management Institute's Project Management Professional certification in addition to other credentials, such as experience in the employer's market and/or other specific certifications. PMP certification is aimed at professionals who lead and direct cross-functional teams. Candidates are required to have between three and five years --depending on educational background -- professional project management experience and at least between 4,500 and 7,500 hours spent leading and directing project tasks. In addition, candidates must verify at least 35 contact hours of education, which could be taken from PMI education providers or courses offered by employers or distance-learning companies. The PMP exam comprises of 200 competency-based multiple choice questions. To maintain PMP status, professionals need to attain 60 professional development units every three years. See PMI's PMP Credential Handbook for more information about the PMP.

ITIL®: Already a certification that's in demand in Europe and Canada, the Information Technology Infrastructure Library was developed by the U.K.'s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and is used by Visa Europe, Microsoft, and Cable and Wireless. It is a set of rules for how to deliver IT services more efficiently by improving management processes across IT departments that support networks, applications, databases, and system. ITIL is particularly useful during tight economic times because it enables organizations to model the resources and costs required to deliver IT, giving great visibility and transparency of IT services, according to the ITIL white paper, "ITIL in a Recession."

There are four levels of certification in the current ITIL V3 Scheme: Foundation, Intermediate, Expert and Master. Foundation focuses on knowledge and comprehension of the key ITIL concepts and terminology. Intermediate has two streams -- Lifecycle and Capability -- and both assess an individual's ability to analyze and apply the concepts of ITIL. Candidates achieve the Expert level by completing a number of intermediate units in addition to the Foundation Level and Lifecycle course. The Master level, which is still in development, assesses an individual's ability to apply and analyze the ITIL concepts in new areas. More information about ITIL V3 Qualification Scheme is here.

Virtualization: Virtualization has been on vendors' lips even before the economy plummeted, but the down economy and the movement to green computing are putting a spotlight on virtualization as a way for organizations to consolidate servers and to gain efficiencies. Nearly four in 10 (39%) of the CIOs at large and midsize organizations responding to Robert Half Technology's survey said they would be investing in virtualization. While virtualization enables companies to cut costs, organizations are willing to pay for IT pros with virtualization skills. According to PayScale, the highest median salary for pros with virtualization skills as reported in May was $100,190 for an IT architect.

The leading contenders in the virtualization space are VMware, Citrix, and Microsoft, and all three provide certifications on their products. Robert Half Technology's Willmer would not be drawn as to which certification will win out, but says more employers are demanding VMware's VCP certification at this time. "If you're a consultant, you will want to get experience on VMware and the others," he said.

VMware's VMware Certified Professional (VCP) certification is the granddaddy of the virtualization certifications. It's a broad-based certification for VMware and is currently based on VMware Infrastructure 3 (VI3). VMware in 2008 launched VMware Certified Design Expert, an advanced designation aimed at VMware design architects. The company is currently preparing to launch a new VCP certification based on vSphere 4, described by VMware as a cloud operating system. The beta exam for VCP4 was released on June 29 and the exam is scheduled for public release on Aug. 1. To become VCP3 certified, professionals must take a VMware course, gain hands-on experience with VMware, and pass the VCP3 exam. VMware says candidates for the VCP4 exam must be VCP3-certified and be beta product users.

In May, Citrix added two virtualization-specific certifications to its portfolio: Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer (CCEE) for Virtualization and Citrix Certified Integration Architect (CCIA) for Virtualization. Citrix says engineers who are new to Citrix certification are required to pass a total of five exams: three Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA) entry-level exams focused on application, desktop, and server virtualization; one advanced application virtualization exam; and one final exam covering integration of end-to-end virtualization systems. Citrix says candidates for the CCIA for Virtualization must have real-world experience of designing Citrix virtualization environments, hold the CCEE for Virtualization certification, and pass another final exam. The CCEE for Virtualization exam is scheduled for release at the end of September, and the CCIA for Virtualization exam is slated for the fourth quarter of 2009.

Last year, Microsoft introduced an exam focused on virtualization for its Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) program. Exam 70-652 TS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring, is based on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and is aimed at pros with more than 18 months of experience working as system administrators of Windows Server 2003 and/or Windows 2008 Server with hands-on experience with Microsoft virtualization.

Help Desk Institute certification: Desktop support consistently appears as one of the top three IT skills in demand by CIOs polled by Robert Half Technology in its quarterly surveys. The skill was the second-most sought-after skill as cited by 69% of respondents surveyed in the third quarter of 2009 (the skill most in demand was network administration), and was the most-sought-after skill (cited by 67% of respondents) in the Q209 survey. It was the second most sought-after skill (69%) in the Q109 survey. Robert Half Technology's Willmer singled out Help Desk Institute's Desktop Support Technician certification, as growing in demand by employers. He said as the economy turns around and companies start hiring again, businesses will need desktop support personnel to support new workers.