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As Maria's and Spencer's backgrounds suggest,
there is considerable interest in the topic of education and
training
suggests that many people attend community
colleges not to earn degrees but to take computer-related courses
in hopes of getting a
job or as a way to retrain and update their
skills. And according to the National Science Foundation, two-thirds
of workers who had
a bachelor's degree and worked in a computer-related
occupation in 1999 had majored in subjects other than computer
and
information sciences.
Clearly, earning a postsecondary degree
in a computer-related field is not the only way to prepare for
a job in information
technology. But learning the technical skills
necessary to work in these occupations remains paramount. Specialized
certification
and degree programs-associate, bachelor's,
and graduate-level ones-are the primary ways workers train for
information
technology occupations.
Technical or professional certification
demonstrates that an individual has achieved a level of competency
in a
required for information technology workers.
This interest stems from the U.S. economy's demand for such
workers and a
presumption that the current educational
system is not producing enough of them for the workforce. Rita
Caldwell, director of the
National Science Foundation, notes that
there are many pathways for becoming an information technology
worker. Training ranges
from a few months for certification to 6
years for a doctoral degree.
BLS data show that in 2001, most information
technology workers- almost 70 percent-had a bachelor's or higher
degree,
although the number who had some college
but no degree is rapidly increasing and accounted for almost
16 percent of these
workers. And industry organizations, such
as the Institute for the Certification of Computing Profes-
sionals, offer voluntary
certification. The Institute's certification
is available to those who have a college degree, at least 2
years of experience, and have
passed a series of examinations.
Vendor certification evolved from the difficulty
employers had finding skilled workers to fill the rising number
of
high-tech jobs created by the Internet boom
in the mid- to late 1990's. Because certification is faster,
cheaper, and more focused
than traditional educational tracks, vendor
certification soon emerged as a solution to the problem of worker
shortages.
As of May, Microsoft Corporation had issued
more than 1.2 million certifications to individuals classified
as Microsoft
Certified Professionals. One example of
the rapid growth in vendor certification is the increase in
particular field. There are
various certifications available for information
technology workers. Spencer, for example, earned certification
that qualified him
for a computer program- ming job. Product
vendors and industry organizations offer different types of
certification, providing a
training niche that is expected to continue.
Growth of certification.
According to the Information Technology Association of
America's study on the information technology
workforce, the significance of certification
has grown in each of its job categories in the last year. Kenneth
Bartlett, project director
for the Na- tional Research Center for Career
and Technical Education, says that as of August, there were
almost 100 vendors and
organizations offering more than 670 separate
certifications in informa- tion technology.
And these certifications are growing more
popular. Data from the U.S. Department of Education's National
Center for
Education Statistics show that the number
of awards of less than 1 year granted in computer and informa-
tion sciences grew
almost 400 percent between 1990 and 2000.
When international trends are considered,
the impact of certification is even more dramatic. In his 2000
report,
"The Certification System in Informa- tion
Technology," author Clifford Adelman describes a "parallel universe"
outside
conventional educational routes for potential
information technology workers to develop skills. The report
notes that, by early 2000,
about 1.6 million people worldwide had earned
roughly 2.4 million information technol- ogy certifications.
Vendor and organization certification.
Product vendors and software firms- including
Microsoft, Cisco, and Oracle-offer
certification and may require individuals
who work with their
the number of Microsoft Certified Systems
Engineer awards over the last few years: 35,000 in fall 1997;
280,000 by June 2000;
and almost 463,000 by July 2002.
Future of certification.
Certification has become an increasingly important standard
in the information technology industry in the
last decade. However, it also has become
more controversial. Although it enables workers to demon- strate
a specific set of skills,
some employers say that certification is
not a viable substitute for practical experi- ence. Others prefer
that workers have formal
education and practical experi- ence, predicting
that certifications will diminish in importance. But as the
following example
illustrates, certifica- tion should continue
to play a role in training information technology workers.
The growing importance of network security
in information technology has led to an increased demand for
computer security
professionals. Someone who wants to work
in information security can get one of a variety of certifications
instead of a 2- or 4-
year degree. Employers interested in securing
their organizations' computer networks seek individuals with
exper- tise in
information security-which, presumably,
a specialized certification demonstrates.
In an era in which new technology may become
obsolete in a few years, acquiring skills quickly is important
to both
employers and workers.
Many employers of information technol- ogy
workers require applicants to have a degree, which they perceive
as proof of
a worker's ability to think logically. And
there are plenty of options for students interested in earning
a degree in information
technology. According to the National Center
for Education Statistics, computer and information sciences
include computer
program- ming, data processing, information
science and systems, computer systems analysis, and computer
science.
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