In Demand IT Credentials

This is the 2nd week of our study of more than 40 IT Certifications from 10 different IT vendors mashed-up to three internet job boards. We used the credential as a required key word (Match Key Word) and looked for new jobs posted over the last 14 days on Dice, Monster and Career Builder. Summary results are shown below:

Note: See Updated Post for latest information.

Click on chart for larger image

Certification credentials from Microsoft, Cisco, (ISC)2, CompTIA , Project Management Institute (PMI) and ISACA, make the top 10 list of IT Certifications In-Demand for new jobs posted over the last 14 days. The job descriptions specified one or more certifications as minimum or preferred credentials for the job posting.

"These IT Vendors and Industry Associations have obviously make a connection between their certifications and employers – that connection is value,"- Denny Schall - CLO, Mile High Research

Note: Although PMP is not specifically an IT Certification, it often is a companion requirement for many IT jobs. That's why our top 10 list 11 Credentials.

Last week many readers asked for more information on other credentials that are part of our study. Here are the early (preliminary) top 20 with 14 days of data. A full list of credentials and vendors will be available at the end of our study.

Rank Credential Company
0 PMP PMI
1 MCSE Microsoft
2 CISSP (ISC)²®
3 CCNA Cisco
4 CCNP Cisco
5 CCIE Cisco
6 A+ CompTIA
7 CISM ISACA
8 CISA ISACA
9 MCSA Microsoft
10 Security+ CompTIA
11 CCVP Cisco
12 MCITP Microsoft
13 MCTS Microsoft
14 CCSP Cisco
15 MCSD Microsoft
16 CCDP Cisco
17 VCP Vmware
18 MCDBA Microsoft
19 RHCE Redhat
20 MCAD Microsoft

As mentioned in my last post, Mile High Research will continue to monitor the numbers throughout 2010 as part of a funded research project on the value of IT Certification.

The value of an IT certification has been debated over the years with several conclusions that vary from nil to indispensable. Most seem to view the value of certification through their own eyes. Our research todate involves IT professionals, IT vendors, IT service providers, IT staff hiring managers and leadership responsible for the P&L of IT learning services business.