In Demand IT Vendor Credentials

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"Early data from our benchmarking study on the value of IT Certifications show that credentials from Cisco, Microsoft and PMI lead the rankings of in-demand vendor credentials," - Denny Schall, CLO Mile High Research.

We are 30 days into a study of more than 40 IT credentials from 10 IT vendor and industry groups. One part of our study involves a mash-up of these credentials on 3 different internet job boards. We used the credential as a required key word (Match Key Word) and looked for new jobs posted over the last 30 days on Dice, Monster and Career Builder. We are currently tracking over 5,000 new job postings that specify one or more certifications as minimum or preferred credentials for the job.

Here are the top credentials with 30 days of job postings. Data shown here is based on information from Dice's internet job board.





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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 to date involves IT professionals, IT vendors, IT service providers, recruiters, hiring managers and leadership responsible for the P&L of IT learning services business. We look for this benchmarking study to provide strategic insights and actionable intelligence to certification vendors to better positioned their products especially with recruiters and hiring managers. Ultimately we seek to understand the best practices of certification vendors who ensure their certifications are relevant, respected and highly valued by employers and IT professionals.

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.