By Joe Paone Getting certified might put you on the fast track to success - or it might not. To many in the networking field, those letters spell greater job aptitude and a bigger salary. But certification isn't necessarily for everyone, and it doesn't always provide a fast track to success.
Certification is a booming business.
The main message is that real-world experience is more important than certification, but certification might make you stand out from the crowd, provided everyone else isn't certified too. Many certified engineers don't put much stock in the education they receive and often don't end up using or remembering much of what they learned. Still, certification is a necessity in many job situations. That's a reasonable reaction. It's better to get certified after you get the job.