Category Archives: Certification

Oct 16

Oracle Certifications Are Going To Expire

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Certification Expired

Today I read an interesting article regarding the soon to be expiration of Oracle Database Certifications.

Now, Oracle in itself doesn’t affect me, but you should always be aware of what’s happening in the industry.

I’m not sure how Oracle operates their certifications, and I don’t really have too much time to dive into them, however, Microsoft offers very specific certifications.

I am certified with test 70-515, which is a somewhat generic certification about Web Applications. However, it is framework specific.

I like that.

I like that a lot.

I like it because it ties me to a particular scope of accomplishment. Yes, it’s broad in the sense that it’s “web application”, but there are way more things that can go into building web applications.

And guess what?

They have certifications for those too!

A certification on Web Services (now commonly referred to as Windows Communications Foundation or WCF), Data Access (which is my next planned certification to be taken in December 2014), and even Windows Forms certifications.

And that’s just the development certs.

There are certifications on server administration, application administration and application usage as well.

So if your company is looking at maintaining an old system, it would be nice to find a professional who knew .NET in it’s 1.0 or 1.1 stages. Or even classic asp / vbscript.

I look forward to attaining my future Microsoft certifications; I hope that they don’t “expire”, but as I’m a lifetime learner, it won’t matter much to me.

Which one would be next?

What are your thoughts on certifications expiring?

Leave a comment below, or shoot me a message through my contact form.

Until next time,
RJCertification Expired

Sep 22

My S.M.A.R.T. 70-516 Certification Goal

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So I’ve been reading a lot and listening to a ton of success and business podcasts, and have decided I would like to set a S.M.A.R.T. goal. For those of you who don’t know, it’s an amazing thing to use when making goals.

Below is my breakdown of my goal.

Specific – The 70-516 exam
Measurable – I will take the test
Achievable – This should be achievable given the 11 or so week time frame
Relevant – This is in line with my current career path (and ultimate MCPD goal)
Time-Bound – I will take the test on Saturday December 13, 2014

Why 11 weeks? Well, I currently have a few things that are a bit more pressing:

  • Fixing up and then selling my house in Cheyenne (nearly there)
  • Expecting a new addition to our family (End of November)
  • Have a few quick (hopefully) side projects I would like to complete

I ordered the self-paced study guides from Amazon (at $4-$5 each, how could you go wrong?), as well as ordered a practice exam for my phone.

So my spare time will be taking short practice exams, or studying/implementing the study guide. Either way, my time will no longer consist of playing solitaire or browsing the community shopping pages on Facebook.

Just think: Using your spare minutes during the day and a few hours a week, you too could have yourself a certification in your desired field. Will you commit to yourself to bettering your career? Let me know in the comments below, or shoot me an email via my contact page. Maybe we can hold each other accountable for our next tests.

Wish me luck,
RJ