CompTIA Strata certification helps bridge the skills gap IT employers are needing.

The paradox appears on a regular basis in the business news headlines.




Unemployment in the United States jumped to double digits in October for the first time in more than a quarter century, reaching 10.2 percent.



Yet hiring managers continue to find it difficult to fill positions requiring certain high-tech skills.

According to the latest Yoh Index of Technology Wages, a poll of more than 9,000 hiring managers in more than 15 metropolitan areas across the U.S., companies continue to struggle to find workers with Java and .Net/C+ development skills, as well as IT security engineers, network engineers, software engineers, quality assurance professionals and project managers.



And the gap between tech job openings and qualified people to fill them appears to be growing, not shrinking.



Global IT research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) and Microsoft Corp. released a study in early October 2009 that suggests the IT industry will create 5.8 million new jobs over the next four years. That projected growth rate of 3 percent a year is more than three times as fast as the growth of total employment.



Now for paradox two.



Young people today are the most tech-savvy generation ever. Yet many continue to shun careers in high tech, even at a time when 21st-century employers desperately need new workers with technology skills.



Connecting these two groups is the challenge that will define the future. It’s a challenge that must be addressed with new solutions.



Strata Rolls Out

Last year, the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), a trade association for the global IT industry, took a major step to address this challenge with the introduction of its CompTIA Strata certificate program.



Rather than focusing narrowly on specific computer applications, CompTIA Strata is designed to offer a broad introduction to technology — the core terminology, uses and types of technology deployed today. The exams do not certify technical skills, but demonstrate that an individual has knowledge of IT terms, equipment and functions.



Why the emphasis on broad, fundamental technology skills? There are two reasons.



First, the service technician, help desk, support role, which requires a broad set of basic skills, remains the best avenue to begin an IT career.



Second, employers of all sizes and across many industries have identified this job as one they are looking to fill immediately.



According to the latest Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report, a survey of more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the U.S., when asked which technical skill sets are most in demand in their IT departments, 64 percent of respondents cited desktop support. Help desk and technical support and networking are the two job areas experiencing the most growth, with 18 percent of the response each.



Get on the Information Superhighway

CompTIA Strata is designed to be an on ramp to a career in technology, something students or adult career changers can use to gauge their aptitude and interest for IT. With a basic understanding of PC and networking fundamentals, these individuals will have the confidence to pursue more advanced skills certifications and will have a credential to prove to prospective employers that they’re ready to enter the IT workforce.



“We’ve been looking for a level one technical course for a while, and this suits our needs as it’s vendor-neutral,” said Stuart Philip, IT curriculum leader at Highlands College, Jersey, U.K. “It provides a good all-round platform to more technical qualifications.”



The CompTIA Strata Fundamentals of IT Technology exam is designed to show that the successful candidate has the knowledge to identify and explain technology basics, including the characteristics and functions of laptops, desktops and smart phones. Individuals must be able to understand the functions of internal and external storage devices, such as CDs, DVDs, USBs and hard drives. The exam also covers green IT: Individuals will have to know how to use and dispose of equipment in an environmentally friendly way.



Topical Discussion

Topics covered in the exam include:

• Technology and computer hardware basics (40 percent of exam content).

• Compatibility issues and common errors (13 percent).

• Software installation and functions (11 percent).

• Security risks and prevention (16 percent).

• Green IT and preventative maintenance (20 percent).



The CompTIA Strata IT Technology exam (FC0-U41) is a 60-minute test that includes 70 questions. A passing score of 70 percent or higher is required. Individuals who pass the exam will receive the CompTIA Strata certificate of completion.



The recommended number of hours needed to prepare for the exam varies based on each candidate’s existing level of knowledge and the type of exam prep they’re engaged in. For example, commercial training could be completed in four days. At the college level, about 48 hours of classroom or lab experience is the norm. For high school students, one semester of instruction (five hours per week for 18 to 19 weeks) is the recommended preparation time before sitting for the exam.



A second exam, CompTIA Strata IT Technology for Sales (FC0-TS1), is designed to show that successful candidates have the knowledge to engage a customer on a professional basis using proper communication skills, qualify the type of technology user, provide appropriate solutions based on a customer’s needs and coordinate with technical staff throughout the sales process.



This test assesses a candidate’s knowledge in areas related to ongoing customer care and engagement and ensuring proper customer satisfaction. This test is intended for candidates considering or currently in a technical sales role with the potential for future sales, project management or technical training.



Domains in the CompTIA Strata IT Technology for Sales exam include:

• Technology and computer hardware basics (48 percent).

• Compatibility issues and software compliance (16 percent).

• Preventative maintenance and green IT (18 percent).

• Sales and communication skills (18 percent).



The exam is a 60-minute test that includes 70 questions. A passing score of 70 percent or higher is required.



CompTIA Strata exams are delivered at Pearson VUE and Prometric testing centers around the world. Courseware is available from Axzo Press and Element K.



Employment Takeaway

For individuals, CompTIA Strata is a way to prove to employers or potential employers that they can handle an IT-related job. It’s also good preparation for CompTIA A+ or other advanced IT certifications.



For employers, CompTIA Strata can ensure that employees have baseline knowledge of computers and how to use them. This can help reduce unnecessary troubleshooting requests and increase the bandwidth of IT staff.



Now more than ever, companies value employees who can think strategically and communicate effectively, as well as those who possess strong business fundamentals. IT workers who understand how to use technology to meet business goals, and who can articulate this understanding, are golden in the eyes of employers.



A certificate such as CompTIA Strata makes an individual more marketable. Unless the employer is familiar with the school the job candidate attended or the organizations the candidate worked for, the hiring manager has no independent means of knowing how rigorous the program or experience is. When a job candidate comes to an employer with a recognized and accepted professional credential, it gives the employer more to go on.

For workers new to the employment market without a great deal of past experience, an industry-recognized credential puts the worker in a stronger position when looking for a job.




Individuals who are securing jobs in today’s tech workplace are equipped with greater versatility and a broader skill set than was required in the past. People who want to be in IT need an edge, a means of proving they can do the tasks assigned. CompTIA Strata is a step toward that proof.

Where are all the tech jobs

An Article from Fortune Magazine...By Anne Fisher, contributor

Where the tech jobs are now
At least 400,000 tech jobs are going begging, even in this economy. Here are the skills employers are looking for most.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Dear Annie: My son is going to graduate from college in December with a B.S. in computer science, and I am just wondering about the IT job market. On the one hand, we keep hearing about layoffs and outsourcing, but on the other hand, everything runs on computers now, so surely there must be some good tech jobs in this country, especially at the (relatively cheap) entry level. Is there anything he can do to increase his chances of getting hired six months from now? -Pasadena Papa

Dear Pasadena: Funny you should ask. CompTIA, the biggest trade association for IT folks and their employers, recently launched a new recruiting campaign aimed at filling an estimated 400,000 tech job openings.

Still, "before the recession, it was 700,000," says Todd Thibodeaux, CompTIA's CEO.
With so many people looking for work, why are so many jobs going begging? The short answer: A scarcity of candidates with the skills, or combinations of skills and credentials, that employers want. Even people with years of tech experience may find they need to upgrade their certifications and venture into new territory in order to retool their careers in today's job market.

"I've had jobs go unfilled for weeks or months because people with the right combinations of skills just aren't available," says Scott Dunlop, managing partner of Boston-area tech recruiters Bivium Group.

Candidates don't necessarily need to be programmers or systems analysts, or have worked for a tech company to get hired, says Todd Thibodeaux, CompTIA's CEO. "Most IT jobs are in tech support in a wide range of businesses like hotels, hospitals, and factories," he says.

"These days, employers are looking for people who can do hardware-and-software integration and data security," Thibodeaux adds. "One category in big demand now is basic computer skills, which will get you hired at the entry level. Then you can add certifications from specific vendors like Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) and HP (HPQ, Fortune 500), and other more advanced certifications as you move up in the organization."

You don't even have to live in Silicon Valley. "We're seeing tech openings in Des Moines, Boise, Louisville, all over the map," says Gretchen Koch, a director of skills development at CompTIA.
"There are tech jobs available even here in Detroit, many of them in hospitals," says Mark McManus, CEO of New Horizons Computer Learning Centers of Michigan, Chicago & Cleveland. In general, "tech jobs that require continual collaboration with other departments don't get outsourced," he adds.

And even with outsourcing, "the fastest-growing demand here in the U.S. is still for help desk and desktop support people," notes Koch. A recent survey by staffing company Robert Half International shows that 51% of employers plan to add IT staff over the coming year, many of which will be help-desk jobs. These can be a good way to get a foot in the door.

"Usually entry-level people do that for six months or a year before getting additional training and certifications and moving on to network administration, security, database management, or some other specialty," she says.

Another area to consider: As the health-care industry continues to grow, your son might be smart to focus his job search on medical providers and work on acquiring the skills specific to them.

Unemployment among tech workers stands at about 4.9%, far lower than the 9.6% overall U.S. jobless rate, "so IT is still faring better than most fields," says Tom Silver, CEO of tech job board Dice.com. Yet, he says, "there is a lot of frustration among job seekers now, however, because employers are hiring very slowly and looking for the exact right fit."

Dice.com recently compiled a list of the skill sets most in demand among employers.The top 5:

Security. Employers often want to hire people who have earned the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) designation (see http://www.isc2.org/). Candidates need 5 years of hands-on experience before taking the exam.

Virtualization. The term refers to the practice of running multiple servers on a single piece of hardware, increasing efficiency and conserving energy.

Java EE. Sun Microsystems' (JAVA, Fortune 500) Java and its enterprise edition, until recently called J2EE, are the industry standards for developing online applications, so the Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP) designation is in widespread demand.

SAP. Most employers prefer candidates who have direct on-the-job experience with SAP (SAP), but "having the right credentials can make even experienced candidates stand out," the Dice.com report says.

.NET. Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) has a variety of certifications, Dice.com notes, but "the most bang for the buck comes from the Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD)" designation, which covers Microsoft Visual Studio and the Microsoft .NET framework.

With a spanking-new degree in computer science, your son will already have an edge, but he'd do well to earn a certification or two. People who want to upgrade their skills or switch into IT from other fields who want to switch to IT can get training at local community colleges, computer-training centers and other specialty schools.

Many schools offer some form of financial aid. What's more, for unemployed adults looking to change fields, state and federal funding may be available to cover tuition costs. (New college grads are not usually eligible for these programs.)

Re-Energizing a Stale Job Search

By Katherine Spencer Lee — January 2009

Today’s economic conditions have made the job market more competitive. But when days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, your frustration can grow and your enthusiasm and motivation can wane. Instead of allowing yourself to fall victim to inertia, take a close look at your job-search process to determine where you could make improvements. Here are a few suggestions:

• Revisit old possibilities. Think about any employment interviews you’ve had. Although you didn’t receive an offer, if the meeting went well, there’s a possibility the door has not closed completely. While many businesses are tightening their belts in this economy, some continue to hire, and those could include companies that you’ve met with already.

Also, the person hired for a position you applied for may not have worked out. Contact the hiring managers you interviewed with to express your continued interest and to find out if any new openings exist. You never know what may have changed since you were last in touch.

• Widen your search. Chances are you’ve turned to the Internet for job leads. If so, surf beyond the bigger sites. These job boards may contain the most listings, but the postings you find often aren’t as targeted as ones from Web sites that focus on a specific industry or geographic area. Reading technology publications or perusing online message boards can clue you in to the hottest specialties and growing segments of IT.

Also, don’t make the mistake of looking at only those positions that have been posted in the past week or two. An opportunity from a couple of months ago might still be available, especially if the role requires hard-to-find skills. A dated online job advertisement doesn’t reflect the quality of the company or the potential desirability of the position.

• Expand your network. Resumes from referrals often land near the top of the pile, so the more people you know who can recommend you for a position, the better. Of course, if your network consists only of friends and family, you’re putting yourself at a competitive disadvantage. Reach out to former co-workers and managers, your business contacts and high school and college alumni. Another great way to expand your network is through Web sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook.

• Educate yourself. If jobs that interest you require a skill or certificate you lack, consider attending a seminar or taking a class online or at a local university to enhance your skill set. For example, if you’re a database administrator who doesn’t have a Microsoft Certified Database Administrator certification, you probably are limiting the number of positions for which you can apply.

According to the “Robert Half Technology 2009 Salary Guide,” there will be particular demand in the year ahead for IT professionals with Web 2.0 development skills and those with knowledge of Microsoft .NET, SQL Server, SharePoint or Java.

• Consider a staffing firm. Staffing professionals have their own networks of business contacts, as well as knowledge of positions that aren’t widely advertised. They also can offer assistance with your application materials and provide training opportunities. In addition, these firms can find you contract positions while you search for a full-time job or an interim assignment that could lead to a full-time role.

If you’ve become frustrated with finding a job, keep in mind that highly skilled individuals always are in demand, no matter the market conditions. By using the above techniques, you’ll help cement your status as one of those sought-after candidates — and increase your chances of connecting with employers who are looking for someone like you.

Katherine Spencer Lee is executive director of Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis. She can be reached at editor@certmag.com.

Knoxville's IT Professionals

This post is for those who are deciding what Certifications to get. I have recently done some research on the most popular Certification test taken at our Testing Facility. You may not know, or maybe you do, but we are the only Pearson VUE testing site in the Knoxville area; we also administer test through Prometric, 1 of 2 testing centers. The research I conducted includes how many test we have administered since January 2007, and a break down of which exams or certification test were taken. I have ranked them by volume of tests taken and the numbers are as follows:

Exam__________Total
CompTIA A+____________________250
CCNA_________________________ 80
CompTIA Network+_______________59
MS 70-270 _____________________57
MS 70-291_____________________ 40
MS 70-290_____________________ 38
MS 70-272_____________________ 25
MS 70-292_____________________ 21
CCENT________________________20
Security+ ______________________18

I am a little surprised at the number or lack there of Certified IT Professionals we have here in our quickly evolving and demanding market. Cisco has plans to add 1.7 million new CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) by the end of 2010.

I look at the information I gathered during my research and can conclude one thing; we do not have enough Certified IT Professionals with certain skills. Knoxville, TN has a MSA population of 704,431 and according to Manta.com, the leading authority on company profiles, we have 20,306 companies. Of those 20k + companies 524 are in the Technology & Communications category with 85 of those being specifically IT Companies.

Someone has to manage and maintain all of those networks, fix and upgrade all of those computers, and secure all of the company’s employee and client information. Network security is becoming more and more of an in demand skill. The government is tightening restrictions on the access to the publics’ private personal information and nowhere is it more evident than in the Healthcare Industry with HIPAA and the Financial Market with Sarbanes Oxley, I will not go into it here but you can do some research if you are not familiar with either.

There is ample opportunity for those with the skills to break into the IT market with an entry level position. Also for an existing IT Professional to position themselves for advancement, which means more money, with a little commitment to obtain a much respected Certification.

Back-to-School Debate: IT Degree or Certification?

It’s nearing that time of year again. The air will get crisp, the leaves will turn yellow and the days will be full of anticipation. As you prepare to return to campus, you’re probably more concerned with sharpening your pencils and dusting off your books than brushing up your resume. But isn’t the reason we go to school in the first place to better prepare us for that thing out there called the “real world?”

Taking the time out to map the best course of study will not only maximize your return on investment but will help you lay the groundwork for the career of your dreams. What’s your best move: four-year IT degree or specialized certifications?

“It’s really an apples and oranges kind of discussion,” said John Estes, vice president of strategic alliances at Robert Half Technology, an IT consulting and staffing services company. “What companies tell us all the time is they want people that demonstrate willingness and a track record of lifelong learning.”

A Degree in the Door

At many IT companies, a four-year degree is a prerequisite for a job and could be the deciding factor between getting an interview and getting passed over. “There are some companies out there that, as a condition of employment, won’t hire you unless you do have a college degree. That’s just part of their basic requirements,” Estes said. Many companies are flexible when it comes to the major of the degree, however. Estes said he’s seen hiring managers eagerly set up interviews with candidates who majored in art history, for example. That’s because the degree really signifies broad, basic knowledge and demonstrates your ability to follow through on a project. Just don’t count on your degree to get you promoted or to open the door to additional opportunities. “Many people, when they get out of college [think], ‘Well hey, that’s done.’ They’re done with their education. And in IT, you’re just getting started,” Estes said.

Continued Education With Certification

In addition to showing your employers you’re committed to furthering your education, there’s another reason to get certified: The speed of innovation in technology is so rapid that “by the time you learn a technology, the beta for the new version’s already out,” Estes said.
Thus it’s important to show employers you’re working around the clock to keep your tech skills current.

“Certifications have become more and more en vogue as just one more differentiator for someone,” Estes said. “Because, even if you’re getting a college degree, you’re getting [it] in computer science; you’re not getting [it] in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. The certification will come into play more specifically with what you’re doing.”

Half the battle, however, is knowing when to begin the certification process. As a new grad, you’re not expected to have specialized already, but when is the right time to consider it?
“I would say as soon as possible,” Estes said. “It’s not like they graduate in May and have to start the certification by July, but [they should start] once they get more of an idea of where they are in the organization, truly what they have passion for, what really interests them.

Even if you’re not interested in a hands-on implementation job, you still are likely to get into some type of project management or business analysis role as you progress in the field of IT, and it’s worth getting certified to back up your experience, Estes said.

It’s also entirely possible that, as a recent grad, you’ll start off in one discipline but come to decide you’d like to go in a different direction instead.In that case, you should definitely consider a certification, but know that you’ll need to back it up with real-world application, Estes said.


– Agatha Gilmore, agilmore@certmag.com

Computer Jobs Hit Record High

Source: http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Workplace/Computer-Jobs-Hit-Record-High/?kc=CIOMINUTE070908CIO1

Computer Jobs Hit Record HighBy Eric Chabrow2008-07-07

Unemployment among computer-related jobs hovers near historic lows as the U.S. information technology workforce tops 4 million for the first time.

The size of the IT workforce in the United States has topped 4 million workers for the first time last quarter, according to CIO Insight’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. And the number of employed IT pros reached 3,956,000 in the second quarter of 2008, also a record high.

The IT unemployment rate inched up one-tenth of a percentage point last quarter to 2.3 percent, but still hovers near historic lows. That’s in contrast to overall unemployment, which last quarter stood at 4.7 percent, more than double the IT jobless rate. (In June, overall unemployment stood at 5.5 percent for the second consecutive month, after shedding 62,000 jobs that month. Comparable numbers aren’t available for computer-related occupations.)
Why would IT employment remain robust as unemployment rises in most other job categories? IT performs a critical role in business productivity, and the efficiencies it brings are crucial for employers looking to trim costs—including payrolls—as fuel and related expenditures soar and the economy and dollar weakens. In addition, companies today cannot operate without functioning IT systems, so certain business technology skills cannot be eliminated if a company wants to remain competitive.

A year earlier, the IT unemployment rate stood at 2.1 percent, with 3,599,000 workers employed in IT and 77,000 jobless and looking for positions in the field, for an IT workforce size of 3,675,000.

With 4,050,000 managers, professionals and other staffers holding or seeking computer-related positions last quarter, the IT workforce has grown by 10.2 percent over the past four quarters.
Another sign of a strong IT economy: the number of workers employed by IT services firms rose by 56,100 this past year to 1,414,400, a 4.1 percent increase, according to last month’s BLS establishment survey of some 160,000 businesses and government agencies covering about 400,000 worksites. The active sample includes about one-third of all nonfarm payroll workers.
The increase in IT services employment reflects the continuing need by companies for outsourcers to manage corporate IT infrastructures as well as provide hard-to-find but needed skills to develop and support new applications and systems.

Not every person employed by IT services firms—officially labeled by the government as computer systems design and related services—is an IT pro, but a majority are. A 2006 government report estimates that 53 percent of IT services firms' workers hold IT jobs such as programmers; software engineers; computer, network systems and data communications analysts; or database, network and systems administrators. Another 3 percent are computer and IS managers. The remaining employees—44 percent of payrolls—encompass non-IT managers and administrative and operational support personnel, including those in finance, human resources and sales.

Besides the establishment survey, the government also queries 60,000 households to determine employment and unemployment in the U.S. For our analysis, we use a BLS quarterly report that aggregates the monthly reports and details employment in hundreds of occupation categories. The government tracks seven major computer-related job categories: computer scientists and systems analysts, computer programmers, computer software engineers, computer support specialists, database administrators, network and computer systems administrators and network systems and data communications specialists plus computer and information systems managers.

CIO Insight analyzes these eight occupation categories to determine current IT employment conditions. Because these IT professions comprises less than 3 percent of the overall workforce, and each occupation category’s size on its own would be statistically unreliable, CIO Insight aggregates the last four quarters to determine each quarter’s workforce, employment and unemployment levels. For example, we added BLS data from the last two quarters of 2007 and the first two quarters of 2008 then divided by four to determine second-quarter 2008 data. Statisticians and economists say aggregating four quarters worth of data makes them more statically reliable than just using one quarter’s worth of data.

Get an entry level IT position with these Certs

Information Technology Certification – entry level gives you the chance to either change or begin your career.

It’s a….

Starting point

It’s a…

Stepping stone

The certifications I’ve listed below are the most popular ways of getting into I.T. They don’t require you have any experience or any other certifications under your belt in order to be eligible to sit for the exam.

They will help your career as a starting point. We all need to start from somewhere and they are great stepping stones – they can lead you to higher level certifications which will land you the higher paying jobs.

These certifications by themselves have the weight of getting-your-foot-in-the-door. They don’t have the weight of this-will-land-me-a-great-paying-job. If you are a newbie reading this, I want to make this very clear to you because this is the most important step in your I.T career.
And the first step is the most crucial step.

A beginner, soon-to-be I.T professional has many, many years of study ahead of him or her. We constantly don’t stop learning. We are constantly striving for the next certification we need as we climb to where we want to go.

If you don’t absolutely love information technology, then an information technology certification may not be for you. So really think about it ok?

But if you are sure, these are the top entry information technology certifications you want to get under your belt. Read through each and select the one that excites you the most…


Comptia’s A+ Certification
You learn how to build and fix computers as well as load operating systems and troubleshoot. Learn why this information technology certification is one of the most popular…

Cisco CCNA Certification
Just as popular as the above, this certification concentrates on the networking side of computers. Because ultimately you will need to understand networks, this is a great certification to get. Learn more

Comptia Network+ Certification
Another great networking certification. Alot of people continue to this after obtaining the A+ Certification. Learn more.

Microsoft MCDST Certification
Because most entry IT jobs will be support jobs, this certification concentrates on teaching you how to support end users and troubleshoot desktop environments running on the Microsoft Windows operating system. Learn more.

The Microsoft MCP Certification
Most IT Professionals start with this certification. Learn why.