Why learn new skills?

It doesn’t matter whether you are a seasoned IT professional or you have decided to take the plunge into the IT industry as a new career. Gaining new skills can earn you respect, a new career, and most importantly, a better income!

I gained my first IT certification (Microsoft Certified Professional) in 2001, but by then I had already been working with Unix and Windows servers for 4 years. Why does this matter? For starters, I got a pay rise and started to be respected amongst colleagues for my achievement. When I passed enough MCP exams to achieve the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer in 2004, I had a further pay rise, and a career promotion to a more senior position.

Since then I caught the bug! No not a virus, but the bug to learn new skills everyday as it gave me a sense of personal achievement that far outweighed any pay rise.

My TOP 5 Recommended IT Certifications

1) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
2) Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCSE or MCITP)
3) Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
4) ITIL v3 Foundation
5) Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)

This is only a guide, but starting from the bottom the first step is to gain an MCP. This demonstrates a base level competence in supporting Microsoft operating systems and gives an excellent grounding in networking, file storage, services, and troubleshooting.

VMware Study Guide
I’m currently developing an online practice exam for the vSphere VCP that I will be posting here very soon. Since gaining my first VCP in 2007 (VI3) and since achieving the VCP4 in December 2009, I have decided to collate all of my study notes and produce the practice exam alongside some free Ebooks.

Check back here soon!