Certifications …

Certifications. Hearing the word Certifications, everyone hopes to have a few to make their resume look colorful. But what I would like to ask that does it make any difference? If yes, what difference does it make?

I learn everything they teach in CCNA from college; another friend goes for the Certification of CCNA. What difference does it make? The friend paid 250-300 or maybe $1000 too for the same thing which I did. We both have the same knowledge! How does it make a difference?

A few days ago, me and a friend of mine, Tushar Dalvi planned for a certification of Ethical Hacking, CEH. There are 2 versions of CEH which we can opt for 5 and 6. We finally decided to go for v5, since v6 is too extensive.

For me, certification is just like learning something new. CEH, CCNA, SCJP, everything means learning something new. I appeared for Ankit Fadia Certified Ethical Hacker (AFCEH) course, I failed by a mere 0.4%. Fine. But the knowledge I got from it, the things I came to know of networking … it was superb …

I had planned for CCNA, RHCE, CEH when I started my MBA in IT … (believe me, I dont know why I am into MBA). Why all this? Just for the fun of it; just to learn more; just to keep myself busy … strange? yups, i agree. A friend of mine told me, if you are going for RHCE, going for CCNA isn’t logical, both are opposites. But a few days ago, I came to know that CCNA is somewhat related to Network Security. I dont know who is right! Guess, will have to jump again into planning.

CEH? Well, had planned for v6 which is 300% of v5. Tushar told me to first go for v5 and then v6. Nopes, i am an arrogant person, I would directly jump to v6. Thankfully, my bro, Shilen Ramaiya, explained me not to directly jump 10m. First start from a meter. Accepted v5. Hopefully would be appearing for it in 2-3 months.

Had a BackTrack session on the 8th of December where this superb person gave a lecture. Mr. Kunal Sehgal. He gave a superb presentation on BackTrack. He is a certified BackTrack professional. When he told us how the BackTrack certification is held, I was all geared up and determined to appear for the exam. The BackTrack exam, according to Kunal, is a 24 hour practical examination, where you have to break into a server. Cool … fun … lets see it then. But well, apart from the difficulty of the endevour, I also want to be the best in Network Security and Hacking, and hence the interest in this Certification.

Tushar also asked me to take CCNA with him. The same day, a new subject started in my 2nd semester, Internet Routing Protocol and Architecture. Discussing if I should go for it or not, he told me that there is a difference between in having a certificate and not having a certificate. I havent learnt it till now. Anyone there to help me out?

SCJP. That was one certification that I had planned in my 3rd semester of graduation. After learning Java for just 6 months, SCJP seemed to be something superb. I love Java. I used to write all my programs in it. I used to sit on the computer only to work on Java; why? I loved it. But till date I havent been able to appear for SCJP.

I even wanted to get a few Microsoft certifications (MCSE, MCSA, etc) when I was in my grad school. Again, just for the fun of it!

Any answers?