Of all the IT sectors ruling the world stage, this area has to be the largest and most encompassing. With so many advanced skill-sets to embrace, a certain amount of specialist training is really the only effective solution. Both Microsoft and Cisco make systems for this marketplace. The actual software side of Networks is MS's department, and the hardware side (routers, controllers & switches and so on.) is where Cisco primarily work. Security has grown to be a big problem in recent years, which has led each of the businesses to get into the market in a huge way. Equally within this field we're observing the significant growth of wireless-networking. And next we have Hacking (legally) & Forensics : each of which are complex and extremely specialist subjects in their own right, and take a considerable amount of working experience and knowledge.

The vendor-neutral worldwide institution CompTIA now offers possibly the most recognised and widely-respected impartial IT certifications. Companies like ISC2 supply 'Security' qualifications, and CWNP provide specialist wireless-networking tracks. As you would expect Cisco & Microsoft offer a comprehensive selection of professional qualifications. The choice could be somewhat over-whelming, & therefore we urge you to go very carefully and talk through your options with an expert who understands the process very well. This will likely stop you from making a costly mistake, both in terms of money and time-spent.

You'll find broader options in addition to Cisco and Microsoft to become trained within these sectors. In actual fact, some well regarded associations have become significant players now where accreditation is concerned. It's now widely accepted that understanding inter connectivity and technological-convergence has become tremendously important in networks. There are now some important changes occurring in networking - both in processing terms & in data-storage, with internet-based computing gaining presence & 'green I.T.' growing to be increasingly relevant. From a economic perspective, greener technology has to be built to be a lot more cost effective, as well as being more gentle to the environment. Lower power processors and computer systems create less heat, so less cooling is necessary. These two things together vastly cut down the electricity expenditure, & therefore affect a corporation's bottom-line -- particularly in data centres and high volume processing departments.

If you are specifically focused on 'Messaging' or Security, then Microsoft have specialist MCSE's available to target these options. It could be that 'CompTIA' Security+ meets your needs, so you can lead onto the CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional. There are rigid experience specifications for the CISSP, & they need discussing and understanding prior to deciding to go down this route. Our long-standing recommendation is of course to take part in an educated discussion prior to embarking on any new career-training.

One of the newest areas within this subject is called 'Digital Forensics'. We might associate 'forensics' with TV shows such as CSI Miami. Obviously though the actual job in the real world will not be quite as glamorous as the shows would have us believe! Having said that, technological forensics provides a fascinating profession for many individuals right now. The principle being to gather & evaluate 'digital footprints', to deliver evidence either in a criminal investigation or a civil legal case.

Located in a related sector to Digital Forensics and I.T. Security comes 'Ethical Hacking' - another comparatively new discipline to manage criminal activity. Skilled IT professionals can learn the principles of criminal hacking for ethical security reasons. The EC Council offers mid to high level qualifications, entitled the 'CEH' ('Certified Ethical Hacker') & the CHFI (Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator).

To a lot of people looking at getting into IT as a career, basic networking is the starting-point. You must know just how computers operate and connect with one another before you consider anything else. Presuming a basic level of IT literacy, (see the general IT Training sections if not,) the starting place is almost always the CompTIA A+ & Network+ . We have extensive information regarding these training programs on the web-pages dedicated to CompTIA.

Moving on from here will often take you to the MS MCSA or MCSE or 'Cisco' CCNA or CCNP, depending on whether you're interested in the 'hardware' or 'software' end of things. Even so, a good knowledge of MS's operating systems is very useful as they're such a vital element of the majority of networking environments. You can find further qualification details on this web-site in the specific MS and Cisco pages.

However, you may choose to remain on the vendor neutral track with further 'CompTIA' certification (for example Linux+ , Server+ & Security+ ) or even have a go at the wire-less (Wi-Fi) aspect of things with the 'CWNP'/'CWNA'.

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