No Panacea

I’ve made some significant changes to ShortcutGuide.com, incorporating YUI AJAX, tabular browsing, ability to add shortcuts from every application page, a quicker way to enter shortcuts, real time updates (instead of a 24 hour wait period), higher performance hosting plan, etc. The site has now over 3700 keyboard shortcuts for 100 applications, real-time stats are available online. More frequent developments are also on the blog. Let me know your thoughts and any features you would like added.

The site was down for several hours today as I worked to switch hosting platforms, modify DNS entries, archive/restore the WordPress database, and copy over the apps. Everything looks to be working now and the the site should perform better as I’m no longer using shared hosting, but moved over to a virtual private server.

As software and IT specialists take on more certifications, prospective employees must ask themselves the following question. Are the resources spent in (time exam preparation, training materials, exam fees, upkeep fees) worth the benefits (in increased prospects and compensation). Part of this can be answered through analyzing the demand side of economics (are employers looking for these certifications?). Are the certifications listed in job descriptions? One interesting place to do some quick empirical research is Indeed.

Below is a graph that compares that absolute demand of certifications in the marketplace (e.g., in how many job descriptions did the term MCSE appear over a time span of 3 years). This is a rough gauge of now many companies are seeking those particular skills. We can see in the absolute scale that demand for MCSE’s have diminished and there is a slight uptick for more professionals holding the CCNA and CISSP credential.

The graph below is slightly more interesting, as it compares the relative demand for particular jobs (or more accurately search terms appearing in job descriptions). In the above graph we saw in absolute terms, demand for CISMs was relatively flat, but relative to other positions, there are more posting.

As more information becomes available, employees should start to take advantage of these online research avenues. If you haven’t already look into glassdoor. This site provides salary information based on a particular company (powerful information for negotiations).

More resources: Certifications talk from 2007