Hacking could be a lucrative career option!

The days when gun-wielding, masked men barging into a home/ office/ bank with an intention to rob and loot are gone. In the modern wired world thieves are suave, tech-savvy, educated and skilled people. They tamper with the IT Security of banks, individuals and businesses and rob them through the computer, using internet and telecommunications technologies.

To combat these types of white-collared crooks a new genre of professionals known as "Ethical Hackers" are being deployed. Network and system security are very important in the modern world heavily dependent upon electronic media. What is Ethical Hacking? This is the process in which software experts help organizations take preventive security measures against hackers. These professionals work like a vaccine, they attack the system, but with an intention of strengthening its security.

With the rise in internet and technology proliferation the job opportunities for a well trained and
Certified Ethical Hacker is on the rise. Organizations increasingly depend on technology, the job of the ethical hacker is becoming more complex. Keeping this in mind there are numerous organizations such as EC-Council that offer courses and certify individuals interested in becoming a ethical hacker.

In my opinion though it sounds like a glamorous career option with great earning potential, this is not for everyone. To become an ethical hacker one needs to be creative and think out of the box and come up with innovative security solutions for organizations. If you are interested in a career in ethical hacking just go ahead and sign up for a course in the subject and you will be equipped for a great recession-proof career.

IT Certification, the highway to satisfying careers

Since the advent of personal computers and the resulting automation of several mundane tasks there has been a large and growing demand for trained and certified IT professionals. Becoming an IT expert is not about knowing how to write programs or how to operate computers, it needs a much larger diaspora of skills training, orientation and attitudes. There are certifications in different niche areas of the IT industry. You could be a certified network expert, or a microsoft certified system expert or qualify for any one or more of the several similar certifications available. But without proper training and certification you can't land your dream job.

In the current market the largest demand is perhaps for professionals with Cisco certification. Cisco offers several niche areas in which you could get certified such as voice, network or security. Different certifications prepare you for distinctly different roles in the industry. For example a CCNA Voice certification prepares you for jobs such as voice administrator, voice engineer, and voice manager. The certification is proof that you are trained and able to configure and manage the latest technologies for VoIP infrastructure.

Career opportunities for people with Cisco certification are tremendously large. For example according to Certification Magazine's 2007 Annual Salary Survey the average salary of a CCNA professional is around US$74,810. And if the person has a professional-level CCVP voice-based certification beyond the CCNA, there is possibility of a 23 percent salary hike.

I personally haven't yet experienced the uniquely uplifting and professionally dispensed Cisco training. But I hope to sign up for a programme soon and get myself certified in one of Cisco's leading fields of IT. I am confident that this certification will catapult my career to great heights and enable me to gain respect among peers and colleagues. One of the sole aims of becoming a Cisco-certified professional is to get access to the amazing careers in the IT field. A field in which there is constant career growth and excitement of learning and implementing new technologies.