Newbie with many questions (feeling overwhelmed)

[Snoopy329]

Hi everybody. I am a newbie; a newbie to the certification world anyways. I had no idea the amount of information and disinformation there is all over the internet regarding certification. I have been reading a lot of posts on this forum and you guys are very helpful. As a newbie,I still have a few questions I would love to get answered as I am feeling very overwhelmed as to which path I should take.

I ask you guys to please correct me on anything I am about to say. I would like to get my foot in the door into the IT world thru web development. I would like to get the CIW certifications. I know this will not mean I will be a guru but at least it will show that I have studied enough to get some basic to intermediate knowledge in web development. After this, I know I will need to study more in the area of web languages. Then, I will need to build a portfolio and then I may be able to get an entry level job. I hope I'm right on this.

Now for the questions. Regarding the CIW certification training: Are the books on the actual certification website (ciwcertified.com) not adequate enough to take the foundation exam 1D0-510? They are not a braindump are they? I mean it is from the actual website. I see a lot of people recommending training by other places like Measureup.com. Do you guys have any other recommendations in regards to better training? I know I can read books on my own but, I prefer a structured curriculum.

Thank you in advance guys.

Fernando

[BosonMichael]

Welcome!

If you want to get into Web development, learn to code Web pages and create a portfolio. Not sure studying the CIW will teach that; after all, the CIW exams are simply multiple choice exams. However, it's better than nothing. Just know that employers won't care that you've got a CIW certification; they'll care only whether you can design Web sites.

It's a little different for IT techs, as we have no way to design a portfolio of networks we have administered. Thus, certification is much more important for an IT tech than it is for a Web developer or a programmer.

CIWCertified is CIW's official Web site, so you're safe there. MeasureUp is a legit practice exam provider. Good on ya for wanting to avoid braindumps!

[Snoopy329]

Hi and thank you for the quick reply. I feel better now after you post and after doing some more research. I want to have the certifications and it is somewhere to start. I know I will have to immerse myself in studying different web programming languages and more about web design. I'm not looking to go into it for the money. I've always been interested in learning about software development and web development.

One more question: Is there any self study material available at all for the 1d0-520 exam at all? I have been searching and searching but to no avail.

[BosonMichael]

Originally Posted by Snoopy329

One more question: Is there any self study material available at all for the 1d0-520 exam at all? I have been searching and searching but to no avail.

The only material I know of comes directly from CIW themselves, and it's pretty expensive.

[Sharepointuser]

Hi Snoopy329 you can get the CIW 520 course material by studying through the University of West Scotland for the bargain price of £200 via distance learning. Unfortunately you have missed the June course (started June 16th) though i am sure another will run a few months after.

http://ciw.uws.ac.uk/ for more info.

[Snoopy329]

Thanks so much for the help you guys. I found that I could purchase the books themselves without having to fork out $1,000 for the whole thing. I'll look into the training soon. thank you.