IT Certifications: 5 are hot; 5 are not

The term that describes today's economy is "jobless recovery." If I understand it correctly, the term means that fundamentals are improving somewhat, but without the corresponding growth in hiring and new job creation that usually accompanies more robust recoveries.

In this situation, IT professionals weigh the pros and cons of certification more carefully than usual. This makes the analysis of what's hot and cold in the IT certification arena interesting, because trends are as much about betting on what's likely to win as they are an outright indication of where opportunities are strong or weak.

I've heard from several readers who complained that they've earned top-tier credentials that did not lead to immediate employment or multiple job options. Even with high-demand certs in hand, basic job seeking rules still apply:

With these caveats in mind, here's what my research tells me are today's hottest and coldest IT certifications. For clarity, I define "hottest" as those certs that are most likely to appear in classified ads, job postings and IT certification wish lists. Likewise, "coldest" are thos

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e credentials with the weakest growth, those that have gotten negative press, or those in which IT professionals have shown the least interest. My apologies in advance to those in the cold group; nobody wants that distinction!

What's hot

My top five include:

What's cold

Oh, how the mighty have fallen! All these programs have enjoyed some success; some have even shown signs of recent recovery. All have tumbled far from their highs (note how many of these certs followed the dot-com bubble; the only order here is alphabetical):

Because fortune is fickle, there's nothing that says you won't swap one list for the other someday. For now, the heat of growth and interest that separates hot certs from cold ones is susceptible to Arctic cold fronts from big economic shifts. Pick your horse carefully, and buckle your seatbelt!

Ed Tittel is vice president of content development and delivery for Austin, Texas-based Capstar LLC. He's probably best known as editor for Que Certification's Exam Cram 2 and Training Guide series, and as a columnist for Certification Magazine.