Lisa Vaas

The upside of Mike Reeves job is that hes working in IT. The downside is that this newly minted graduate with a masters in IS management from Brigham Young University is working for his dad. Hes developing a Visual Basic application that will churn out proposals for insurance clients. Its not a bad job, but […]

IBM last month rolled out free pre-assessment tests for qualifying individuals who want to score themselves on one of two updated WebSphere Commerce certifications. The tests that pertain to the new certifications are #211–IBM Certified Specialist–and #212– IBM Certified Solutions Expert. The first 100 candidates who achieve 75 percent or higher on pre-assessment sample tests […]

Novell Inc. has chopped in half the number of exams needed to upgrade a CNE title to that of Master CNE. Through the end of December, NetWare 5.x CNE holders need only pass two exams to get the “M.” The first, exam, #50-676, upgrades CNE titles to Version 6. The other requirement is CompTIAs IT […]

Cisco Systems Inc. recently unveiled its new Cisco Optical Specialist 1 certification, the 12th area of focus for its Cisco Qualified Specialist program. The COS1 will validate the knowledge and expertise required to design, install, operate and maintain Cisco optical networking systems. Individuals who successfully achieve certification will be required to understand the protocols and […]

When even a talented student like Huei Shuan Liu finds it tough to get an internship, you know things are bad. Liu, a senior at Simmons College, in Boston, has a double major in computer science and biochemistry, a minor in mathematics, a GPA of 3.58, experience doing computer engineering at Motorola Inc., and a […]

All the undergraduate computer science and computer engineering majors and recent graduates who are having a grueling time getting full-time, internship and cooperative education positions should take a lesson from Huei Shuan Liu: Whether youre at a conference, attending presentations at school or going to industry association meetings, youve got to work it, baby. Thanks […]

In 1933, with the country in the grip of an economic depression and millions of Americans unemployed, President Franklin D. Roosevelts administration pushed through Congress the National Labor Relations Act, which, among other things, gave workers the right to organize and negotiate with employers. Union membership soared. Whats going on today in the IT industry […]

Although online job boards can be cost-effective, CIOs vastly prefer the low-tech method of relying on employee referrals to recruit IT professionals, according to a recent poll conducted by IT staffing firm RHI Consulting, in Menlo Park, Calif. Thirty-one percent of the 1,400 CIOs surveyed rated word-of-mouth referrals as the most effective means of finding […]

Rates keep slumping. The IT labor market is stuffed to the gills with talent. And third party agents have the market for large companies IT contracting business tied up as tight as sausage. If contractors cant–or dont want–to escape this unpleasantness by finding a permanent gig, here are some tips on how to get the […]

Thinking of chucking corporate life for the independent, ever-varied and richly remunerated life of an IT contractor? First, get out a marker, map out and label your skills on your body parts, and imagine being carved up like a roast pig. It will give you an idea of how IT contractors feel right now. “Its […]