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Wireless technology is a rapidly expanding market. The Wi-Fi standard (802.11), which is the defacto technology for wireless LANs, is continuing to evolve over time and has been embraced by almost all networking vendors and by many electronic hardware vendors. Wi-Fi technology has brought “Freedom and flexibility in Communication”. With wireless technology, people have more flexibility and more freedom to connect with their favorite content and to communicate with others even when they are on the move. All sorts of devices support now the wireless technology. From computers, media players, game consoles, mobile phones etc. Wireless is everywhere. Without the cumbersome cables, people’s communication and connectivity is now simpler and easier.

I.T professionals with wireless knowledge, skills, and qualifications are earning more money than others in the technology field. A “CertMag” salary survey showed that I.T professionals holding a CWNA (Certified Wireless Network Administrator) or CWSP (Certified Wireless Security Professional) certifications earn considerably more than many other technology certifications.

An excellent, vendor-neutral, certification to pursue is the CWNA (Certified Wireless Network Administrator). This is a foundation level certification under the CWNP program. The CWNP is the industry standard for certifications in the wireless LAN industry. A CWNA certification is the initial step towards a successful career in the wireless field. Because it is vendor-neutral, you have the advantage of being employed by any company or organization having any wireless infrastructure vendor. A CWNA professional has the technical leadership and the ability to successfully implement any wireless solution and offers a career differentiation, with enhanced credibility and marketability.

CWNA Training and Preparation

For optimal CWNA preparation I suggest to get the only authorized CWNA Video Training (from Trainsignal) together with the Official CWNA Self-Study Guide (709 pages paperback) from the official website (cwnp.com). The combination of the two study resources above will definitely help you to pass the exam guaranteed. Especially the Trainsignal Video Training package, will provide you with an “instructor-like” experience which covers all required topics for the exam. The instructor in the videos, Ed Liberman, is a technology guru with 18 years experience in the I.T field and 12 years as an instructor

CWNA Exam Details

To earn the CWNA certification you must pass the CWNA PW0-104 exam. This is a multiple-choice exam with 60 questions, for 90 minutes exam duration. You need a passing score of 70%. You can register at Pearson VUE to take this exam (www.vue.com).

The certification exam measures your ability to administer any wireless LAN. The exam covers a broad range of wireless LAN topics focused on 802.11 wireless technology rather than products of specific vendors. The main topics covered by the exam are the following:

• Radio Technologies
• Antenna Concepts
• Wireless LAN Hardware and Software
• Network Design, Installation, and Management
• Wireless Standards and Organizations
• 802.11 Network Architecture
• Wireless LAN Security
• Troubleshooting
• How to Perform Site Surveys

The full exam objectives are shown here: http://www.cwnp.com/exams/pw0104_objectives.pdf

A few days ago I stumbled upon a post on About.com which listed the top 10 technical certifications for 2009. The rankings were evaluated according to the website’s visitors feedback, to the profitability and relevancy to today’s market, and from the popularity of the certifications discussed on the site. First on the list is Cisco CCIE. The site provides also an indicative average salary for each certification, which however depends on many factors such as experience, work location, company etc. Let’s summarize the top ten certification list below:

1.      Cisco CCIE: As one of the most difficult certifications to obtain, the CCIE is an excellent credential for a professional. The thriving networking field demands high skilled professionals and the CCIE is the top of the line. Average Salary $93,000.

2.      CISA: The Certified Information Systems Auditor certification from ISACA association is also very popular and profitable. CISA professionals serve the company as Information Systems auditors dealing with security controls and business controls of Information Systems. Average Salary $115,000.

3.      CCSE: The Checkpoint Certified Security Engineer is another high level security certification for professionals working with the Checkpoint Firewall-1 product. Average Salary $90,000

4.      MCSD: This is a Microsoft certification about solution designs using Microsoft products. The Microsoft Certified Solution Developer is expected to know all enterprise Microsoft solutions and use business analysis skills to suggest the best solution for a specific customer. Average Salary $88,000

5.      PMP: Another certification that requires high skills and lots of experience. The Project Management Professional is required to possess extensive experience in project management such as a Bachelor’s degree with 4,500 hours of project management work. Average Salary $101,000.

6.      CISSP: Another security certification in the list shows that security is a hot topic for getting certified in 2009. A Certified Information Systems Security Professional is required to pass a rigorous 6 hours exam (250 questions) covering 10 domains in information security. It is said that the CISSP knowledge is 10 inch deep by 10 miles wide!! Average Salary $94,000.

7.      RHCE: Red Hat Linux is the most popular linux flavor. Red Hat Certified Engineers should possess the skills to configure networking and security on Red Hat OS. The exam is actually a 5-hours hands-on test on configuring Linux. Average Salary $83,000.

8.      SCJP 6.0: This is the Sun Certified Java Programmer certification. Designed for programmers with skills on Java 2 development platform. Average Salary $75,000.

9.      CAPM: This is another project management certification, but less demanding compared to the PMP. The Certified Associate in Project Management requires professionals to possess 1,500 hours of project management experience. Both CAPM and PMP certifications are awarded by the Project Management Institute (PMI) which is a highly respected institution in the industry. Average Salary $75,000.

10.   Cisco CCVP: The Cisco Certified Voice Professional comes as number 6 in latest ZDNET survey for highest paying certifications. Voice over IP and IP Telephony technologies are always hot and should be expanding even more in the future. Cisco holds maybe the top position in IP telephony, that is why CCVP engineers are in high demand. Average Salary $89,000.