Safari Books Online Makes Getting Certifications Easier

I’ve written extensively about Safari Books Online in the past. Six articles in total at this point, and yet somehow, as I delve deeper into the company’s repertoire of goodies, I keep uncovering new things to discuss. To me, this speaks volumes not only about the depth of their product, but also about the flexibility and ingenuity of their offerings.

I’ve covered the basic offerings: books, technical articles, and search capabilities. I’ve spoken to the cross-platform agility of their mobile and tablet apps. And in the last article, I took you inside their video vault, a treat for those visual learners – myself included.

Thus far in these articles, I have mostly spoken to the content and functionality of Safari Books Online. This time, I am going to take things in a different direction. This time, I want to talk about how their library can make a truly important impact on your life, and not just help you in a project here and there.

As you know, the New Year is rapidly approaching – a little over a month away as I write this piece. This time of year always ushers in a desire and opportunity to change your life, and what better way to do that than to go back to school and earn a new degree or certification? And while you are at it, why not use that new certification to get that promotion you have been eyeing all year long – or barring that – entering a new field entirely?

With the support of the Safari Books Online library of video and book titles you can do just that. Doing a simple search for the phrase “certification” returns nearly 8,000 books and close to 90 videos. While not all of this content specifically covers certification, you will find chapters in books that deal with certifications in this manner. For instance, you may find a book on Sharepoint with a chapter that covers the MCITP certification.

While this is all well and good, the best way to narrow down your results is to actually view the Certification’s category. You can find this by looking under Browse Categories and choosing Information Technology, then Certification. Alternately, you can simply visit the link:

http://my.safaribooksonline.com/category/information-technology-and-software-development/certification#__cattree

This page will return 645 books and 64 videos, each specifically catering to studying for and passing a given certification exam. Below you can find a list of the various certifications covered by books in the Safari Books Online library (83 in total):

In addition to the books in this category – which come from the best certification book publishers in the industry, including Pearson Certification, Microsoft Press, and Sybex to name but a few – I strongly encourage you to take a look at the video series as well. Certification books tend to be quiet thorough in their coverage, but sometimes you need to actually see how to accomplish a given task. With that in mind, the various certification videos more than fill this need. Reading a book on getting your CCNA and need clarification on subnetting? Just grab a bag of popcorn, click on certification videos, and get your learn on.

Below is a list of books I recommend you checking out, alongside some companion videos that may be of assistance:

Books:
1) CCNA® Cisco Certified Network Associate: Study Guide, Seventh Edition
2) CCNA Voice 640-461 Official Cert Guide, Second Edition
3) MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-667): Configuring Microsoft® SharePoint® 2010
4) CompTIA Security+™: Review Guide, Second Edition
5) Head First PMP, Second Edition

Videos:
1) ITIL V3 Foundation Exam Video Mentor
2) Cisco CCNA 640–801
3) CISSP Video Course
4) PMP Exam Prep: All the Help You Need, From Start to Finish (Video Training for the PMP Certification Exam)
5) CompTIA A+ 220-701 and 220-702 Video Mentor

Summary

In addition to keeping your knowledgebase fresh and helping you when issues arise in your code, Safari Books Online offers you a unique opportunity to step your skill-set – and employment potential – up a few notches with their offerings in the technical certifications arena. Walking into a potential employer’s office and saying you know how to do something and walking in with a certification in your hand proving you can are two different things altogether. 

Safari Books Online makes it simple to improve your knowledge and earning potential. And since the holiday season is at hand, the good folks at Safari Books Online are in a giving mood. They are currently offering members of the Developer Shed Network the opportunity to take advantage of a special offer: try Safari Books Online out for 10 days free, and then save 30% off their unlimited subscription. This is definitely a limited time offer, so move quickly.
http://www.safaribooksonline.com/d/limits/devshed?cid=201110-my-devshededitorial4-limits2-links  .