[Reed McLay]

BlackBerry - BlackBerry | Wireless Handheld Devices, Software & Services from Research In Motion (RIM)

RIM Launches New BlackBerry Certification Program - April 30, 2008 4:00PM ET

Research In Motion today announced a new BlackBerry(R) Certification Program that will extend a reliable, comprehensive certification testing service in support of the BlackBerry(R) wireless platform. The new BlackBerry Certification Program is intended to provide an empirical means of measuring and validating the real world skills and knowledge used in planning, administering and supporting BlackBerry product deployments. The program, which is designed for IT professionals and consultants as well as wireless carriers and other BlackBerry partners, will be available in 135 countries.

...
Certifications planned for availability in 2008 include:

- BlackBerry(R) Certified System Administrator - for technical professionals who install, configure and manage the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution - available May 13

- BlackBerry(R) Certified Server Support Specialist - for technical specialists supporting BlackBerry Enterprise Server and its associated components - available Fall 2008

- BlackBerry(R) Certified Support Specialist - for specialists who support BlackBerry smartphone users in a BlackBerry(R) Internet Service or BlackBerry Enterprise Server environment - available Fall 2008

- BlackBerry(R) Certified Solution Designer - for technical professionals who provide pre- and post-sales technical consulting services to organizations that have deployed the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution - available Fall 2008

Additional certifications for individuals planned to be available in 2009 include BlackBerry(R) Certified Enterprise Application Developer, BlackBerry(R) Certified Trainer, BlackBerry(R) Sales Expert and BlackBerry(R) Expert User. Organizational certifications planned for 2009 include BlackBerry(R) Certified Reseller and BlackBerry(R) Certified Training Center.

[headjanitor]

Sounds interesting. I wonder what is needed to be considered an expert user.

[sunkast]

Read about that the other day. I wonder how much it costs and what some of the benefits are.

[Reed McLay]

You book an appointment with Prometric: BlackBerry Certification and they set up a certification exam. Computer administered, multiple choice questions.

When you are done, you get instant feed back in the form of an overall score and a subject breakdown. 75% is a typical passing score, but when the company is paying for the certification, bragging right go with the high scores.

Aced the A+ certificate. 100%

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Reed McLay]

*sunkast - Read about that the other day. I wonder how much it costs and what some of the benefits are.

The costs are reasonable, I once had to repeat an exam. Company paid for the first one, 65% wasn't cutting it. I rebooked and paid under $100 for the re-write.

The real treasure chest will be the training content. It is in BlackBerrys interest to distribute the study guides and content.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Timewalk]

Still have to upgrade my CCIE, and MCSE certs early next year.
But i might look into it...

[Reed McLay]

Benefits, that is the good part.

If your resume includes certifications like Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer or Novell's Certifications, you move to the further consideration pile.

These are career path building blocks.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[sunkast]

I've been wanting to get my A+ certification. I already know a ton about PCs from doing things over the years.

[TLD1]

This is very cool...I would love a chance to really learn all there is to know about using my BlackBerry to it's optimum.

How can a regular "joe" get hooked up?

[Timewalk]

In Canada, they want us to have our Network Plus cert, not just A+ now.
Its more of an advanced A+ exam, with networking components.
Its a very easy set of exams, compared to the MCSE and CCIE exams...

If your very familiar with Computers Sunkast, you could probably just get a good sybex book and study it.
Im sure you would do great, its a very easy exam set..

[Reed McLay]

...
If your very familiar with Computers Sunkast, you could probably just get a good sybex book and study it.
Im sure you would do great, its a very easy exam set..

I've been wanting to get my A+ certification. I already know a ton about PCs from doing things over the years.

When it comes to the A+ certification, nothing beats front line service. They actualy ask "How many pins in a serial adapter?" 2,4,8,16,25

That was way before the day of the mini serial adapter with 9 or USB with 2. How times have changed.

[Timewalk]

I remember my first A+ exam, it actually had dot matrix printer questions on it..

[Reed McLay]

...

How can a regular "joe" get hooked up?

Keep an eye on the link posted at the top.

For now, only the synopsis is published, soon, content will join. BlackBerry it the only valid source of information. Don't wait for the BlackBerry for Dummies to be published, they are posting links to PDF documents, lots of them.

As Mr Spock would have said it, prepare for a Brain Dump.

[Reed McLay]

I remember my first A+ exam, it actually had dot matrix printer questions on it..

lol, My 65% with a re-write was Windows 95 Support. We were already using more advanced utilities, so I briefed over the official Windows client push stuff. Doh!

[Reed McLay]

In Canada, they want us to have our Network Plus cert, not just A+ now. ...

CompTIA Network+� Certification

CompTIA Network+� Certification

CompTIA Network+ validates the knowledge and skills of networking professionals. It is an international, vendor-neutral certification that recognizes a technician's ability to describe the features and functions of networking components and to install, configure and troubleshoot basic networking hardware, protocols and services. ...

Good thing too, A+ is the actual hardware, Network+ addresses the communications side of the equation. You need to master both. When you are the recognized expert, the buck stop here.

[Reed McLay]

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/support...edSyllabus.pdf

What’s New with the BlackBerry Smartphone?

Overview
This course outlines the most notable hardware and software
features and benefits, selling points and commonly performed
procedures on the BlackBerry� smartphone.

Who should attend
Attendees should have some basic knowledge of BlackBerry
smartphones and want an update on a specific model of BlackBerry

Course objectives
Introducing the BlackBerry smartphone
• Basic capabilities of the BlackBerry smartphone listed
• New hardware and software features listed
Hardware overview
• Basic hardware features illustrated
• Wireless transceiver
• User interface
• Screen
• Memory
• Listening capabilities
• BlackBerry smartphone-specific hardware features (e.g. self-portrait mirror, media card slot)
Features and benefits
• Software
• Setup Wizard
• Messaging
• Organizer
• Browser
• Phone
• BlackBerry� Maps
• Media
• Tethered Modem
• BlackBerry smartphone-specific features and benefits (e.g. camera, Global Positioning System (GPS))
• Feature comparison chart
Selling the BlackBerry smartphone
• Key benefits for working parents
• Key benefits for career builders
• Key benefits for mobile individuals
• Key benefits for successful professionals
Using the BlackBerry smartphone
• Procedures for using the new or notable hardware and software features of the BlackBerry smartphone
• Commonly used shortcuts ...

...and, if you get a really good facilitator, sweet talk him/her for the latest hot gossip. Does Mike really pack a '20?

[yogi]

Thanks for the link.