Recently, I posed the question: Should IT executives depend on their employers for training or invest in ongoing education. Although many of you thought that it is the responsibility of the employer to help their employees stay current in their skills, you conceded that the market downturn requires IT executives themselves to update their own portfolios of knowledge.
Over the past few weeks, I've received quite a few messages from readers touting the importance of training. However, they are quick to admit that getting their companies to pay for the training has grown ever more challenging.
Lucent recently released its "Network Professionals' Job Satisfaction Report" and although employees overall are more satisfied in their jobs than they were last year, there are still some issues that need to be tackled.
Lucent recently released its "Network Professionals' Job Satisfaction Report" and although employees overall are more satisfied in their jobs than they were last year, there are still some issues that need to be tackled.
Before I delve in to reader comments about the security of wireless LANs for use in retail operations, further to last week's article, I have a quick clarification. A Home Depot spokesman wrote in to say this: "Our entire front
end - all of our point of sale terminals/cash registers - are hardwired and always have been."
One step forward, two steps back. That's the way it went with Best Buy's wireless plans. The company rolled out wireless cash registers to some of its retail stores, only to roll them back in amid security fears. The story goes that Best Buy was told by an anonymous source that they were able to grab credit card information from the wireless system while parked outside the store.
We all know IT training budgets have been slashed to little pieces over the past few months, but experts say that little by little companies are getting back the dollars to train their employees.
A few months ago, we discussed the importance of hands-on learning. We also talked about why exams should focus more on real-world applications. Well, maybe, just maybe Cisco was listening.
I don't need to tell you that we're in one of the toughest economic periods our industry has been through. And the tendency right now is to put your nose to the grindstone and work, work, work. And that's a great policy. But remember to keep talking to people around you, both inside and outside the industry.
We've tallied up the answers to our quiz about your educational preferences and I have to say it's been quite the experience. Some things that I expected panned out, but others threw me a bit. For instance, I was sure a lot of you would answer that you are "too busy" for training, when in fact, you said one-day seminars top your list of educational opportunities.
In answering the quiz I set in a recent column, you gave me some valuable insights into what frustrates you most. But you also shed light on what educational experience would propel your career.
I can tell you to take a million classes and get a bazillion certifications, but that would only work as long as you have a network to manage.
The United Nations and a coalition of mobile phone companies are working on separate initiatives that together will move forward electronic commerce.
Talk to Clint Miller about traffic and he'll ask you which kind: network or highway. An expert in both, Miller likes to punctuate his daily grind as IT director at TIS Insurance Services in Knoxville, Tenn., with tales about his days driving a semi.
A group of Internet powerhouses next week will battle against the clock to get approval for a proposal that would simplify sales tax procedures for goods sold over the Internet.