How long do IT certifications last; Recertify before your IT certification expires
Even if you have a high paying job and are having the time of your life, it is important to remain up to date with what is happening in the world. For instance, if you have an IT certification that landed you the job, you must be looking out for any updates that have been made regarding your certification in order to look for better economic opportunities.
Having completed the certification itself is no small thing because an ultimate amount of time has been dedicated by you to prepare and then pass the exam. But it is also important to know when your certification does expire and what you need to do in order to maintain its integrity over the years.
Following are some of the most famous IT certifications that are reviewed and additional things added for you to have complete information about recertification process.
Why do IT certifications expire?
The expiration of any IT certification solely depends on the certification vendor that hosted the certification exam for you. Many product-based certifications don't expire. Suppose you are certified to use the Windows 7 platform then you will always have enough knowledge and skill even if a new operating system has been launched to carry on with its use.
But the skill-based certifications need to be renewed after some time or when they have expired. The very reason why the certifications expire is that the skill either got up to date and the technology is already getting better that is why you need a refresher case or revision in order to continue using your certification.
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AWS
AWS certifications mainly last for only three years and the recertification process is simpler than most. You can either take the higher level of the same AWS certification that got expired or earn a higher-level certification from the AWS than the one that expired. Suppose you had the AWS architect certified solution that got expired then going for the AWS architect professional will get the job done for you and have the certification recertified.
CompTIA
Most of the CompTIA certifications expire every three years and that includes the CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Linux+ as well as the CASP+ certification too. If you fail to renew the certification after three years has passed then you would need to retake the latest version of the certification that got expired in order to get recertified. CompTIA Server+ and CompTIA Project+ are the certifications that are considered good for life and don’t expire or need to be renewed.
If you are not pursuing your CompTIA certification and it got expired and you are seeking to renew it then CompTIA offers you to do so with their continuing education program. With this program, you will be able to earn the continuing education units, and following a specific number of these CEUs, you will be able to easily recertify your CompTIA certification.
There are some activities that you can sign yourself up for in order to get recertified, these might be the single activities as follows;
- Completing the CompTIA CertMaster CE
- Earning a higher-level CompTIA certification
- Earn a non-CompTIA industry certification
- Passing the release of the same CompTIA certification
CISCO
The expiration for the CISCO certification varies between two to five years. In order to recertify, you must first get yourself registered for and pass the appropriate CISCO recertification exam. If your certification is way past certification then you would have to repeat the entire certification process. But there is a loophole that you can follow here before your certification is due expiration you must go for a refresher course that has just the right amount of the fresh knowledge that you might require, not too heavy but not too light either.
ISC (2)
ISC (2) has the same system as the CompTIA’s when it comes to keeping your certification current. If you are an ISC (2) certified member than you are required to earn a certain number of the CPEs within your three-year certification lifecycle. CPEs can be obtained in many possible ways such as reading a book, attending a conference, or managing a chapter of the professional organization. If you fail to procure the required CPEs within the ninety days when your certification expiry date has come then your certification will be permanently expired and you will have to start all over again.
Microsoft
In the year 2018 Microsoft announced that their certifications will no longer expire. The MCSE, MCSA, and the MSCD certification used to expire over the years but Microsoft is bringing a new concept forth to avoid it happening in the future.
Microsoft considers its certifications as legacy or active. Active certifications are for the services or products that have not yet reached their end state and the technology continues to get changed and innovated every passing day thus the need to recertify is imminent. But as for the legacy certifications, the technology has reached its end state and there is no need to recertify for those certifications. So there it is, your Microsoft certifications will not expire which means that they will only be classified under the active or legacy certifications.
So, if you have a Microsoft certification then you must always be looking for its status if it has gone to the legacy status then you better earn an active Microsoft certification.
VMware
VMware has taken the recertification process to a whole new level by having to put the recertification in your hands. VMware used to require recertification every two years but in response to their consumer feedback, they decided to put a pause over the recertification process and leave it to the consumers. Now you get to choose when you want to recertify and take on the updated exam on your certification.
If you want all the good jobs for yourself then it is required that you begin with acquiring the online IT training for the certifications that you are interested in.