* IEEE backs vendor-agnostic wireless certification program
Let’s say you need to hire wireless-savvy personnel in your IT department. How do you know that a given candidate’s resume accurately reflects the skill levels needed for a specific wireless project or position?
To help out on this score, the IEEE Communications Society has devised a wireless certification program covering all aspects of wireless communications technologies such as 802.11 wireless LANs, traditional mobile WANs, WiMAX and so forth. The IEEE Wireless Communications Engineering Technologies (WCET) Certification program will offer tests during two time periods each year, starting Sept. 22 to Oct. 10, 2008, in 500 locations across 75 countries. Wireless professionals with at least three years of wireless experience already under their belts can become certified.
The IEEE goal is to have the certification, which carries an international scope, represent “a level of knowledge and skills that [an IT department] can depend on,” says Jean Niblett, WCET project manager.
She explains that for the most part, wireless education differs among universities and various training programs. “So it’s hard to tell if individuals have a balanced knowledge of wireless,” she says. Though they have similar resumes, “some individuals might be highly skilled, while others are not so skilled.”
An IEEE WCET certification on a resume would let employers know that an individual carries a base level of vendor-agnostic, currently relevant wireless engineering knowledge in the following areas:
* RF engineering
* Propagation and antennas
* Access technologies
* Network and service architecture
* Network management and security
* Facilities infrastructure
* Agreements, standards, policies and regulations
Created by engineers at a variety of wireless consultancies, universities, carriers and federally funded organizations, the WCET certification test will cost $500 for non-IEEE members to take. The program will be updated continually to reflect current technologies and trends, Niblett says. Click here to find out more.
