Log in

West-MEC student earns associate level IT Networking certification

Posted 7/19/19

Students at Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC), a public career technical education district, earned certifications that qualify them for well-paying careers upon graduation.

Every year …

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor

West-MEC student earns associate level IT Networking certification

Posted

Students at Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC), a public career technical education district, earned certifications that qualify them for well-paying careers upon graduation.

Every year at the Southwest Campus in Buckeye, IT security instructor Paul Getz stands up at orientation and challenges his students.

“I tell them I’m not going to limit them. I’ve got enough content to last five years, so students can push themselves beyond what’s listed in the curriculum. Duane really took me to task on that,” Mr. Getz laughed.

Duane Balog

Duane Balog, a recent graduate from Estrella Foothills High School, 13033 S. Estrella Parkway, came to West-MEC with a plan to earn as many certifications as he could, as quickly as he could. His determination landed him a job in the IT field right out of high school at Canyon Business Solutions in Surprise.

Technology and the demands of the IT industry are constantly changing.

“If you pool 100 industry professionals, they’re going to have varying amounts of certifications, and some will have zero,” Mr. Getz stated.

Still, credentials are a way for professionals to validate the skills they’ve developed. Certification attainment is the goal of the IT security program at West-MEC so students can provide proof of their capabilities to employers. The first semester focuses on hardware and software in preparation for the CompTIA A+ certification.

“Within six weeks, Duane already passed both A+ tests first try. And I’m not talking just barely passed,” Mr. Getz stated.

After setting up an independent plan with Mr. Getz, Mr. Balog identified his next challenge, the CompTIA Network+ certification. At that point, no other IT security student had passed the test.

“Duane asked me for some materials so he could study at home. Within three weeks he passed the Network+ exam. At this point, I knew he was serious about his plan,” Mr. Getz stated.

Next on Mr. Balog’s list was the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification, but he needed to practice with networking hardware first, something he couldn’t do at home.

In a climate controlled space detached from the IT security classroom, two black towers of servers, routers, switches, and cables connect to a laptop used for running network simulations. This room was Mr. Balog’s playground for two months as he, along with another student, Matthew Graves, worked through a 500-page document on how to configure the NetLab.

“It typically costs $10,000 for a professional to come out and set up the NetLab and I just didn’t have enough hours in a day to do it myself. So, I saw an opportunity to give Duane and Matthew ownership over a project. Duane would come in early and lock himself in the server room with Matthew and they’d just go at it,” Mr. Getz stated.

After spending time with the physical components used in creating a network, Mr. Balog was ready for the next certification exam.

“Cisco recommends you have three years of experience before taking the CCNA, but Duane had a plan. For a month, he was studying five hours a day in preparation. It paid off because he smashed the test,” Mr. Getz stated. “I can’t tell you how absurd it sounds to do the CCNA so quickly.”

Certifications and technical know-how are important to employers, but they aren’t the only factors that influence career development.

“We still struggle with soft skills and professional skills in our field. Certifications validate your aptitude, but can you articulate what you know in an interview? You’ve got to be able to work well with others and stay humble, it’s easy to come off as arrogant in this business really fast,” Mr. Getz stated.

To help develop professional skills, all students in the IT security program are involved with the career technical student organization SkillsUSA. Students get the opportunity to meet other people in similar programs, have the opportunity to lead in officer roles, and test their skills at competitions.

After updating his LinkedIn profile to reflect attaining his CCNA certification, Mr. Balog was consistently getting job offers. He ended up taking a position with Canyon Business Solutions, close to his home in Surprise with a salary ramping up to $50,000 within his first year.

Editor’s note: West-MEC contributed to this story. West-MEC is based at 5487 N. 99th Ave., Glendale 85305.

West-MEC, Buckeye