CIW Website Design Manager.

admin

Am I correct in a assuming that you are, or wish to be a webmaster or other web related position?

Unfortunately, there really aren't a lot of certification options available for web related work. Microsoft has a few exams, CompTIA has i-Net+ which is entry-level, and then there is CIW which is probably the best option.

If you do achieve this cert, make sure that you spell it out on your resume - i.e. "Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) instead of just CIW. That way, people who do not know what CIW is, will have some idea.

admin

Our job database only has 4 listings for CIW. It does appear that there is not a lot of need or recognition for these certifications and I think I can partially explain this with a little history..

A few years ago, Prosoft Training was heavily promoting the CIW certs and doing a great job of getting the word out about their newer programs. They even partnered up with us (linked to us, sent us training materials for review, etc.). In exchange, we created a CIW section on this site that you still see today. During this time, there were a lot of people taking the exams and the program was very healthy and growing fast.

However, the startup costs came back to haunt them and in 2002 they were in financial trouble. They tried to find a buyer for the program but couldn't find one until February of 2004. They merged with Trinity Learning and then unmerged with them a short time later.

So, all of the drama and changes have probably had a very negative impact on their credibility. At the very least, their ability to promote their certifications and gain better industry recognition.

My suggestion would be to just take the CIW Foundations exam since their appears to be little recongnition of the cert anyway. That way you have something on your resume without taking a bunch of exams for a higher title. I would also still recommend the i-net+. Both exams should be pretty easy...