US veterans can now apply their GI Bill benefits towards Cisco Certification exams.
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced that its award-winning certification program is now authorized for use with the Department of Defense’s education program DANTES (Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support). U.S. military veterans and their eligible dependents may use their GI Bill benefits to cover the full cost of any current Cisco® information technology (IT) certification exam.
“We believe that this collaboration with Cisco will be widely adopted by soldiers and sailors reentering the workforce after their military service,” said Dr. Jeffrey Cropsey, director of DANTES. “By providing access to Cisco’s certification portfolio, DANTES clients will be able to develop the skills and competencies in networking and IT that will open up lucrative and fulfilling career opportunities for our nation’s military veterans.”
Nice move on the part of Cisco. Too bad I used my benefits on college alread. 😦 The article doesn’t have a lot of detail (are you compensated for failed attempts, is the CCIE lab exam covered, etc), but if you are a veteran who is pursueing Cisco certification then definitely follow up with DANTES for more information.
Also in the article (well, press release really) is some good news for networking professionals during this recession:
According to recently released data from IDC, the projected supply of skilled networking professionals is not expected to keep pace with demand, resulting in an 8 percent gap, or 60,000 full-time skilled workers each year by 2011.(1) The need for qualified IT workers is particularly acute in advanced networking fields such as wireless, security and voice. DANTES strives to support military personnel to achieve their professional and personal educational objectives following discharge from active duty.
(1) IDC White Paper sponsored by Cisco Learning Institute, Networking Skills in North America: Trends Gaps, and Strategies, Doc # 210587, May 2008
I have no idea if those numbers are still accurate, but I’ll take any piece of good news I can at this point.
CCIE Pursuit Blog 
This is great. I just received payment for some Cisco tests I took back during the summer. They will pay for failed exams as well but will not cover training materials. Those interested in other IT vendor exams should check out the VA website and search for you particular exam.
Comment by scott — January 22, 2009 @ 8:03 am |
@scott – Thanks for the info. That’s a pretty cool use of the GI Bill (if they still call it that).
Comment by cciepursuit — January 25, 2009 @ 4:47 pm |
I have been using the GI Bill to pay for my certification tests for the last year and a half. I’m not sure what this agreement adds to the mix. Just take a test and send in a copy of the results paper (pass or fail) to the VA in your region and in a few weeks you get reimbursed. They will also cover the CCIE written and Lab portion. Again, just send them a copy of the results.
So, when I take my IE lab I just need to basically have the money up front to schedule and pay for the travel/lodging. 2-3 weeks later the $1400 comes back to me.
Hope that helps.
Comment by Jay — February 1, 2009 @ 10:58 pm |