If you are thinking about becoming a CIW Web Foundry Associate, then the first step is to decide on a specific program. You may have heard that choosing the wrong program could be a waste of time and money. In fact, it’s very common to encounter people who make the wrong choice and end up wasting both time and money. You want to avoid this by taking some time to think about exactly what you need from the training and what type of associate’s degree or certificate you want to earn. In this article, I’ll discuss the different types of CIW Web Foundry certifications and which ones apply to your career goals.

Option 1 – The most popular and common way to become certified is to complete CIW Foundry Associate courses and take the corresponding exams. Option 1 allows you to put additional qualifications on your resume as long as you are able to successfully pass the certification tests. You can also choose the second option that enables you to simply write a separate test for each of the three core areas that are covered within the Foundry courses. When you pass all three exams, you’ll automatically earn the CIW Web Foundations associates certification..

Option 2 – This option takes slightly longer than option one because you have to fulfill a number of requirements before you can be certified. In addition to passing the exam, you must have at least three years experience as a web security engineer and you must have at least two years experience as a webmaster. Once you’ve passed the certification exam, which is offered in two formats – CompTIA A+, B+ or C you’ll receive your associate degree and your certificate (if you earned the C instead of B+ or C.)

As a CIW Web Foundation Associate, you’ll need to follow the same certification path as other Web Security professionals. As part of the certification process, you must complete and pass the certification exams. You will be given a final CIW Web Foundations Abroad Study Guide so you can get a feel for the exam. Once you complete your certification, you’ll be ready to take the road ahead and set up your own professional web design courses.

Option 3 – If you don’t care as much about passing the certification tests and don’t have the time required to do so, CIW has created an online program that will enable you to still take the exam, but it will be done from your home computer. If you’re a CIW Web Foundation Associate who already has a significant amount of experience in the web design courses, this is a great choice for you. However, if you’re a beginning web designer who wants to build up some experience, the CIW Web Development certification may be more appropriate for you. The associate exams are only a few hours long, whereas the web design courses usually take four to six weeks to complete. In addition, the associate exam costs less than the development certification, which is around $200.

Option four – If you feel that the CIW Web Foundations certification is not right for you, or that the cost would be too great for you to afford the courses, then you might want to consider taking the exam for the web design courses that CIW offers. This is a separate, higher level certification offered by CIW that gives the web designer two additional certifications in addition to the web design courses. The associate certification is a great choice for beginning designers, since it gives additional expertise in areas beyond just web design. You’ll be able to help people with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and with HTML editing. It can also give you knowledge about graphic design and Internet marketing. Although it does cost more than the web design courses, it may be a good investment for a beginning web designer.

Option five – If you feel that the certificate from the CIW Web Foundations course isn’t adequate, and you want more, then you might consider looking into the CIW Specialist Certification. This is the highest level of certification offered by CIW and is offered by the independent assessor, certified by CIW. In addition to having the specialist certification, the person must also pass a comprehensive test covering all the areas of web security. This test covers everything from web application security to XML Access Security, and it is a very comprehensive exam. Once the person passes the test, they will become certified as a CIW Specialist.

In order to take the online tests for these certifications, you must have CIW Web Foundations or Web Application Security certification, and you must have at least one year of experience as a web design specialist. Keep in mind that there are a lot of people who can get certified as a CIW Web Foundations associates without having any experience whatsoever, so don’t be discouraged if you see this happening! Once you’ve earned your CIW Web Foundation Associate certification, then you’ll be able to work as a consultant, a manager, or even open up your own consultancy. However you need to remember that in order to get certified as a Web Foundations consultant, a person must have at least one year of experience as a web design specialist, or they cannot become certified. Now that you know the differences between the two certifications, start checking out the different certifications today!