The initials mean that someone is a certified professional for a specific task or product. But before going through the process of earning such a certification, a networking professional should determine whether those initials are worth the effort necessary to acquire them.

"It's a tough question," said Robert Rosen, president of Share, the IBM mainframe user group, and CIO of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in Bethesda, Md. "But I know a lot of people who use them as a gating factor [when hiring], so if you want to maximize your opportunities, they're a good thing to have."

"It certainly is worthwhile," said Matthew Cody, a convergence engineer at Verizon Communications Inc.'s offices in Maplewood, N.J.

Four years ago, Cody began a quest to acquire four different Cisco Systems Inc. certifications to gain specialized skills. The effort eventually led to a new job with a 10 percent pay increase, he said.

The downside of certification, Rosen said, is that it doesn't guarantee competence.