The IT hiring market still hasn't recovered from the dot-com crash, and it's not looking likely that we'll ever again see those days when anyone with even a basic knowledge of networking was fawned over and courted like the latest Hollywood starlet.

But there are signs that if you're Cisco-certified, things are looking up for you. In a recent hiring survey of CIOs, 51 percent cited Cisco network administration as a high-demand specialty. Also in demand was Checkpoint firewall expertise, cited by 51 percent of CIOs as a high-demand specialty as well.

The Cisco numbers will likely go even higher, because demand for Cisco certified professionals has been rising quickly. In the first two quarters of 2004, Cisco expertise was cited by 34 and then 38 percent of CIOs as high demand specialties.

What does this mean? If you're looking for a solid future, get your certification, and expand your expertise. No, don't expect to party again like it's 1999, but you'll get celebrations enough with a higher salary and more job offers - and this time, there won't be a hangover.