Wednesday, July 22, 2009

MY PHILNITS EXPERIENCE

The long and short of it is that I passed the PHILNITS exam! I couldn’t believe it at first but seeing my name in their website surely convinced me. ^_^ Although passing the exam is indeed an important part, the road I took getting there is equally important. I would also take this chance to promote PHILNITS and to help create an awareness among the students.

PHILNITS? What’s that? That is my reaction when I first heard the word. I have been studying Information Technology for three years and never did I encounter that word. Thanks to Rendel, USEP’s first passer, I became aware of what PHILNITS is and what it offers. So, for those who have no idea of what PHILNITS is, here is a brief description of what it is and what it offers.

The PhilNITS certification exams are used to evaluate the knowledge and skills of an IT engineer on the fundamentals of IT. It requires the person to have the ability to develop a good program by making full use of techniques related to basic-level algorithm and data structure. The PhilNITS certification exams also require the person to be able to successfully carry out jobs such as system designing, program development, unit tests, and system integration tests.

PhilNITS has played a great role in the development of globally competitive Filipino IT engineers. First officially administered in 2002, it has produced a total of 712 certified individuals, has grown to be one of the largest scale national IT examinations in the Philippines. Japan officially recognizes the certificate for processing of an engineer’s visa. And through the Japan IT Engineers Examination Center (JITEC), mutual recognition of the examination amongst several ASEAN countries brings about cross-border utilization of IT human resources and stimulates business alliances across the region.

Here are just some of the many opportunities PhilNITS can bring your way…
• Priority in availing of training scholarships (locally or in Japan) like AOTS, CICC, JETRO, etc.
• Preferential treatment in job applications (especially to Japanese companies) both here and abroad
• Gold medal award given to students during graduation

There, I hope that helps you. I hope that you will decide to take the exam and to also pass it. Going back to my story, after hearing about it, I decided to take the exam. The only hitch is that I did not have the necessary funds for the review and for the exam. I prayed to God that somehow I would be able to realize my goal. The Lord graciously answered my prayers through a sponsoring company, Data Horizon. I was very elated when sir Jappeht Fortich informed me that I was one of the students that they chose to take the review. At first, a rumor circulated that only four students will be sponsored by the company. But in the end all those who submitted their applications were approved. ^_^

For two month, from March to April, I attended the review classes that were being conducted by sir Aloysius “Loy” Torres, also a PHILNITS passer. All through that time, I was only absent once. I had to attend my PE 2 practicum class that was being held at the same time as the review so I had to excuse myself then. On April 26, I took the exam and after at least three weeks of waiting, sir Loy texted me to congratulate me for passing the exam. ^_^

For those who believe and think that I had it easy, well, you are wrong. The review period could never be considered as “smooth sailing” at all. There were many times that almost all day I was just studying at home. I also had to sacrifice things that were important to me. One of the things that I had to let go was the possibility of attending the 50th Anniversary of our church, Caloocan Bible Church, back in NCR. Even if this event only comes once in a lifetime I chose to remain here in Davao so I could review for the upcoming exam. During the holy week, I also had to forgo attending our church camp which would be held at EDEN because I had to review. What I’m trying to say is that you must take the review seriously and that you must want to pass the exam badly. You must be willing to sacrifice things that are important to you just to be properly prepared for the exam. Basing on the results, I think my decisions at that time were the right ones.

I think I’ve said the important parts of this segment in my life but before I end, I will give my thanks to where it is due. First and foremost, I thank the Lord for helping me throughout this experience. I give Him back all the glory and honor for without Him I would not be here at all. Secondly, to my parents , for supporting me in the decisions that I make and for being there for me always, to Data Horizon, for their generosity in sharing what they have in order to realize other’s dreams and aspirations. To sir Loy for patiently teaching us the smart way to pass the exam and also for helping me finish this article, and the last but not the least to the Institute of Computing of the University Of Southeastern Philippines (USEP) for equipping their students with the right tools in order to achieve their goals. Without you this achievement would never be possible.