I really liked this picture, it’s from the Microsoft Certification site.

I have been guilty in the past of chasing Microsoft Certifications, heck, any certifications. Today I was looking at Redmond Magazine’s 12th Annual IT Salary Survey (Registration required to view the whole survey), and I didn’t recognize many of the Microsoft Certifications that were listed. Sure, I knew the products that they were talking about, but not the titles.

To be perfectly honest, I haven’t looked at the certification tracks since Microsoft introduced Windows 2000.

So I figure maybe it’s time for me to look at them again. I have already been giving it some thought, because it seems like this would be a really good time to start a certification.

This is because Microsoft just released a new operating system (Vista), and will soon release a new Server Operating System (Windows Server 2008). Not to mention the fact that their product releases have been happening so fast now that they will make your head spin.

So, Why get certified?

Many people like certifications because they can:

- list the titles after their names in their signatures

- find new jobs

- have better job prospects

- show that they have proven themselves on a particular technology

The reason I like them is that you actually have to learn something in order to get certified. Sure, you can memorize test question answers, but that’s only going to get you so far. If you really want to make sure that you are going to pass an exam, you should learn the material.

I am also a huge believer that anything that you learn in a technical discipline, will one day help you understand something in another technical discipline. Really.

In studying and learning for the Windows NT certification, I learned so much, but much of it I had already learned when I was working with Banyan Vines. I bet most of you haven’t heard of Banyan Vines.

Do I need to be Certified?

No, you don’t have to be certified. Currently I’m not. I actually have never had a certification at the time of my hiring for any of my jobs. I do see certifications listed as being required, or at least desirable, in many job postings. Same goes for technology degrees.

The Paper Tiger and a change in the industry

Back when I was getting certifications, the industry was flooded with people who memorized answers, and became certified. When they were hired, their employers, employees, and co-workers soon found out that they did not have any idea of what they were doing. This made certifications less desirable to employers.

This is not to say that everyone who has a certification is a sham.

Over time, the vendors started making their certifications harder to achieve. Questions were really difficult, and tests became adaptive. On some tests, if you answered a question wrong, then you were asked more questions about that topic. I believe that certifications have gained back their credibility.

Danger Will Robinson!

Now there is one tactic that I would not suggest. In this particular salary survey, the top dog expertise is “Identity Integration Server”. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who are thinking that they would like to earn $104,333 dollars a year.

Guess what, there are a lot of people out there who are thinking that.

Don’t run out and base your career on that technology. I really don’t suggest doing that.

Posted in Career, Certifications, Microsoft 9 Comments »