Increase Your Paycheck: Get Certified!

What to Study

Personally, as both an employee and an employer, I would heartily recommend that every technical person review his career and decide what certifications could be useful. Let's take that system manager example that I mentioned earlier. What would be the perfect mix of certifications for a Windows NT system manager?

Here's what I suggest. Start with A+ and Network+. This will give you a broader understanding of the basics of computers. Proceed to get your MCSE by taking the following (these are the 4.0 exams, Windows 2000 has a different mix).

• Windows NT Workstation or Windows 95/98
• Windows NT Server
• Windows NT Enterprise
• Network Essentials
• Microsoft Exchange
• TCP/IP

Next, look at some broader certifications like CIW (Certified Internet Webmaster). These are nowhere near as difficult as the MCSE exams, and they serve to broaden you so you have more than a straight Microsoft bias. It's important to be able to understand how all of the technologies fit together ... there are other solutions that make more sense than Microsoft sometimes. You at least need to understand why you chose Microsoft verses another company so you can defend yourself.

Now what?

No, you are not done if you want to be complete. You could also become certified on various products such as Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop, IBM servers, HP printers, and so on.

But hold on! Wait a minute! How much does all of this cost? Well, guess what? It's not cheap ... it will take time and it will take money. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

The benefits to doing all of this are absolutely phenomenal. First of all, assuming you got through all of this honestly and actually learned the materials, you will become a very hot commodity indeed! Someone with an MCSE alone can easily expect to make 20% more than someone without it for the same position. That's just a fact about this industry. Second, your job will become easier. Believe me, it's so refreshing to ask, say, an Exchange expert about an exchange problem and get a straight answer instead of some bull or "I'll have to look at it". It's a great feeling just to know what needs to be done.

Third, if you do have to change jobs you will find it easier and you will get a higher quality position. In fact, you will probably find yourself with a choice of interviews and job offers.

And you make it very easy on your future employer. He doesn't have to guess ... he can just look at your certifications and have a pretty good idea what you are capable of.

Uh, but what about those people who just go to one of those "boot camps" or something and get the quick and dirty certification? A good interviewer can usually determine if a person knows his stuff or has just a "paper certification". If the person does get through the interview, well, a really good manager figures it out during the first 90 day breaking-in period and takes advantage of it.

But, you say you are a consultant. You don't need a full-time job so why do you need to be certified? Personally, I wouldn't even talk to a consultant who didn't have solid certifications behind him. When I hire Visual Basic programming consultants, I want proof that they know something. I want to see samples of their work and I want to see their certifications. If I need an expert to fix my Exchange server, I want to see that he's at least good enough to pass the Exchange exam. After all, I'm going to pay these guys anywhere from $75 to $225 an HOUR, so they had better have gone that extra mile.

Oh but, you say, you've never had a problem getting a job, computers are trivially easy to you and besides, certifications are for sissies. The only thing I can say to you is the industry is most definitely heading towards requiring certifications from people they hire in the computer field. It really doesn't matter whether you like it or not. Of course, this does not apply if you have an "in" or "know someone" ... but will that always be true?

Why Do I Know Anyway, You Say?

I'll just reiterate my advice. I am an old dog at this. I've been in the industry for 21 years now, and I've done it all. I've learned Basic, Fortran, Fortran Plus, Basic Plus, Forth, C, C++, Visual Basic, Java, HTML, Teco, assembler from a dozen machines, Bliss and even dabbled in firmware code. I've worked on the old PDP-11's (which had boot code that had to be hand-toggled into the computer each time and where the operating system was loaded with paper tape), VAXes, Macintosh's and PCs. I've written device drivers, real-time water pumping systems, applications of all kinds, disk defragmenters, file recovery programs and assembly language debuggers. I've designed and written everything you can think of. I've created intranet and internet sites and written over 45 manuals of 100 pages or more in length. I've managed teams of up to 15 people and I've crawled on my hands and knees laying cables and replacing burned out boards.

My advice is spend the time, spend the money and get certified. Do it for real and honestly and learn your trade. You will never regret it.