Secrets of Certification Success. Paul Sr. Dwyer

is often listed as either a requirement or “desirable” in many technical specifications for jobs. The market place for IT jobs has become increasingly competitive. Certification will help you stand out from the crowd.

      The Changing Marketplace

      I have been in the Information Technology business for over thirty years. Almost all of that time I have been developing computer database applications, starting with Fortran and most recently with Visual Basic .Net and Microsoft SQL Server. I also do Oracle PL/SQL development. I now work for a consulting company and I also work part-time as an MCT. After twenty five years in the same industry, I was looking for a change and some variety. I also noticed what a lot of other people noticed about compensation for IT employees and consultants. Things were changing!!!

      In the late eighties when I first started consulting, things were great. If you looked at a piece of software sideways for more than fifteen minutes you were an expert. Rates were great too. Things are different now. Since the late eighties the marketplace for IT personnel has become very crowded. Many more people now have Computer Science degrees and there is a glut of technical people, all of whom have the same skills. Many of these people have come from overseas from countries like Russia, China and India. Companies worldwide in need of people with information technology skills have been quick to capitalize on and to exploit this incoming flood of talent. If I was in the shoes of the people coming from these countries I would probably be doing the same thing. This is what motivated my Irish ancestors to come to the “Land of Opportunity”. The result is that rates have come down and there is a lot more competition for the same job.

      More recently there is even more pressure on IT personnel because of the use of offshore companies by American companies. Many of the clients of the consulting company I work for are using offshore software developers and outsourcing their desktop support. One of the biggest users of offshore IT personnel is Big Blue – IBM. Many companies like to say they are using IBM as their software development resource but they don’t tell their customers that IBM is subcontracting offshore developers. Needless to say, IBM does not like to talk about this either.

      These developments were not something that I anticipated when I first got into this business. My oldest son was in his second year of college; my daughter was a senior in high school and getting ready to start college in a year. My youngest son was in seventh grade and also thinking about college someday. It was not a good time for anyone to be taking pay cuts or getting slim to no pay-raises. I know a lot people my age (I’m in my mid-fifties) who have been laid off or downsized in the past few years. Most of them could not afford to retire at 50. You can cry and moan about how it’s not fair but that doesn’t pay the bills. So far I’ve been very fortunate with the consulting company that I work for but more than once I’ve been told that my company could not submit me for job for a client because they could not pay me and still make a profit based on what the client was willing to pay. I decided that I needed a backup and an alternative.

      Certification Gives You Options and Opportunities

      Challenge and Opportunity All In One

      I decided to look into the possibilities of becoming a Microsoft Certified Trainer. The first step and biggest hurdle was obtaining a premier certification from Microsoft. When I began this journey (June of 2002) in order to become a Microsoft Certified Trainer the possibilities for me for a premier certification were an MCDBA (Microsoft Certified Database Administrator), an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer), or an MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer). In order to get my MCDBA I would need to pass four exams. For my MCSD I would need to pass five exams. For an MCSE I would need to take and pass seven exams. At his time there was some overlap on the exams so that if you passed a certain exam for the MCDBA it would count towards one of the exams for the MCSE.

      The second step was easy and just involved taking any Microsoft course and observe how it was taught.

      The third step was to take a “Train the Trainer Course” and learn good techniques for training professional adults.

      The last step was to send in an application with a fee (currently $400). When you have successfully completed the first three steps then you are notified in a day or two that you are now an MCT and you are sent a welcome kit.

      Certification Gives You the Satisfaction of Success and an Endorsement by a Big Name