Are MS Certs worth anything?

[NotAllThere]

Perhaps it's just in M$. The SAP world doesn't seem to care once a certain level of experience is reached.

[oracleslave]

Perhaps it's just in M$. The SAP world doesn't seem to care once a certain level of experience is reached.

SAP = Suffer After Purchase ??

[DBA_bloke]

SAP = Suffer After Purchase ??

Typical Oracle SAP-phobic, rabid, baying-at-the-moon whinging. I am in full agreement!

[r0bly0ns]

It's the way of the world but for some reason cheating only seems to devalue IT certs - all the rest - other qualifications and professions - are unaffected i.e. GCSEs, Degrees, plumbers, electricians blah blah.

I think the main difference between IT certs and GCSE's / Degrees is that you can get the certification by just turning up on the day and cheating at an exam.

Sure you can cheat at an exam on a degree or GCSE, but in order to get to the exam you have to have spent at least a year turning up to classes and actually doing some sort of work or training.
If what I have heard from old bosses is true, a degree is less about the actualy qualification and more about the life skills you learn by attending Uni for a few years.

[Jog On]

I think certs are good for getting your CV noticed and getting call backs/interviews.

It's a real shame that braindumping has done what it has to the certification world. Add that to all the training companies selling "get your [fill in the blanks] in 2 weeks then we'll put you into a £30k job!" rubbish and you've got certified people all over the place devalueing (sp?) the qualifications.

Now agents/clients 'expect' certain certs as a minimum.

Of course interview stage filters out the clueless from the real deal but it's a bit annoying that agents might be searching on keywords like MCSE and discounting applications that don't have it.

I can't be bothered with MS certs, I got a few NT4s and when they 'discontinued' the certification because it was out of date (even though at the time plent of people were still (and some still are) using it and had no intention of upgrading to W2k just because MS said it was time to).

I still use my NT4 cert - even though it's out of date - not that it makes any difference to how much I know or what I can do. I do think I get more call back because of it (and the CCNA) though.

[dr_beat]

I think the main difference between IT certs and GCSE's / Degrees is that you can get the certification by just turning up on the day and cheating at an exam.

Sure you can cheat at an exam on a degree or GCSE, but in order to get to the exam you have to have spent at least a year turning up to classes and actually doing some sort of work or training.
If what I have heard from old bosses is true, a degree is less about the actualy qualification and more about the life skills you learn by attending Uni for a few years.

What like getting pissed and running up huge debts??? Hardly life skills IMHO!

You can book yourself into a GCSE exam at a local college providing you give enough notice and pay them the 40 quid! You can also pay some chump on Yahoo Answers to do the coursework for you. You don't have to attend a course...unless you're at school of course!

[fridge]

I guess it is sorth having the certs but if you can get off with braindrump then it is an easy option. So in the end get the certs or you may not get the gig.

[vetran]

Aug 2007
2 million MCPs worldwide
1 Million MCSEs
68,000 2003 MCSEs

2004 - 15 million IT professionals worldwide

so MCP makes you 1 in 7.
MCSE makes you 1 in 15
2003 MCSE makes you one in 221 of IT people.



Note most MCP's are in the US so ratios are higher in UK.

[vhadiant]

When I was a permie, my company paid $2000 for each of the exam that I pass toward my MCSD.NET certification. You would be a brain dead if you didn't do it.

Took me a full year to do all 5 exams! So don't scoff people who had the cert, I learnt a lot more than I thought I knew from studying for the exams. I really recommend people actually studying for the exams, Amit Kalani's books are one of the best .NET books out there. Once you've done the book, might as well take the exam.

[NotAllThere]

SAP = Suffer After Purchase ??

Substantial Additional Profit.