I am thinking about doing some Microsoft certification exams to attempt to stay current while commuting to and from my current employment in London. The idea occurred to me when I noticed a Prometric testing centre just around the corner from the London offices.
I could wander out at lunchtime, do an exam, and return with letters after my name.
How does Jonathan Beckett MCPD sound ?
Two exams will get me “MCTS” - Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist”, and a further exam will earn me “MCPD” - Microsoft Certified Professional Developer.
The idiocy of doing certification exams is that they do not earn anything lasting - when the next generation shift in server software happens (in the next 2 years), the qualifications will become worthless.
So why bother doing the exams?
Self worth maybe? Feeling like I’m doing something that contributes to my long term career. Whether we like it or not, Microsoft are here to stay. It’s going to pay to be able to prove that I know what I am doing, rather than rely on narrow bands of experience.
Certifications also carry with them benefit to companies that hire you too - adding to their pool, which is valued by Microsoft. Earn enough for Gold partnership status, and everything concerned with building and managing things becomes free.
The only sticking point will be cost - professional certification exams are not free. Hopefully my employer will stump up for the exam costs, which leaves me with one problem;
When on earth am I going to find time to revise ?