Microsoft MCSE Practice Pays Off

Technology certifications are becoming as valuable as a college degree in a technical field, industry observers say.

"There's no question certification is becoming a national trend," says Ramsey Pedersen, Honolulu Community College provost, "For technical skills and expertise, a degree in computer science from a particular college doesn't guarantee to the employer the same quality control that certification does."

Microsoft, Oracle and Cisco each design a curriculum for certification in their systems, and colleges and certified training centers around the world use these curricula for training.

"Many people in the work force are not interested in a degree but are interested in certifications that would give them job advancement," Pedersen says. "What certifications have done is give people a parallel track where they opt strictly for the training instead of the degree."

Microsoft Certified Solution Developer and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer are two of the certifications most soughtafter by employers and employees.

"An MCSE with no experience could expect to earn a salary between $30,000 to $40,000, depending upon what other skills he or she brings to the table," says Jeff Bloom, executive director of the Computer Training Academy and Network Resource Center, which provides both technical and desktop applications training. "Someone with experience and an MCSE could easily earn six figures."

However, Peter Kay, president of Web-development firm CyberCom Inc., says a college degree can be superior to certification in some cases.

For example, if you received a degree in computer science at a college that focused exclusively on Microsoft networks, in many ways that may be better than an MCSE," Kay says. But he adds, "Certifications play a significant role in some of the positions that we hire for."

And certification doesn't come cheap. The cost of MCSE and MCSD certifications at Honolulu's two Microsoft-certified technical education centers is between $9,000 and $10,00 each.

"There are seven classes [for each certification]," Bloom says. "Each class costs about $2,000. But we do a package deal for about $10,000. Most times, companies pay for it."

To become an MCSE, you have to have a lot of hands-on work or MCSE practice, says Grant Kimura, senior vice president of TeraBiz, which provides technical and desktop application training.

Kimura believes the investment of time and money is well worth it, but one needs a perfect MCSE practice to get a lucrative salary.

"You invest $9,000 to get trained and become an MCSE and you come out ahead of someone who may have spent $50,000 on a four-year degree," Kimura says. "If timing is an issue, our classes for certification run about five months for someone who has no computer skills, as opposed to four or five years for a baccalaureate."

MCSE Certification