Career advancement...Is an MCSE the way forward?

[Underemployed]

I'm trying to get a better job in computing (Yorkshire area, UK) and am considering MCSE certification. I've got the experience and, along with the books, I am confident of passing without any problems.

Anyone out there who has gone down this road before, only to find that the qualifications didn't help? Or did they make the difference?

Also, with the forthcoming release of service pack 2 and 64-bit Windows on the horizon, will there be a new edition of all the books and exams out soon?

[Iconoclast]

Originally posted by Underemployed
Anyone out there who has gone down this road before, only to find that the qualifications didn't help? Or did they make the difference?I'm a software architect/developer so I can't really help you there, though it's my understanding that MCSEs are more highly sought than non MCSE MS dudes, but...
Originally posted by Underemployed
Also, with the forthcoming release of service pack 2 and 64-bit Windows on the horizon, will there be a new edition of all the books and exams out soon? I don't think Service Pack 2 will really change anything regarding your MCSE though there will be quite a few changes to the way XP handles security, however when Longhorn gets released in 2006 everything will change since this OS is a radical departure from anything that's come before it in the MS world. This applies to both Network Admins and Developers.

[iain]

I think certifications can get you an interview and experience gets you the job (obviously a gross generalisation, but the best I can do).

You could try looking on www.jobserve.com and search on MSCE and see how many jobs there are, and where there are.

I haven't seen much come up in Sheffield or Leeds recently, but I'm Linux/Unix rather than Windows.

[heath]

I did an MCSE back in the NT 4 days and have mixed feelings about them.

For a start I let mine lapse and haven't updated to win2k or xp and personally I don't rate MCSE's as anything more than paper qualifications....

HOWEVER If I'm honest my MCSE helped me get my foot in the door when I moved into IT from a different field. They are a (low IMO) base level quality bar that you can judge people by when veting for a position, much like having ANY degree is used to weed out people from a list of applicants. Once you're on the road it's more what you do than qualifications you have (IMO) that gets you further. (FYI I'm an IT manager for an investment bank). YMMV

$0.02 and change

[corplinx]

I got an NT4 MCSE when it was a hot thing to have. Mind you, I was a UNIX diehard but I was coming out of college and wanted to get a pay bump on my next job. It worked.

I used an O'Reilly book for unix admins pursueing the cert and had passed all the tests on the first try.

Later, my employer offered me a 3k raise to update it the cert for Windows 2000 (even though I didnt do any work with MS products). That was the easiest raise I ever got.

Nowadays I am mostly involved in Unix work and I get that with my experience (Im Sun certified but nobody seems to care). MCSE is almost anathema to some of the people who see your resume for Unix jobs. They know its complete BS and they will assume you are full of BS too.

Here's to MS who took a glorified operator's certificate and called it an Engineering certification.

[Oleron]

MCSE helped me. I've got NT4 and W2k MCSE's and am doing the Windows 2003 track at the moment.

It's a tougher course now than it was in NT4 days.

I had been a lowly field engineer for years when I took the exams and all of a sudden my employer started to 'notice me'. I was lucky that they put a lot of faith on the MCSE track at the time.

I didn't really become a better engineer than I was before, I just had the qualifications that gave my employer the excuse to promote me.

I have a lot of reservations about the exams but I also have a lot to thank them for. The good thing is that they're cheap. You can buy a set of books for £100 and pay around £85 per exam sitting (hopefully your employer will pay this) and pass the lot.

These days it is not enough to be skilled, you must be seen to be skilled.
Good luck.

[Uh_Clem]

A lot of times it depends on who reads your resume. I've worked for places where the IT dept had very little to do with the hiring process. The hiring managers looked at nothing but certs, and as a result they were infested with folks who were great at taking tests and filled out their timesheets dilligently but could barely log into thier own workstation.

I'd say it certainly can't hurt you.

[Wudang]

My wife was recruiting people to write web apps fronting SQL Server in Sheffield recently and some sort of qualification was something she looked for. Ideally of course she looks for a numerate degree (maths, engineering etc) but recognised qualifications help separate you from the amatuers using FrontPage etc.
She tried a java course at a college in Rotheram and stopped after 2 weeks when it became clear the teacher didn't know java or anything in fact but did have the java source for a calculator which he wanted everyone to copy.

[Underemployed]

Thank you all for your input - everyone has had something relevant and interesting to say (as usual!).

I think I will go for it. Will keep you posted later this year to see if anything comes of it.

[Wudang]

The other big factor my wife saw was the quality of CVs - when someone has a pile to wade through the ones that are scrappy or poorly-spelled or employ vertical and linear mumbling (sole user of an anthromorphically-compatible torque transmission device interfacing directly with hardware = own a screwdriver) get chucked early. It's probably not fair but the person reading the CVs is busy and lots of people apply for jobs.
PM me if you want me to eyeball your CV.