Will that MCSE certification make a difference in the progress of your career? In today’s installment in our ongoing series of MCSE certification articles, a hard-working Gnomie kindly shares his positive experience. Keep your nose in the books and pray for good timing, my friends. The rewards can be there if you’re in the right place, with the right skills, at the right time …

With great detail, Gnomie Lee wrote:

I started as a PC helpdesk person, hardware and OS specialist, in 93. Transitioned to the network side in 94, and, as we were a Novell shop, went after and got my CNE. I did this through self study (David James Clark IV’s massive book) over a year. About the time I finished, I became aware of MS server software. Realizing that they were going after and would probably take Novell’s entrenched back office position (the only example of prescience I have ever exhibited), I told my wife she was in for another year of not seeing me. Took me another year of self study. Mind you, at that time, there were no boot camps, nor even certification books, as such. The books I used were the manuals, both paper and electronic, that came with the software, and general books written about the OS and back office software. My elective (MCSE on NT 3.51) was SNA server. There was no book at all, so I studied a printout I made of all the electronic documentation. The stack was almost 2′ tall. Finished my MCSE Oct of 96. Skipped MCSE 4.0. Went the self study route again to recertify on Win2k. 7 tests, as there was no upgrade path from MCSE 3.51. Last year I recertified as a 2 test upgrade, to Win2k3.

Cost the first time? Company paid for tests I passed. MS was running specials for buy one test, get another free. I ended up spending probably $100 or so for books, and I think I had to pay for 2 tests @ $75 each (prices HAVE gone up, haven’t they?).

For MCSE 2k, I failed one test. Company paid for passes, so cost me $125. Company bought my books, too.

For MCSE 2k3, 2 tests only, cost me $125 for one retake.

Salary. Yeah, it made a difference. I went from $35 k as a help desk person, in 95, to $65 as a network admin, in 97. Again, I was early in, there were few MCSEs (my original cert number was in the 12,000s). Story would have been different, I suspect, 5 years later. But I was dual certified, as MCSE and Novell CNE, in a time when both were very valuable.

In Lee’s case, it sounds like success came as a result of both hard work and good fortune. The first question isn’t whether you should attend a boot camp or crack the books. It’s knowing which skills to acquire today to compete in tomorrow’s world … not an easy task. You’ll be ahead of the game if you can start with a clear vision and someone to cut the checks …