Need opinions on MCSE certification

FreeRepublic ^ | 12-30-03 | hacksaw (Dan K)

[Hacksaw]

Here is the deal - I've been laid off again. My trade is information technology, mostly mainframe and midrange programming. A friend recommended getting MCSE certified. However, I keep reading that IT outsourcing is just going to keep getting worse. For those who have their MCSE, is it worth the time and money?

[Puppage]

We're ALWAYS looking for MCSE's

www.precisiongroup.com

[FormerLib]

Outsourcing is going to hit developers/programmers the hardest.

But good systems people (including MCSE's) will always have work.

[Chad Fairbanks]

It was worth it to me, as it always seemed to give me a leg up on the competition when seeking contracts etc... It didn't really do much for me after taking a permanent position with a company however.

[justlurking]

Your mileage may vary, but I've found that most employees don't consider an MCSE of any value for anything but entry-level employees.

[sigSEGV]

IMHO, letters after your name are useless unless they are something like CCIE.

[Tank-FL]

That was not the case in 1995 when I got mine in NT 3.51

But yes.. it does not .. in itself count for much.

If you do go for it, do it to learn the information. IMHO - Today, The education is more valuable than the cert.

This from a MSCE Since 1995, MCT Since 1997, CNE since 1994

[Salo]

MCSE and CNE certs have been devalued by the kwality of the people who have them - too many mills turning out One Week Wonders.

[wireplay]

I think it helps out a lot, especially if your background is mainframes and midrange. it shows diversification. Look into the other Microsoft certifications as well such as MCSD.

I have been in IT for 25 years, including mainframe and midrange, and am about to embark on the certification. It's hard but I think it adds credibility. Not sure if it will add to your pay but it is certainly better than not having one.

For what it's worth.

[Mr. Bird]

I'm in health care, but we hire IT folks all the time. One thing I've noticed is that there are a tremendous number of fresh MCSE's responding to job announcements all the time.

It may be a very good thing to have, but if everyone has it...Just check the demand in your local market before you spend too much money on training. Maybe strike a deal w/an employer willing to subsidize the training....

[STFrancis]

There are quite a few people that have a MCSE right now (me being one of them). Having an MCSE tells people that you are committed to learning and usually gets you in the door. What you are doing from there is up to you.

There are a lot of so called paper MCSE's (that studied but do not have the experience) which is why the MCSE has been a little downgraded in the industry. However, if you are an MCSE with some 'real-life' experience you should be able to find a job.

Computer Security is not a bad field to get into either... Check out the Security+ test for that or if you "really" feel like hurting the CISSP (But you need 5 years of verifiable experience in one of the 10 domains to take the test).

[BushCountry]

There are a ton of MCSEs that are paper tigers. I for one, can not understand for the life of me, why companies put so much weight into certifications.

Get the tests from "Testkillers" (the testkiller stuff is unbelieveable) or "Transdumper" or a hundred other places and become certified in a couple of weeks! Most of the stuff you will learn to pass the certifications is not used in the real world anyway, the solutions are Microsoft's.

Remote installations, network monitoring, virus protection, firewalls, gateways, backup, etc... are usually done by third party software because Microsoft solutions either don't work or extremely cumbersome.

[OldFriend]

As with any other job opportunity, experience is priceless.

[justlurking]

Your mileage may vary, but I've found that most employees don't consider an MCSE of any value for anything but entry-level employees.

A correction: the word in bold should be employers.

And I'll add another comment: if you have experience in any particular system administration or development discipline, you should emphasize that.

However, it doesn't hurt to develop basic or intermediate skills to complement what you already have. The MCSE certification courses might help you in that regard. But, don't expect it to open new doors for you, unless you don't have any other marketable skills.

[richardtavor]

Just my opinion, but in smaller companies (such as mine), that are way behind the IT curve, MCSE's are impressive (we are not big enough to afford our full time IT people, so we use consultants.)

[Rich_E]

I notice your expertise is with mainframe and midrange. I work in an integrated environment with mainframe and NT networking. Mainframe is a totally diffent environment. I got my MCSE 2 years ago and it helped me, but unless you want to go in a totally diffenet direction, I dont think I would do it.

[richardtavor]

My earlier reply:

Just my opinion, but in smaller companies (such as mine), that are way behind the IT curve, MCSE's are impressive (we are not big enough to afford our full time IT people, so we use consultants.)

[richardtavor]

From previous posts (FYI):


Just my opinion, but in smaller companies (such as mine), that are way behind the IT curve, MCSE's are impressive (we are not big enough to afford our full time IT people, so we use consultants.)

[ko_kyi]

Hacksaw, you should definitely get the MCSE. There are lots of large companies that require the paper just to get you in to talk to the IT manager doing the hiring. He knows, and you know, that there are lots of paper MCSEs but if you have good experience you talk about THAT in the interview, not the tests you have taken.

I was in a similar boat, got the MCSE, and landed a nice job in a Novell only shop. For some reason, their HR department listed MCSE as a desired prerequisite.

Good luck. I found when I did the tests that there is significant overlap between them, and once I got past the first 3 the next 4 were quite easy. Also, you can't go wrong with transcenders.

[Born Conservative]

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