[Clintons Are White Trash]

My son recently got his MCSE. I was amazed at how quickly and easily he passed the tests - studying the book a day or so before the test and finishing well before the time given. (Is it that easy or is he just that smart :) ?) I'm not aware of his taking any classes, he's 22 and has been working for 2 years in networking stuff (techinical term here) and setting up retail websites, etc. He's had very little formal education in computers, but seems to have a natural ability for it. I keep bugging him to get his degree. (He started working toward a Chemical Engineering degree and quit after 1-1/2 years.) Should he find it necessary to seek other employment, what type of computer languages/classes would any of you recommend that he have under his belt to make him most employable?

[Space Wrangler]

My son recently got his MCSE. I was amazed at how quickly and easily he passed the tests - studying the book a day or so before the test and finishing well before the time given. (Is it that easy or is he just that smart :) ?

I studied from a CD-ROM set for about 2 weeks, and then went and took the six tests in 3 days at $100 each. From the time I got my course materials to my certification was less than 3 weeks at a cost of about $900. At the time a friend of mine also took the tests with me. He "studied" by doing nothing more than taking the practice tests provdided in the course materials. By the time two weeks was up, he had memorized the answers to all of the practice questions, which in reality WAS the test questions. Like I said above, the MCSE cert. has been good for me, and I no doubt make more money because of it. My only gripe with it is, like I stated above, that the course material, as well as the testing, is not a realistic indicator of how well one knows the systems he becomes certified in. Your son is probably naturally inclined towards computers, and that is the most valuable asset he can have in this business. He would do just as well without the cert. in his actual job, but that little piece of paper seems to mean alot to potential employers.

I was interviewing for a VERY high paying position in a large city about 2yrs. ago. It was a 6 month contract, and I decided that I could handle the drive as well as the extended time away from home for the amount of money the job paid. My first interview was with a human resources type, and she was very professional and asked all about my education and certifications and so forth. The second interview was with the IT mgr of the company, and he asked me this question: "How do you feel your recent MCSE certification has prepared you for handling the day to day maintenace and implementation of new hardware and software?" My response: "I don't feel that it has helped me, as a matter of fact, if I didn't have it I could do just as good of a job here, but if I didn't have it, you and I wouldn't be talking right now". The human resources type was visibly aghast, but the IT mgr just laughed and said "right answer, when can you start?" That job ended up lasting about 9 mos, and I still keep in contact with the IT mgr at that company.