alt.certification.mcse - Good news...but not for fakes.

Author

Good news...but not for fakes.

DenverBob

2002-08-31, 5:29 pm

I've recently been looking for a new position. I've had several good
interviews, and have turned down some offers that really didn't make it
worth my while to leave my current position. Here is the common theme among
my experience so far:
1) My MCSE on W2K gets me interviews, but nothing more. Experience is king
( have been in IT for 20 years...10 with NT/2000...the rest is mainframe and
UNIX).
2) Employers want AT LEAST 5 years experience in most cases, and more for
the positions that I'm after.
3) MCSE is only part of the package with the experience...a degree is also
considered important (I don't have my degree, but I'm completing it online
in Computer Science). They are also looking for the MCSE on W2k much more
now than the NT 4 MCSE.
4) Practical exams are now a normal part of the interview process! I've
had 4 of them so far (usually on the second or "technical" interview).
5) Many positions are not being published. Companies are simply having
their HR folks comb the wire for qualified candidates, and then calling them
in. They have gotten so inundated by hundreds of unqualified morons for any
IT position that they post, that it simply isn't worth the effort to sift
through the hundreds to find the 5 percent who actually qualify. 2 of the
managerial positions I'm currently in the running for were positions that I
didn't even apply for...they found me instead!
6) Liars are getting caught....and turned in. I am currently one of 4
remaining candidates for an IS Manager position. Originally, there were 7
finalists. I was told that when the company contacted Microsoft to verify
certifications, 3 of the finalists had lied about being an MCSE (1 was an
MCSE on NT 4, who lied about being an MCSE on W2K). The company formally
reported them to Microsoft, and there's a good chance that these 3 will
never be able to get their certification. They also told me that this is
now a common practice because of the unbelievable number of people who are
dishonest about their credentials.
7) Salaries are down, but are about what the salary surveys say they are
(for my qualifications/experience). The offers I have turned down already
were in the 70k/yr. range. The positions I'm currently in the running for
are in the 80k to 85k per year range (hands-on IS/IT Manager positions).

When I started looking, I didn't think I'd have much luck (as bad as the IT
market is here). That simply isn't the case. I think the market here is
bad for people with little or no experience who are trying to break in...and
even worse for people whose résumé clearly indicates that they jumped from
some other career into IT during the "goldrush" of 1999/2000 (I was told
that a degree that is not related to IT is not considered now for most IT
positions). I think employers are getting smarter after being burned by the
dot-com fiasco. I think this is good news for the experienced IT pros out
there. This is a healthy paradigm shift from a couple years ago....when IT
people were being hired at an insane pace (and without qualifications). It
is evident to me that the only decent money in the IT business now is just
where it should be....going to the experienced, degreed (in an IT related
discipline), and certified professionals who have dedicated the time and
effort needed to excel in this business. The beauty is that there are no
shortcuts or braindumps or bootcamps that will get you there....you gotta do
your time :-) I think it's long overdue.

DenverBob
MCSE/W2k

freak

2002-08-31, 6:07 pm

Very interesting post. I agree with you that an MCSE does not get you job, only an interview. I do not have the same experience as you do since I started as a college Professor before being a network engineer. I have a job similar to what you are describing you are running for, and I found that much of what you talk about in your post is very close to what I went through when I was looking.

I was interested in the "liars" section. I knew most people fib on their resume, but not to that extent!

Best of luck with the search!

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