Why do we earn Certifications?

I had this discussion with a student recently - well - many students actually. The conversation began when we were talking about an upcoming exam the students were scheduled to take after a class.  For the most part, everyone was excited (this was the same class where very few had ever attended a Microsoft class, much less taken a Microsoft certification test) and they were looking forward to the test (and first Microsoft certification).  I knew things were going too smoothly....a voice from the back of the classroom said "what does this exam do for me?"  What a question - and valid from his perspective, quite valid.

This simple question engendered at least 30 minutes of discussion.  The merits and drawbacks of certification were discussed as well as the value of a certification, career development.  What made this so interesting was that the class was composed of people who had never taken a Microsoft class or test.  The usual points of certification just didn't apply in this case.  The students were receptive to the idea that it could be a career enhancer (as a number of them were from companies that were going to adopt several new Microsoft products). Some of the students were required by their companies to become certified in support of company goals.  One gentleman in the class wanted the certification as he had not taken a Microsoft certification test in almost ten years!  What was argued was the relative worth of a certification - what was its "street value" (hard to think of a certification as having "street cred" - but I guess it does) as one student stated.  This is always hard to quantify - but once we discussed the differences between an MCP and an MCTS/MCITP, he was mollified to some extent.  The usual arguments were presented about increased income potential, job retention and security, etc and discussed at length.

What won this gentleman over were not the arguments presented, but by a challenge from a colleague. I had spent all this time arguing the merits of certification and tests and his buddy challenged him with the test.  Don't know what the bet was, but this one gentleman was now eager to take the test.

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