I’ve been putting off taking the Microsoft Certification Exams for over a year now. I don’t know why. Lack of motivation maybe? I was certified way back in the Visual Basic 4 days, but that has long expired. There has only been a couple of times when a client has asked for someone who is “certified” and one of those just happened to be Microsoft themselves.

Being “certified” doesn’t really mean much to me, and I would suspect others would agree. To me, being “certified” means you took the time to take the tests and you passed. Bravo! A number of people who are “book smart“ become certified because they are good at taking tests. A few of them even enjoy it. The problem is that they are just that – “book smart“ – no real world experience. Past experience and tough interview questions speak volumes (to me) over a certifcation.

I’m not trying to downplay the certification process. I do think it’s important but I’m not going to base my decision to hire someone on whether or not they’re certified. If two individuals came to me, one certified, the other not,with the exact same experience, personality and goals I might, just might, hire the certified developer. Why? Because it’s something that stands out above the other individual. And that is why I’m now forcing myself to schedule the tests and get them over with.

So I went and just scheduled the 70-300 “Analyzing Requirements and Defining Microsoft .NET Solution Architectures” exam for Monday at 11:00AM. From there, I’ll try to take another exam every 2-3 days, depending on my schedule. With the Wife and Daughter in Arizona for the next several days, I can have some peace and quiet to review the material. I just hope the XBox doesn’t get in the way. :)

Wish me luck!