There seems to be quite a flurry of talk these days about certification. There is evidence of it in the forums and editorials at SSC, as well as in several personal blogs of various SQL Professionals throughout the community. I even see it happening with the quarterly goals at my employer (yes we have quarterly goals).

I have, myself, taken several certification exams. I found them worthwhile for my personal and career growth. I haven’t taken an exam in probably ten years though. I have always found that studying by myself with the materials I could find online or via a bookstore was the best way to go. Studying in this fashion, I could drive the pace and spend as little or as much money as necessary to pass the exam. Through this practice, I have earned quite a few letters after my name from Cisco to Novell to Microsoft to Citrix to A+ and N+ (it all started with the A+ certification due to employment requirements). Each of the certs was job related and useful when working in a one man shop type of setting.

Well, it is time again to commit to getting certified. I doubt I will pursue the MCM any time soon. However, I will be pursuing the MCITP certification as soon as possible. I will probably pursue some other vendor specific certifications due to work related goals and prior personal goals I never fulfilled. As I progress, I will likely blog about my successes and experiences. However, don’t expect to find any information specific to my exams – other than general feelings upon completion.