The year 2000 is rolling to a close and schools in SA have successfully produced another batch of matriculants who are now deemed ready to enter the job market. Those who do not plan on travelling or going to university are faced with some pressing questions: What kinds of jobs are there "out there"? How much money can I earn? What skills do I need and how do I get them? How can I get a job right now?
The problem that newly qualified MCSEs, and therefore the IT industry, are facing is that the MCSE is being used in lieu of experience.
Jill Hamlyn, MD, The People Business
Much to its credit, the South African IT industry is still up there as one of the chief employers and a job in the IT industry is still incredibly attractive to many school- and university-leavers.
Gimme the money
Whether rightly or wrongly, the IT industry is also perceived as that place in the job market where you cannot fail to earn a high salary, and sooner or later, hopefuls are going to come across the mythical beast of the MCSE. Advertisements offer a short certification time (getting shorter all the time), and some even trumpet guaranteed employment at an entry-level salary between five and six figures.
Steeped in the myths and urban legends of the MCSE generated by greedy training companies, misleading advertisements that bring some facts and statistics to the fore while hiding others, and general industry gossip, is it any wonder that your average unskilled, inexperienced 18-year-old is leaning back with rand signs in his eyes and big plans on how to spend the big bucks of his first salary cheque?
Reality check
A conversation with Wayne Dalton, service readiness manager at Microsoft SA, was revealing. "Certification should be the tool that differentiates, not an end in itself," he says. "People need to be reminded that the MCSE was primarily intended as a benchmark for peer and employer recognition of a certain standard of skills and experience attained in IT."
Because of the realisation of the vast financial gratification to be gained from certification, the certificate has become a mass-market commodity that is now viewed as being just as important, if not more so, than hard experience itself. The problem that newly qualified MCSEs, and therefore the IT industry, are facing is that the MCSE is being used in lieu of experience.
Certification needs to be applied in the correct context. Too many people have been fed the idea that an MCSE, or any other certification for that matter, is a sure-fire way into the fast lane of employment with a large monthly financial reward. Experience, which can be hard to get and takes longer to obtain, has largely been forgotten.
"I would even go so far as to say that certification without experience can be a lethal combination. Picture a school-leaver in his first day on the job, who has done a two-week MCSE course. What happens when he is confronted with a question he cannot answer or a situation he has never come across before but which he is now expected to fix?" asks Dalton.
The MCSE is not a cookbook crammed with troubleshooting recipes. It is an industry standard that serves to recognise skills and experience. The MCSE is the cherry on the cake, not the cake itself.
Monetary motivation
Money and a high salary are often the prime motivators for doing an MCSE and getting a foot in the door of the IT industry, and this motivation is quickly latched onto by training providers who highlight the earnings of certified personnel. What they are neglecting to mention is that these earnings are also based on (here they are again) skills and experience.
Consider also recent reports that salaries for newly qualified, new entrants to the market have plummeted.
The above reality check should not dissuade school- or university-leavers from applying to do an MCSE. However, the decision to do so should be made carefully. The following questions should be asked: Is this decision in line with my values? Is this what I really want to do? Can I add value and make a positive contribution to the industry?
"There should also be the recognition that their training ought to be different from someone else`s who has less than three years of experience, which will be different from someone who has five years of experience, which will be different from someone who has 10 years of experience. Do not expect immediate results in what should be a long-term strategic process," says Dalton.
"We do not want to preclude anyone from certification," he emphasises. "If it is done in the right way, over time and with relevant experience, it will be a good, valuable distinction that will stand you and the industry in good stead. Quality, as opposed to quantity, is what matters now."
Know thyself
Dalton and I agree that this is the key tenet. It is wise not to try and follow someone else`s life path. What works for one person may not work for another. At the end of the day, you need to be clear on the values that drive you. Knowing who you are and what you want creates a spark that can be ignited into a flame in the correct environment.
Avoid subsuming yourself into a certificate. Keep the following equation in mind: values plus skills plus experience plus certification equals adding value to an organisation, to the industry and to yourself at the end of the day.
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