Old data: The technical textbook dilemma
In 1998 I co-authored a textbook titled IIS 4.0 MCSE Study Guide. After spending countless hours with this writing effort, shortly after the book’s publication small royalty payments started to arrive …
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Pull-dated personnel: The problem of ageism is alive and well in the IT industry
An industry acquaintance of mine recently shared a story of the last office IT job he held. His manager at the company was a young adult nearly half his age, and none of the other team members in the …
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Foundational certifications: Why they are so important
In the construction trades, it is often said that the strength of a building is in its foundation. In the ‘90s, with the goal of obtaining Microsoft’s Windows NT 3.5 MCSE certification, my first attempt was …
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This is not my beautiful house! Coping with Impostor Syndrome
You’ve just started on at a new information technology (IT) job. You find yourself feeling overwhelmed. You’re not completely certain about everything you’ve been asked to get done, and you certainly aren’t …
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The problem of certifications that don’t measure practical skills
The confidence of being certified is wonderfully comforting! Certification is knowledge for the hiree, and proof for the hirer. Certification provides reasonable assurance that a prospective employee …
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Money matters: Do IT certifications guarantee increased income?
From the mid-1990s onward, the question of whether achieving an IT certification increases one’s earning power has been debated by nearly everyone involved in the IT industry — or so it would seem, given …
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