Last year I blogged about how I got the MCT Certification for 4th consecutive year and more importantly – how I started to see a change in the program that would make it matter again. This year, however, I decided to not go for it because nothing actually changed even though there were some signs. This would have been my 5th year as a MCT, but no, it just does not make sense for me. Let me explain.
What does the MCT Certification give you except for a bit of swag and deals to buy Microsoft Office?
- Access to Office 365 – I have such as a Microsoft MVP (here you can get MS Office for cheap).
- Access to some MCT Forums – I have never ever seen a reason to spend time there – no one does.
- A bunch of free software licenses – OK, cool, but the MCT renewal price is 240 Euro for Bulgaria, so… I am almost paying for those.
- Access to Microsoft Official Course Materials – VMs and PowerPoint decks – I don’t use those for my customers. Their quality is just not on my level.
- Permission to teach people in Microsoft Certified Training Centers – don’t need it. I am contacted directly and the companies I train do not look for a trainer and a center. They want me to train them and they don’t care about certifications, centers, etc.
All that + the fact that I started my own business – a presentation design and training agency, made me take the decision to step off from my MCT “career” and I am bit worried(talking with friends MCTs) that a lot more people will do that too. In my opinion, Microsoft did not find a way to make this certification prestigious enough. In the last 5 years I was not even once in a situation where my MCT was required or asked for and if that’s the case, I just don’t see a reason why I should be paying Microsoft. I just don’t.
So, that’s that. MCTs, what your opinion? Shoot your thoughts in the comments.
