Training and tips to get certified with Microsoft (Part 4 and last)

In the previous posts I posted some questions that I usually get when we talk about getting certified with SQL Server also listed some resources you can use to train for each of the exams 70-764 and 70-765 with this post I want to close that series and answer the last question Does it gives you any value? sometimes it is also asked as Why did you do it?

In my personal case, getting an MCSA was a goal I wanted to achieve for a very long time which I kept postponing until now. Being certified was not a requirement in my current work, so one of the questions I get is, if it was not required why did you do it? My answer usually was, "I've been working with SQL server for the last 10 years so it was time to certify that knowledge", I must confess that was my initial thought, however after getting into the planning and training, my motivator changed not only I wanted to certify that knowledge, but at the same time every time I read and train more and more about it, I found features that could ease my work that were already there and I was not using it and it was because I encapsulated on the environments I was working on and closed my self to discover and apply those new features that were released in the newer versions of the database engine that I was only reading about.

Between the end of last year and mostly at the beginning of this year, in my current work I started to get a lot of request to migrate to the newer versions, and asking of advice as to which would suit better for their needs, so I started to read and research a lot with regards of SQL 2016 and also some requests with Azure SQL so I had to put my self into a training path to be ahead of the requests I've been getting from my customers and turns out that learning path matched with the learning path to earn the certification, so it became more obvious to get certified.

What I didn't thought at the beginning was how this was going to change my life. I left behind that comfort state where I knew everything about a given version and started to train on a weekly basis in the new version and more specific in the new releases that are launch every week with Microsoft Azure so that DBA that was more than happy in their "comfort zone" changed to an active learner. I put "comfort zone" because it was comfort troubleshooting the performance issues on a daily basis and planning some improvements to address that for good but wasn't really innovating in technology and wasn't catching up with the current trends, so becoming certified looked like an up hill road.

After setting up my own learning path, my habits started to change, stopped spending a lot of time in social media looking at others life and started to invest more time in my training so my explorer history started to fill up with training videos, Microsoft release notes and MVA's training courses. Also by getting and getting more training, I started to look for other certification paths to increase the knowledge and be updated with that technology as well, as I said before, now I'm changing to an active learner which I lost somewhere in the past.

So if you ask me for an answer if being certified gives you any value? Yes and it totally worth's it. Why, first of all, you are investing in you and there is not asset in the world that gives you better ROI (Return of Investment) than you. Second, it certifies to the world that you are prepared and have the knowledge to work with that tool(s) which is every time more demanded in this globalized world and Third, it helps you to start that desire to keep on learning and not loose the achieved pace to be updated.

Lastly, being certified gives you also exposure to the world, why and how? once that you pass one of the exams, it lets you create your Microsoft Professional profile In that site Microsoft updates the certification each professional achieves, in the past Microsoft published the list of certified professionals but they stop doing so years ago, then there was another option, if a potential hiring manager requires you to check for your transcripts  and this requires your transcript ID plus an access code, however if you ask me, it is easier, the professional profile shows almost the same information as your transcript, the only different between this and the transcript is the certification id. Also it helps you to keep motivated as you can see how do you stand worldwide, for instance there are only 57 professionals holding this certification, based on the portal, there could be more but it will be caused that those professionals haven't created their profile and thus were left out of the statistic.

So summarizing, getting certified helps you to:
1. Reach your goals and advance in your career.
2. Become and active student.
3.  Puts you in the spotlight to the world.

So my advice for you is, stop thinking and go for it!
Thanks for reading.