2/8/2001 -- Certification alone cannot make your career dreams come true. You need dedication, hard work and experience to succeed in any industry.

Even so, professional technical certification can help in getting and/or keeping your IT career on track. They've made a difference for many IT professionals, including the three profiled below.

For Jim Goodwin, Patrick Hines and Doug Brown, a persistence for knowledge has truly paid off, bringing numerous rewards, both tangible and intangible. All have surmounted obstacles that may have stopped others from reaching their goal; instead, each preferred to look at their individual career roadblocks as nothing more than the next set of challenges to be overcome. Their success vividly illustrates the necessity of setting individual goals, then adopting a "whatever-it-takes" mentality towards meeting them. Here's how they meet those goals, and the role they say certification played in their success.

Jim Goodwin

Age: 34 Job Title and Responsibilities: As a technical representative for a company in the insurance industry, Jim assists field agents with technical matters related to connectivity, Internet use, direct dial and software. Jim also does technical training for his company. Certifications Held: MCSE, A+, Network+, I-Net+, HDSE Up Next: CCNA, MCT, CTT Quote: "IT certification has completely changed my life. For the first time I have control over my career. I work where I want, for the money I want, for the people I want, because I have skills that will never go out of demand."

Jim Goodwin could have easily remained in a career where he wasn't reaching his full potential. This self-identified "restaurant manager turned IT pro" was initially mired in the murky waters that often surround individuals with an unclear career focus. "After dropping out of college I held a variety of jobs," he said, "but not one of them was the right career for me." A friend helped him land a job with a nationally known pizza chain, but long hours, job stress and lack of respect from the home office soon took its toll. After being passed over for promotions more than once, Jim realized that he would have to overcome his own inertia if he wanted to regain control of his career and his life.

Thinking back to an interest in computers that began in his teenage years, and coupling that interest with his admiration for the technically savvy, Jim saw the potential for a new start. Years of dealing with the public had cemented the importance of people skills in Jim's mind, so he decided to find a way to combine his customer service background with technology to build a career.

From this point on, Jim knew he was destined for some type of support role, and set out to find one. He began his pursuit with books and magazines, then sought more formal training. He found a college program that included an MCSE certification program, and financed his first certification through a combination of financial aid sources, including student loans.

Jim intuitively knew that he couldn't stop with an MCSE, and was also wary of the way he might be viewed by potential employers if he didn't continue his training. "Lots of training programs over-hype the value of the MCSE," he explains, "and that is a disservice to those who hold that certification."

"Job success is a total package, and I knew that I could get my foot in the door with an MCSE, but from then on I'd have to rely on what I knew to truly get me ahead."

Following up his words with action, Jim then studied for and received his A+, Network+, I-Net+ and HDSE (Help Desk Support Engineer) certifications.

In reviewing his accomplishments so far, Jim says that while his MCSE certification was key to getting his start in IT, his A+ certification has been the most valuable from a career standpoint. "Every hiring manager wants troubleshooting skills," he says. "They all want to know that you can figure stuff out, and that's the basis of the A+ test."

Jim's advice for people looking for a career change into IT, or even looking to get ahead in their existing IT career, is three-fold:

• Talk to people who hold jobs similar to ones you'd like. Find out all that you can about what they do, and what they've done to get there.
• Learn networking. Set up a network in your home to use for practice and skills development. Don't just count on simulations- they never crash and they won't give you the hands-on problem resolutions skills you need.
• Don't forget people skills. It's your job as an IT professional to make computers and computing accessible to others.

There was a time in Jim Goodwin's life when he resented the proliferation of computers, and the ease of operation brought by newer, user-friendly applications and operating systems. "For a while I felt that making computers so easy minimized my skills and knowledge," he explained. "But now I take it for what it really is -- job security for me." In fact, he's so secure about his future that he plans to take the steps necessary to become a certified trainer, teaching others that which has been so beneficial to him.

Patrick Hines

Age: 32 Job Title and Responsibilities: Founding partner and Senior VP of Technology and Training for a computer learning center. Patrick also functions as a full-time network administrator for a company in a financial services-related field. Certifications Held: MCSE, MCP+I, A+, Network+, CNA Up Next: CCNA, CCIE, MCT Quote: "IT certification has improved my self-esteem by enabling me to prove to myself and others that I can do it, and has also helped me get the real job that makes my dream job possible."

Patrick Hines discovered his love of computers early on. While in high school in the late '80s, he often spent his free time, including his lunch period, in the school computer room. Home time wasn't much different, with Patrick continually pushing his TRS-80 and subsequent computers to their limits. After high school came the Army, and a chance to work with the (at the time) state-of-the-art 286-class machines.

Following a stint in the family wallpapering business, Patrick enrolled in college, and while there, started a promising computer building and repair business while studying to be a high school teacher. A major telephone service provider took notice of Patrick and offered him a job as a telephone line technician. Line tech work gave Patrick the opportunity to develop his expertise in the ins-and-outs of telephone switching, as well as to spend most of his days outdoors. It was the outdoor work that brought Patrick to his career turning point: Spending the majority of his workday outside caused Patrick to suffer a heat-related injury, the second one of his lifetime. His doctor's prognosis and advice were clear and direct: Find inside work or you are putting your life at risk. This left Patrick at a crossroads -- He loved his job but could no longer do it.

After some consideration and exploration, Patrick decided to meet this challenge head-on through pursuing IT certification. Having worked with computers since his teen years, Patrick knew that systems engineering would be a fruitful direction to investigate, for two reasons. First, it would give him the skills and knowledge requisite for promotion within the company. Second, it would open additional doors down the road.

"An MCSE is a path as well as a goal," Patrick says, "and certification itself is independent evidence of your knowledge."

During the time he was off work, Patrick began his certification training, starting with his MCSE. He enrolled in a school that offered financial aid as well as college credit, and parlayed his eligibility for aid and his GI Bill benefits to finance his training. After completing his MCSE requirements, the rest of his certifications followed quickly, confirming to Patrick that he'd made the right career choice.

To this day, Patrick sees the value of the specific educational niche that certification training programs hold. He explains "When I was studying secondary education, I found that the college required many courses that were unnecessary for my major. I understand why they require them, but to me, well-rounded is not the same as proficient."

It was this deep internal commitment to proficiency that led Patrick to co-found the training school of which he is now an executive. He founded this school with a clear idea of what he and his partners wanted to accomplish. "Fast tracks and boot camps don't focus on the individual. We assess each student's knowledge level before they enroll," he says. His school also focuses on hands-on learning, and as a state-licensed learning center is required to maintain a certain percentage of lab time for all of its students.

His advice to people working in IT or perhaps just looking to add a certification credential is simple: "Know the OSI model inside and out. Not only is it the basis for a lot of test questions, but it's the basis for how a lot of things work."

Doug Brown

Age: 24 Job Title and Responsibilities: As an independent IT consultant, Doug draws upon his variety of experiences to find and design customized IT solutions for his clients. Certifications Held: MCSE, MCP+I, A+, Network+ Up Next: CCNA, Upgrading his MCSE to Win2K Quote: "Certifications [gave] me the backing I need at a young age prove to other IT pros that I am capable of building large-scale solutions."

At just 24 years old, Doug Brown is the relative youngster of this cadre of IT professionals. As such, Doug has had to overcome both suspicion and resentment on the part of older, more experienced co-workers, as well as upper management, in several different organizations.

Doug tells the story this way: "Immediately following college, I entered the IT field with a great deal of experience. Unfortunately, the majority of this was through my own home-based computer repair business or in my own personal test lab."

After several unsuccessful interviews, Doug says he came to the realization that working on his own did not carry the same credibility that working for an established company did. "Most interviewers were looking for three to five years of work history with the same employer," he explains.

Finally, one employer was willing to take a "leap of faith" and offer him an entry-level technician job, which gave Doug the opportunity to provide desktop support to end-users, eventually culminating in an assignment assisting with a new PC rollout. This, in turn, introduced Doug to enterprise computing, and gave him a chance to begin developing a new set of skills.

Doug was urged to explore and pursue certifications by a supervisor, who had noticed both his technical prowess and his commitment to excellent customer service. Doug says the supervisor told him he needed something like a certification to set him apart from those who had been in the field for a lot longer than Doug.

Doug says this advice proved sound on two levels: First, there were the tangible rewards. After he had taken his supervisor's advice and obtained his A+ certification, ("a piece of cake, given my background and experience," he says), the regional office came through with a bonus, a raise and a promotion. Perhaps more important was that the credential gave him the confidence he needed to withstand the growing resistance and resentment on the part of his longer-tenured coworkers With Doug's promotion came responsibilities at the system level, so he knew that this was not the time to rest on past achievements. He almost immediately began studying for his MCSE, and shortly thereafter passed the required exams for recognition as an MCSE, as well as an MCP+I. Still more promotions and more responsibilities followed. Doug had proven his competence to both his coworkers and to management at all levels.

While not actively seeking a job change, Doug remained open to new opportunities. His open-mindedness paid off when a friend who worked at a law firm mentioned his name to the firm's executive management. The firm's entire enterprise was on the verge of shambles courtesy of an improper migration to Windows 2000. Doug was willing to accept the challenge of taking on such a daunting project, but feared the same resistance due to his age and his relative lack of 'years in the business,' he fell back on his certifications to convince the law firm to give him a try. Finally accepted without doubt, Doug succeeded in rebuilding their enterprise infrastructure. By this time Doug's reputation was preceding him, and a consulting firm on the opposite side of his home state contacted him about engineering a major Win2K migration. Successful in that task, Doug took a regular position with this consulting firm, and currently is their point person for all Windows NT and Win2K projects.

Less than three years have elapsed since Doug took that first technician job, and he now regularly manages the re-engineering of systems for multinational companies. Doug sees his MCSE as the turning point. "It opened a lot of doors for me," he says. Doug also relies on his more conventional education to succeed in the workplace. "I have a BS degree in Political Science," he explains, "and it has been truly helpful in negations and in my dealings with non-technical managers." His future plans, in addition to upgrading his MCSE to Windows 2000, include obtaining Cisco's CCNA designation.

For more information on the certifications mentioned above, visit our Certification Database.

What role has certification played in your IT career? Post your comments below our enter our Forums.

More articles by Bob Potemski:

• Get Smart!
  
• A Complete i-Net Education
  
• An Inside Look at i-Net+
  
• The Value of Internet Certifications