Microsoft Certification Benefits and Advantages

If you possess a Microsoft Certification, then your value is increased many times, and you have the edge over others who do not have similar Microsoft Certificates. There are plenty of benefits of Microsoft certification, some of which are listed in this article. The article looks at the benefits of having Microsoft Certificates from a job or career point of view. Of course, you will also gain immense knowledge while preparing for the Microsoft exams.

What is Microsoft Certificate

Microsoft offers training material for many of its software. Based on these training materials, Microsoft offers certificates if you pass their exams. In fact, the exams are provided by Microsoft Partner companies and certificates are issued by Microsoft because you passed a particular exam for a specific or group of products.

For example, there are exams for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint separately and an exam for Microsoft Office that combines all these three plus other products of Microsoft Office such as Outlook and OneNote.

Besides these smaller exams, there are courses such as MCSE and MCSA that are of pretty important when you apply for jobs. These certificates imply that the certificate holder is an expert in the related subject matter. You can study for these exams using Microsoft’s own tutorials and books or prepare by undertaking training at some computer training institute.

Microsoft Certified Professionals form a unique community with Microsoft as its hub. Individuals can take advantage of the networking and professional growth opportunities, which, according to the research, is a much more poignant aspect of the value of certification that was previously envisioned. Microsoft also recognizes that the community is an important way to engage with its customer base.

Read: How to become a Microsoft Learning Partner.

Microsoft Certification Benefits

As with any certificate, Microsoft provides you with certificates when you successfully pass their exams online. A certificate can be in a particular software or a set of software, as explained above. In some cases, Microsoft provides certificates for entire processes performed at offices. An example could be Office Automation which includes knowledge of Windows Operating System, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, and some knowledge of Windows networking. Thus, if you have a certificate, it is proof that you mastered the skills related to the certificate.

With a certificate, your value increases when you apply for jobs. According to Microsoft, your chances of getting hired increase 5 times because Microsoft Office skills are required more than the experience of non-Microsoft similar products.

Microsoft says the future’s high-wage, high-growth industry requires knowledge of Microsoft Office, and companies would want to hire the best for such jobs. According to Microsoft, 86% of hiring managers indicate that they prefer job applicants to have an IT certificate. And Microsoft certification is a preference over some unknown computer training institutes’ certificates.

Eight out of ten Hiring Managers wish to verify the certificates provided by job applicants. While it is tough to verify the certificates of some unknown computer training institutions, it is very easy to verify MS certificates.

Further, according to Microsoft, 64% of IT managers prefer Microsoft certificates to other certificates. Certification, training, and experience are the three main areas that provide better recognition to a person when it comes to promotions and incentives.

Microsoft says:

“In high-growth industries, entry-level employees who hold a Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) certification or Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification can earn up to $16,000 more, annually, than their peers.”

Holding Microsoft certifications can help you gain an edge over your peers, colleagues, and fellow students in the long term as well as in the short term. These certificates are accepted worldwide and are much better than certifications from unknown computer training institutes. For example, even though DOEACC is an Indian government body providing certificates and Diplomas in different subjects, chances are high that DOEACC will not be recognized outside India as much as Microsoft is recognized.

Read: Free online Microsoft Office training courses.

Microsoft Certification is an industry standard that is recognized worldwide. If you have earned your Microsoft Certification, you can access a number of benefits that can be found on the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), or Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) member website.

Click on the image below to see the latest Microsoft Certification Roadmap.

Read: Best Microsoft Certifications that pay well

A comprehensive look at the value of Microsoft Certifications

Over the past 2 decades, more than 4 million professionals have earned a Microsoft Certification. As a leader in the certification industry, Microsoft reports on the value of certification, the relevance of its programs to address the needs of professionals, and the growing demand for certification in the global marketplace.

Microsoft Certifications

Microsoft has invested heavily in certification and training because it knows, from third-party and its own research that the certification process drives satisfaction and improving customer satisfaction is a core value for Microsoft. After a period of downturn, the rate of certification increased dramatically. Microsoft alone has experienced 24 percent growth over the last year, reflecting the growing acceptance and importance of certification in the learning process. For IT professionals, Microsoft training and certification ranks second as a satisfaction driver (after eLearning).

Certification improves organizational performance.

A survey conducted by IDC and sponsored by Microsoft studied the organizational performance of 1,200 IT teams, examining the relationship of team performance to the percentage of the team certified by Microsoft on a variety of technologies. The study concluded that certification correlated positively to organizational performance improvements. In the areas of general service excellence and specific measures of task-level performance, certification made a measurable impact:

• Seventy-five percent of managers believe that certification is important to team performance.
• Sixty-six percent of managers believe that certification improves the level of service and support offered to IT end users/customers.
• Team performance increases every time a new team member is certified.
• When you increase the concentration of Microsoft-certified members on a team, you directly improve team performance.
• Top-performing teams have, on average, between 40 and 55 percent certified Microsoft members who are trained on relevant Microsoft technologies and processes.

The IDC study concludes: It is clear that every increase in team skill improves organizational performance. So, this research demonstrates that for each new team member certified, team performance increases.

Certification increases business by 80 percent.

“Having certified individuals within the company awards the organization with hard evidence which serves to outshine competitors.”- Joy Rathnayake, Senior Software Engineer, IronOne Technologies, Sri Lanka.

IronOne Technologies, a software design and development company that specializes in outsourced IT services have increased IronOne’s businesses 80 percent by winning new projects based on certification. IronOne Technologies is a preferred partner for projects involving Microsoft Global Services and Asia Consulting Services, thanks to their various areas of expertise with certified employees. Rathnayake, who leads IronOne’s .NET team, stresses that having certified staff gives the company hard evidence of skill sets which then leads to project wins and increased business.

A myth of certification.

There is a myth that IT professionals who earn certification leave the organization quickly thereafter for better jobs. In fact, certification leads to higher job satisfaction and better employee retention. Forty-three percent of respondents to an IDC Web-based survey of hiring managers said that investing in employee development reduces turnover, probably because employees have increased job satisfaction and feelings of increased engagement.

An MSEmploy study, which analyzed the resumes of 15,526 IT professionals in France and Germany, found that those with one or more MCPs were 15 percent more stable, and those with full certifications were 24 percent more stable in their jobs than their peers with no certifications.

Community: networking, personal growth, exclusive resources.

Microsoft Certified Professionals form a unique community with Microsoft as its hub. Individuals can take advantage of the networking and professional growth opportunities, which, according to the research, is a much more poignant aspect of the value of certification that was previously envisioned. Microsoft also recognizes that the community is an important way to engage with its customer base. Certification has become a valuable channel for deeper engagements that lead to improved customer satisfaction. Through direct communication with individuals in the community, people can raise issues with the program, communicate new ideas to Microsoft, and work together to increase satisfaction of the structure and content of Microsoft certification. Additionally, through this forum, Microsoft works with the industry to drive the value of certification so that the awareness and perceived value of certification increases.

Microsoft certified means being part of the larger IT community with exclusive access to valuable Microsoft resources and benefits and opportunities to connect with a wide network of certified professionals. By driving certification among industry professionals, Microsoft has realized a strong connection between customer satisfaction and certification. Microsoft is intensely interested in continuing to improve customer satisfaction and will continue to utilize the certification path to invest in this channel. As evidence of this commitment, Microsoft Learning plans to train more individuals on its technologies, with the goal of continuing to grow the number of certified professionals.

Certification training provides a framework that can help individuals learn at all stages of their careers, not just in the lead-up to getting the first job in IT. Microsoft certification is relevant across all stages of an individual’s career. Certification helps people stay current. Research also shows that Microsoft certification helps give clarity to people in planning their future career goals. Finally, earning a certification is the key to a vibrant community of certified professionals and access to unique Microsoft resources. Being Microsoft certified raises the credibility of a professional’s skills. Microsoft certification ensures that partners can stay current on all Microsoft technologies so they can better serve customers.

Microsoft Certification recognizes and validates real-world IT skills, supports the certified community by providing access to unique resources, and offers a life-long career path of IT skills development.