Contest: Win a Microsoft IT Certification Exam Voucher

By Ed Tittel February 24, 2012 1:50 PM

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In concert with the staff at Tom’s IT Pro, I’m very pleased to announce a contest to give away up to nine (9) Microsoft exam vouchers (retail value $150 each). Microsoft Learning’s Senior Marketing Manager Lorna White has graciously presented me with these vouchers to help generate more interest in and enthusiasm for Microsoft certification and learning.

Update: We have nine of these vouchers to give away, but Ed hasn't yet received nine applications. Read the blog post (see below), fill out the application and apply, please! We still have two more to give away than we have applicants, so we can only say the odds are “very good” that if you do apply, you might actually get something to show for it. The retail value of the each voucher is $150.

Do yourself a favor and get your materials turned in by this weekend, and we’ll draw for the winners and announce them on Monday, February 27. Good luck to one and all.

The basic idea behind the contest is simple. You must provide a capsule summary of yourself for my perusal (see my blog post entitled “Making It in IT: How to Help me Help You”). This is also your golden opportunity to ask me any questions about training or certification that you might have. Then you must write a short essay that explains how earning a Microsoft certification could help advance your career, help your family, or change your life.

You must also agree to a follow-up email interview with me, if you are chosen to win a voucher, and I will use that interview as the basis for a future blog post (and no, you won’t also get a T-shirt as well, but I hope everybody can agree with me that a $150 exam voucher trumps a $12 T-shirt anyway ;-)!

Please post your entries on or before February 24 (the end of next week). Winners will be announced by February 29.

Applicants who can answer my “…Help Me Help You” questions clearly and completely, and who have a compelling story to tell about themselves, their needs, and their circumstances will have the best chance of walking away with a certificate in hand. These certificates expire on May 31, 2012, so please don’t apply unless you’re SURE you can take an MS certification exam on or before that date (no sense wasting these valuable giveaways).

Good luck to everybody, and I look forward to reading your responses. Please email your applications to etittel@bestofmedia.com (that’s my Tom’s email address for all purposes, in fact) no later than February 24. Thanks very much for your time and attention, too!

Winners will be able to use their vouchers at any Prometric testing center worldwide when they register to take a Microsoft Certified Professional or MCP exam (for details on registration, please see the MS Learning “Register for your Microsoft Certification Exam” Web page).

Ed Tittel is a 30-year-plus veteran of the computing industry, who’s worked as a programmer, a technical manager, a classroom instructor, a network consultant and a technical evangelist for companies that include Burroughs, Schlumberger, Novell, IBM/Tivoli and NetQoS. He has written and blogged for numerous publications, including Tom's Hardware, and is the author of over 140 computing books with a special emphasis on information security, Web markup languages and development tools, and Windows operating systems.

E-mail Ed at etittel@tomsitpro.com with your request for IT certification or career info, or your ideas for future blogs. If your e-mail leads him to a blog topic, he’ll have the Tom’s staff send you your very own Tom’s IT Pro t-shirt! Be the envy of your friends and colleagues, and help him help you with your IT career!