Certified IT contractors who've recently been handed pink slips due to downsizing might find a faster, safer landing at one of Inc. magazine's 500 fastest-growing private U.S. companies.
A recent study from the nonprofit non-partisan Alexis de Tocqueville Institution suggests that companies on Inc.'s list overwhelmingly feel that certified professionals are more likely to be successful in their jobs than non-certified professionals who hold only four-year baccalaureate degrees.

The Institution randomly surveyed 404 human resource professionals from the Fortune 500, the Inc. 500, and high-tech startup companies. It set out to ascertain the viability of an IT certification as a way for the disadvantaged to improve their socioeconomic status. Not only does the study support that hypothesis, but the results are encouraging for anyone of any economic level who wants to pursue a technical credential. (Though the study was limited to MCSEs, it's quite reasonable to assume that the same or similar preferences apply to other major certifications, like Cisco or Novell.)

Interestingly, the study also found a reverse correlation: Companies whose HR managers were unfamiliar with the MCSE program selected by a vast majority a four-year degree over a technical certification as a indicator of success in the workplace—demonstrating, in effect, that unfamiliarity breeds contempt.

"Doing things the same way has a life expectancy, notes Kenneth Brown, president of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution. He urges IT professionals to "come face-to-face with the fact that you need to continue to challenge yourself, stay marketable, and find more ways to be useful to employers. Employers will look for one person who can do three things," especially in light of the swift and sudden contraction of the dot-coms.


"Doing things the same way has a life expectancy. You need to continue to challenge yourself, stay marketable, and find more ways to be useful to employers."

— Kenneth Brown, president, Alexis de Tocqueville Institution

The lesson here: If you're certified, and you're thinking of contracting with an Inc. 500 company, be certain to emphasize your certification, and don't be too concerned if your four-year degree is in an unrelated field, such as liberal arts. K.S.K.