Browse Theses

Employers in the profession of information technology (IT) often use industry certifications as hiring criteria, but it is uncertain whether vendor certifications, alone or in conjunction with years of IT experience, predict job performance and competency. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the contributions of job experience and MCP certification status to the self-reported job performance and the self-reported job competency of IT professionals. The study was nonexperimental and cross-sectional in design. Participants included a stratified random sample of 241 IT professionals from Anchorage, Alaska and nearby cities. Participants completed online and paper questionnaires identifying MCP certification status, years of IT work experience, self-reported job performance, and self-reported job competencies. MCP-certified IT professionals had higher self-reported job competencies compared to non-MCP-certified IT professionals, t (239) = 6.97, p < .001. There was a significant positive relationship between years of IT-related work experience and self-reported job competencies, r (239) = .51, p < .001. A hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that both MCP certification status and years of IT work experience significantly predicted self-reported job competencies, total R 2 = .36, F (2, 238) = 68.07, p < .001. No significant relationships or differences were found when self-reported job performance was examined as an outcome. MCP certification and years of experience were shown to predict self-reported job competency but not self-reported job performance, implying that skills and abilities in the IT profession may not be associated with actual workplace outcomes. Findings from this study will be of benefit to IT stakeholders in making informed decisions on IT certification and hiring. The significant findings for self-reported job competency confirm principles of human capital theory, but the lack of significant findings for self-reported job performance confirm some principles of credentialist theory. Recommendations for further research include studies of other non-Microsoft entry-level certifications and their contributions to self-reported job competency. Qualitative investigations are recommended for follow-up research.