Tell us a little bit about your background. How did you get into IT?
Actually, I sort of stumbled into
IT :-) I graduated from college in ’94
with a Bachelor’s degree in History/Psychology. After that I was working as the
night manager of a Subway restaurant, trying to figure out what I was going to
do in life. I had taken the entrance exams and was preparing to start a
master’s degree in psychology. This was the summer of 1995, and I was living in
a college town about an hour and a half northeast of
It was probably 3-4 months into the
job when I got a tech support call one night from a network administrator who
was calling with a failed piece of hardware of some kind. While I was typing up
the hardware replacement work order, we were chatting and he mentioned
something about “Microsoft certification,” which I had never heard of. We got
to talking about it, and he gave me a couple of web resources to check out (I
think MCPmag’s website was one of them). I looked at that as my chance to
really take off in my career, and so I embarked on that path. I took and passed
my first exam, Windows 95, in February 1996. Over the next year I completed the
NT 3.51 track, and became an MCSE in early 1997. It was a big deal back then,
according to MCPmag’s numbers I was one of the first 15,000 MCSEs worldwide. I
had left telephone tech support for a desktop support job, and after obtaining the
MCSE (also did the A+ right after that) I was able to secure a network
administrator position for a small company, being a one-man IT shop responsible
for everything.
What is your current position?
I’m currently the senior network
administrator/engineer for a software development company. My responsibilities
are typical of the position, I have about 30 servers to take care of and a
network infrastructure that spans multiple sites worldwide. My day-to-day work
is very project-focused, and I mentor a junior admin that takes care of things
like user and mailbox management. I’m currently working on two migrations, one
moving the NT4 domain infrastructure to Windows Server 2003 and Active
Directory, and after that the follow-up is migrating Exchange Server 5.5 to
Exchange Server 2003. I’m usually working on 4-7 projects at any given time,
which keeps me busy, but also keeps the job interesting.
Which computer books have you written and/or contributed too?
The first book I was involved with
was the A+ Exam Prep for Coriolis,
which I wrote the practice exams for. After that, I tech edited A+ Exam Cram. My first chance to author
came in 1999 with the Network+ Exam Prep,
which I co-authored with three other people. It was a good experience because
it got my feet wet with actually writing book content, but I only had to write
four chapters over about 12 weeks, so the pace was pretty relaxed.
Next came Windows 2000 System Administration Handbook for Prentice-Hall, and
then I went back to Coriolis and co-wrote the 70-217 (Windows 2000 Active
Directory) Exam Prep and Exam Cram, and then the 70-224 Exchange 2000 Server Administration Exam
Cram. I tech edited the 70-216 Exam
Prep, and tech edited another book on PC maintenance that ended up getting
scrapped by the publisher.
I also co-wrote a book for
Transcender that was a “getting into the IT field” beginning type of book, but
after it was finished Transcender decided to distribute it electronically
rather than doing a print version.
After Coriolis went under and the
titles were bought by Que, I helped revise the 70-217 Exam Cram for the Exam Cram 2
line. When that was done, I co-wrote the update to it for the 70-294 (Windows
Server 2003 Active Directory) exam. The 70-294 Exam Cram 2 should hit store shelves next month. I tech edited a
few of Que’s and New Rider’s Windows Server 2003 titles.
Most recently I finished up
co-writing the Exchange Server 2003
Training Kit for Microsoft Press. That one should be out in early December,
once it goes through the printing process.
Which certifications do you hold?
I’m still an MCSE, having updated
from NT 3.51 to Windows 2000. I’m also A+ certified, and Network+ certified.
Have you, or do you plan on updating your certifications? Explain answer
I haven’t taken the Windows 2003
exams yet, I hadn’t had time while working full-time and writing the Exchange
2003 book. I haven’t decided whether I will yet or not, though if I do it
likely won’t be until next year sometime. I’ve reached a point in my career
where experience carries a lot more than certifications, which unfortunately
have also been watered down over the years as training companies convinced
thousands of people that all they needed was a little piece of paper and a
$70K/year job was theirs for the taking. I’m also a seminary student working on
a Master of Arts in Theology, so my focus is actually moving away from IT in
general.
What is your recommended study method?
Having started my certification
studies before the big proliferation of study aids, and tending to be on the
cutting edge writing certification titles while the exams are still in
development, I haven’t often had the chance to buy a study guide type book off
the shelf. As a result, I’ve learned to rely on setting up lab environments
where I can really work with the software (VMware is one of the greatest
products every created, I can carry a multi-server lab around on my laptop),
and digging through help files and white papers. Microsoft’s built-in help has
improved tremendously over the years, to the point where I’ve found I really
don’t need much more than it, TechNet, and getting hands-on experience with the
product itself to learn.
As far as what I recommend, above
all else I recommend actually using the software. Book knowledge is helpful,
but nothing beats having actually gone through breaking and fixing a product. I
also recommend remembering *why* you’re studying this stuff. It isn’t for the
piece of paper, it’s for the knowledge. That might sound trite, but I get
frustrated at people who use braindumps are other shortcut methods to pass an
exam to the expense of not gaining the skills necessarily to actually use the
product in the real world.
How do you feel about certification
bootcamps?
If used properly, bootcamps can be a
good thing. They are designed though for people who already have extensive
experience with a product or previous version, and just need to get up to speed
on exam specific topics. I strongly dislike bootcamps that make claims that
anyone can attend and get what they need to pass, regardless of their
background and skill level. Bootcamps are definitely not for most people
though, certainly not for someone without significant experience with the
product they are attending the bootcamp for.
What advice do you have for individuals preparing for a career in IT?
I always advise people that they
should make sure IT is really the career for them. In the late ‘90s it was a
very hot field for people to try to enter, but that was to a large degree
driven by income potential. Even now IT pays well when compared to other
professions. However, the premium on pay comes with a price. An IT career tends
not to be a straight
Where do you see the demand in the future for
skilled individuals, and what should people be looking at?
I think we’ll continue to see the
rise of Linux as a competitor to Microsoft, especially as companies continue to
get frustrated with Microsoft’s ridiculous licensing practices. As when NT was
starting to gain prominence against NetWare, I think IT professionals who are
fluent in both Microsoft technologies and Linux will be at a premium in the
next few years. And in the “do more with less” economy, IT professionals who
bring more than one skillset to the table will be more valuable than those who
don’t. Specialization is still good, you should be an expert in something, but
at the same time you need to keep up that broad base of skills.
Additionally, it is imperative for IT
people to be able to relate technology in terms of business goals and needs.
Decisions about technology have to be driven from the perspective of business
terminology, and the successful IT professional needs to understand basic business
concepts like “ROI” and “TCO” and be able to think about technology upgrades
and deployments from the viewpoint of the cost benefit to the business.
How do you feel about the need for hands-on
experience when it comes to getting a job? People often e-mail me about ways to
gain experience, and I always suggest volunteering at local schools and
libraries, or picking up older computers at flea markets and yard sales in
order to repair them, or setup a home network. Would you have anything to add
to this?
I think that’s the right idea. I
understand the frustration of people thinking it is a catch-22 with regard to
experience … can’t get hired without experience, but can’t get experience
without getting hired. You have to be creative. In addition to home labs, which
is a great way to learn in an environment where if you make mistakes it doesn’t
matter, people would be amazed at the opportunities out there to volunteer.
Churches and other non-profits are another good option, as most don’t have the
resources to have IT staff on hand and have to rely on congregation members who
are IT professionals or other volunteer labor. I’ve also heard of people going
to companies and volunteering to work for free in order to gain experience.
That’s probably better suited to students than adults with family
responsibilities and such, but it’s something to consider. The main thing is to
be creative.
What do you think of the certification industry
today, with all of the changes that Microsoft is implementing, the way the Industry
is changing, and where do you think the certification industry is going to go?
I think the certification industry’s
glory days are in the past in terms of the level of value hiring managers
placed on having the titles. That’s not necessarily bad though, because
certification is just part of the resume. I like the exam changes Microsoft is
making to have the exams be more reflective of real world administration. For
example, I recently took the 70-284 (Exchange 2003 Administration) beta, and
was pleasantly surprised that the questions drew not only on your knowledge of
Exchange, but on AD, IIS, some ISA Server, firewalls, and general TCP/IP
networking. That’s realistic, because Exchange touches so many different
technologies on a corporate network.
What are your thoughts about the computer industry and/or certification and where it's heading?
The computer industry is beginning to
recover from the last few years of a horrible economy, but being able to
provide the best bang for the buck is more important than ever. Companies are
being much more spending conscious than they were a few years ago, and IT
budgets tend to be very tight. Vendors that provide a lot of value at a good
price point will be the ones that succeed. I feel like it is a dangerous time
for Microsoft in particular, who is increasingly viewed as being a company that
gouges its customers. People love to take shots at the one on top anyway, but
even Microsoft loyalists are getting fed up with the licensing nonsense. They
have the opportunity to learn the lessons of past giants that fell, or repeat
the process.
I don’t see certification changing a
whole lot in the next few years, but ultimately I think it needs to go to a
process where there is a hands-on lab requirement for most certifications.
Obviously some, like Cisco, have been doing this for some time now. Even that
can be exploited, as we’ve seen with the proliferation of Cisco “lab rats” who
spend their time learning everything in a lab, but don’t have the real world
experience. However, they don’t have near the “paper xxxx” problem that other
vendors have.
When you teach a class, do you have any preferred teaching methods?
I’ve only taught a couple of
classes, not being a full-time trainer at any point, but when I teach through
books or when teaching people directly I try to emphasize real world
situations. Training that doesn’t prepare the student to actually use the
knowledge isn’t of much value to me.
Where do you see the future of training, for
instance, tools, techniques, and methodologies?
The only real innovation I foresee is
the increase in real-time training being available over the Internet, with
virtual classrooms. Training centers have a
We have a trainer/instructor forum on this site. What advice do you have for technical trainers and instructors?
It’s just as important for trainers
to have real world experience as it is other IT professionals. It’s not too
hard to see through an instructor who doesn’t know anything outside of the
book. Keep your skills sharp by actually utilizing the technology.
How did you get started as a computer book writer?
I was a regular on the MCPmag
discussion forums in the mid to late ‘90s, and approached the editor of the
magazine about writing a FAQ doc for the website, to answer the common
questions about certification people were asking. I leveraged that into an
opportunity to do some product reviews and some editorials for the magazine and
website. I got a tip from another forum member about a publisher (Coriolis),
who had contacted him about doing some work for them. I contacted the
acquisitions editor that had contacted him, and ended up getting a contract to
write the two practice exams for the A+
Exam Prep in 1998. I turned the success there into other opportunities to
write, which led up to where I am today.
What do you think makes a good computer book?
Writing style and real world value
(not necessarily in that order). I like books that are easy to read in the
sense that they have a good flow and keep the reader engaged. Technology topics
aren’t usually the most exciting things to read about anyway, and dry writing
styles make it an act of suffering to get through them. I don’t like the other
extreme either of a style that is very joking around/corny, but I think authors
can write to the intended audience in a conversational manner that keeps the
reader interested. I also think the best books are the ones that give readers
real world insight, and contain information that the reader can practically
apply on the job.
We have a technical writing forum on this site. What advice do you have for aspiring technical writers?
Same as above really. Know your
audience, and write to them. If you’re writing to someone you expect will have
2-3 years experience, don’t explain basic concepts like what DNS is. Keep the
tone of your writing conversational, like if you were just explaining a topic one-on-one
with a friend. That’s something I try to keep in mind while I’m writing, and
have found from feedback that it is an approach that works well. Try to give
the reader something they can use as well, go beyond the theory and teach them
how to apply it.
When you are writing one of your books, where do
you set your standards for information, and how do you decide which topics to
stress, and which topics not to stress?
For certification books it is pretty
easy, the exam objectives that the vendor publishes will dictate the content. With
certification titles as well, the authors usually will be able to take a beta
exam of the exam they’re writing about, and will know from that what topics to
emphasize. For non-certification titles, I try to consider what is most
important from a real world perspective. I think about what a real world
administrator would actually be doing, and emphasize topics that are most
practical. Before a book is written the author(s) has written the table of
contents and knows pretty well how the book will lay out. It is really in this
stage that we identify what we will be writing about.
Is there anything that I haven’t included here that you would like to add?
From what’s been previously said,
it should be fairly obvious that whether it comes to writing or working in a
real world environment, practicality is my main concern. Technology can be fun
to play with, but at the end of the day it has to serve some real purpose. It
has to further some goal or achieve a need.
(Will, please feel free to also plug any recent or soon to be published books)
I’ve got two books in the printing
process right now, Windows Server 2003
Active Directory Administration Exam Cram 2 for Que (exam 70-294), and Exchange Server 2003 Training Kit for
Microsoft Press. Both should be out in stores in the next month or two.
Thanks for giving me the
opportunity to answer these questions for your readers. I always welcome
correspondence, and can be contacted at WWillis@Inside-Corner.com.
ßWillà