As Table 8 shows, companies are fairly willing to pay for certification 53 percent of respondents said employers picked up the certification tab. Another 30 percent of respondents said they paid for their own certifications, while 10 percent indicated the payment burden was shared between employee and company. Among our respondents, employers were somewhat more willing to pay for Microsoft certifications than Novell's 59 percent of respondents with any Microsoft certification said their firm paid, while only 49 percent of those holding Novell certifications said so. One fact to keep in mind regarding Microsoft's certification program is its relative newness. The median age for MCPs 37 reflects that.
Age presumably affects income by tending to reflect years of experience.
One statistical expert we talked to suggested that the relative youth of Microsoft Certified Professionals may have pulled down salary averages overall something to keep in mind when we recheck salaries each year. Our statistics do show a steady growth in income as age increases. While the raw income averages we show are striking and certainly statistically valid, they're tempered by the median figures we show, and by responses to other questions on the survey. The results of our survey should gratify anyone weighing the value of the Microsoft Certified Professional credential. Methodology Survey respondents were randomly chosen from our active magazine distribution list.