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Certiport MTA Persona Market Research

December 11, 2014

Aaron Butler, Darin Brooks, Esteban De Hoyos,

Adam Mears and Nate Deppermann

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Table of Contents Executive Summary.3

General Introduction..4

Background..5

Quantitative Research.12

Qualitative Research...28

Persona Profiles..37

Social Media..42

Conclusion..43

Appendix..44

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Executive Summary

Following the recent economic downturn, many individuals sought certifications and higher education to increase skills and gain additional appeal as job applicants. To better navigate this changing employment landscape educators and academic institutions of all sizes have been forced to make cuts while still attempting to give their students an advantage in the job market. Technology certifications, like Certiports MTA certification can be a viable option to help students improve credentials. This report attempts to identify specific key markets, or personas, that would be likely to participate in the MTA certification. Derived through various methods of research, the following findings should be helpful in directing the use of Certiports marketing dollars. The qualitative and quantitative sections include an evaluation of several interviews and of the more critical questions asked in the Certiport customer survey that will help with creating persona profiles. Interview transcripts, graphs and tables of data are included to further support of the analysis. The social media presence and promotion of MTA is really non-existent in the social media sphere. The report concludes by taking these findings and identifying a brief snapshot of the two primary personas (IT administrators and instructors) most relevant to the MTA product. These profiles include demographic, lifestyle/psychographic and behavioral information for each persona and a brief explanation of what a given representative of the persona might be like.

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General Introduction

Certiport specializes in performance-based certifications providing test solutions to academic institutions, corporations and workforce management. Certiport certifies individuals in order to enable a trained and certified global workforce (certiport.com). With continual technological advancements and increasing usage around the world, Certiport is in a unique position, as the only company contracted with Microsoft to certify with Microsoft products. However, operations to this point have been primarily focused on high schools, junior colleges or technical schools. To attract new customers and increase visibility, Certiport is pushing into the market of secondary education and in order to succeed, aims to identify persona profiles to help in marketing and sales efforts. Currently, primary acquisition channels for new customers include trade shows and digital marketing using mostly email campaigns. The following report will outline the research methodology and results obtained while identifying these persona profiles primarily through use of background research, qualitative research and quantitative research. The report will conclude with the descriptive persona profiles.

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Background

The background research will focus on changes and challenges in the industry, similar certifications offered and the current job market. Starting with this research as the foundation, our team will begin

determining where to put our focus and what areas to begin constructing the personas.

The Industry The business certification and IT school industry continues to decline. According to IBISWorld report (Isakowitz, 2014) the industry has declined over the past five years and it is expected to continue that trend during the next five years. Changes in the role of administrative assistants and competition from colleges and universities contribute to this decline (Isakowitz, 2014). This industry provides certificates that prove the proficiency of the individual with a specific computer software or task. Courses include a wide variety of options such as word processing, machine operation, computer networking and software programming. Following the recession in 2008, the demand for many industries within the education sector increased, including the business certification and IT school industry. However, even with this small resurgence, the decline continues (Isakowitz, 2014). Although enrollment in tech institutions is has decreased, an entire generation of computer-literate individuals is now entering the workforce. Many of these individuals seek advanced degrees that this industry does not supply. Hence they pursue IT degrees in junior colleges and universities (Isakowitz, 2014). Because potential students are going to community colleges or universities many companies target people from lower income families who are less likely to go to college or a university (Isakowitz, 2014).

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The report (Isakowitz, 2014) outlines different market segments of the

industry: Students between 21 and 30 years old are the segment that is currently

increasing because they have some work experience, but want certification to increase employment opportunities.

Students under 21 years old are typically attending college despite the high costs of secondary education. However, this segment has decreased in the past five years.

Students who are 30 years old or older are normally seeking more training and education. Some are trying to reenter the workforce and need to sharpen their skills or update them. This segment prefers short-term training courses over another four-year degree.

The products and services of this industry are divided in the following categories:

According to the report (Isakowitz, 2014), certified courses are normally given to people who are seeking a career in the IT industry. Employers in this industry often require vendor-certified courses and certifications that prove the level of proficiency of the applicant.

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Similar Certifications There is a wide variety of certifications offered by institutions as part of their information technology degrees. Taking a small sample of colleges in Utah we found the importance of certification in general. Although many were not using MTA certifications, most of the schools analyzed. The trend identified in Utah shows that most, if not all, of the colleges offer some sort of IT certification program. This information helps to develop the personas and should show that most individuals that are making decisions about buying certifications value them. Salt Lake City community college has their own programs to prepare students to receive certification for programs like CompTIA A+, Microsoft MCTS and Linux (slcc.edu). The CompTIA A+ certification has specific advantages. It is recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and is actually a requirement for service tech jobs at places like Lenovo or Dell. Almost one million IT professionals have the certification as well (tomsitpro.com). Davis Applied Technology College (DATC) has an MTA certification program (datc.edu/it). Additionally, DATC offers programs from Cisco and CompTIA. Fortis College (fortis.edu) and Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College offer a smattering of training programs that are either created by Microsoft or by their own institutions (owatc.edu). Snow College offers the Computer and Information Literacy (CIL) certification program for their students. They choose to use this program because it is offered at lower rates for students and it focuses on giving students the basic skills they need to learn and develop (snow.edu).

Challenges The recent recession had many implications for post-secondary schools, particularly state-funded institutions. The change in funding per student was dramatic, decreasing by a U.S. average of 26.7 percent (see chart below). This resulted in many deep cuts in funding to schools, tuition increases and shifting more of the university costs to students and families.

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Another result of this educational impact of the Great Recession is that students take on more debt in order to pay for school. Currently, there is $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loans which will have future implications for the way in which these students interact with the economy. The impact has not only been felt by students and families, but also by faculty of these universities. As funding decreases, and the need remains to keep tuition competitive with other schools, more cuts will occur in the form of cutting non-tenured professors and faculty, and salary cuts. However, more research shows that state budgets are starting to recover from the effects of the recession, shown by an increase of funding for higher education. According to the research, 42 states are spending more per pupil than they did a year ago. These new indicators show an opportunity for Certiport to take advantage of the economic upswing in favor of state-funded post-secondary schools. With more funding being added to the schools, there is a greater chance they will invest in certification programs like that of Certiports.

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One study found that more than 31 million students have failed to complete a degree in the past 20 years and left without a degree after enrolling. This could play an important role in developing persona profiles of new Certiport customers because administrators and professors have a vested interest in students continuing their education until receiving a degree. The MTA and other certification programs can help attract non-degree holders to a particular higher education institution for the certification and after interacting with the institution may return for a full degree. The cost of college dropouts is also alarming. There is an estimated $84 billion lost in income tax revenue each year. Post-secondary educational institutions can use Certiport to attract people to take classes and certifications there, which will then already acquaint them with the institution and creates a greater chance of them returning for a full-time degree. In response to the recession starting in 2008, community colleges across the country experienced record enrollment. Many wished to acquire new skills or find a new career path in the wake of job loss, and saw community college as the pathway. This uptick in community college enrollment caused a shortage of teachers, which many institutions may still experience today. Certiport certifications could help divert some of the traffic in schools to different programs run by the same professors. An increase in enrollment means more people could be interested in the certification programs as alternatives for full degrees.

The Current Job Market Nearly six years after start of the economic downturn, the U.S. job market is again on the rise and recent data shows that America is getting back many of the jobs it lost. In comparison to world markets, Americas job market is ranked number 20, with 46 percent of U.S. workers confident about job opportunities (Belsie 2014). With this increased vitality in the job marketplace and rapid advancements in global technology, pre-professionals with technical and IT skills are in large demand. Aside from IT, the job market is also seeing a rise in blue-collar work opportunities, something that hasnt happened for several years. Industries such as construction, logging and manufacturing are grabbing any willing laborerwith or without a

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degreeand increasing pay significantly, compared to recent wages over the last few years. The information technology market has similarly had a significant rise in opportunity. Competition for these positions is strong and employers are seeking out trained IT professionals to fill them (source). Candidates are increasingly in need of features that will set them apart in the large pool of applicants. In an interview with an online tech journal, one executive said: According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2012 for those young adults with at least a bachelors degree, the employment rate was 87 percent. In contrast, young adults who had only completed some college had a 75 percent employment rate and those with only some college, 64 percent. The data points out that this pattern of higher employment rates corresponding with higher levels of educational attainment also generally held across males and females for each age group from 1990 to 2012, (NCES). Current unemployment trends relative to educational demonstrate the success of educational institutions ability to place students in the job market. The civilian labor force consists of all civilians who are employed or seeking employment. The National Center of Education Statistics reports that between 2001 and 2011, undergraduate enrollment rose 32 percent, from 13.7 million to 18.1 million (NCES).

We're always looking for the most skilled people, the most

talented people, who are capable of inventing the future, not

just doing the same old type of work that's become a

commodity -- fixing code, testing code that someone else

wrote, that someone else invented. The number of people

who can meet that criteria is small, so we don't have a huge

labor pool to pick from coming out of the top schools,

(computerworld.com).

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Personas Other company profiles have been examined to find important demographic, behavioral and psychographic indicators. Persona profiles create a fictional character to illustrate a typical user of their products. Using this research marketers are able to create campaigns targeted at their potential customers, using the channels, messages and tactics that will be most effective for acquisition. As an example, other companies create personas that examine their customers based on such criteria as:

Demographics Identification/Targeting o Age, marital status, sex, race, income level, education, region.

Behavior/Attitudes Relationship to of product, likelihood to recommend, views on product.

Lifestyle/Psychographics Travel habits, opinions, aspirations, use of product.

Media Consumption How to Reach Them Social media usage, email, phone, radio, television, all sources of info. At every step of the process careful attention has been paid to ensure the personas produced are accurate, valid and helpful to Certiports efforts to market the MTA product. After conducting the research and analyzing qualitative and quantitative results, the personas created will represent those individuals most likely to be part of the purchasing decision of MTA or provide MTA in an instructional setting.

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Quantitative Research

Introduction and Methodology A key component of creating persona profiles for MTA customers is researching and recording demographic, behavioral and other quantitative insights about customers of the MTA product. Quantitative data is information that can be complied with numbers such as height or shoe size.

We created and conducted a survey to best obtain the quantitative information we were looking for. After selecting 17 key questions, we sent the survey to 2,637 people identified by Certiport as current customers. Out of those 2,637 people, there were 246 who responded, a good response rate of about 10 percent. We also sent out a survey to non-customers and 61 people completed the surveys. We reviewed the results of the data and cross-tabulated (a tool that separates and compares data) all of the information from the 17 questions in the survey to see if there were relationships between certain questions. It was determined if our survey results were significant or not by looking at the p-values. A p-value is the probability of obtaining observed results. P-values can be said to be significant (the likelihood that a result is caused by something other than just random chance) when the value is .05 or lower. The following section includes some of the 17 questions asked in the survey which we found to be crucial with creating the persona profiles for MTA. We have also included detailed analysis and graphs to help explain why this information should be important to Certiport.

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What is your age? According to the Qualtrics survey we sent out to Certiport customers, 45 percent were within the age range of 50-65 and 38 percent were between the ages of 35-49. Although this was just a survey from a larger population, the trend aims towards Microsoft customers being over 35 years of age. In the non-customer survey, there were significant relationships between age and occupation, which social media channels are used, and how often they use Microsoft products. ITU Online states that over three million Americans over 35 are enrolled in degree or certification teaching schools/classes (ITU Online). Older customers represent a large majority of people who are trying to get certified in this field. Other interesting points that we gathered from the survey data about age was:

1. 75 percent of these age groups combined agree that the MTA certification is applicable to some degree towards their careers. The relationship between age and seeing the MTA certification as applicable or not in the survey was not significant.

2. Only 36 percent of these age groups combined said that they were MTA certified. The relationship between age and being MTA certified or not was not significant in the survey.

3. The majority from both age groups mostly use the Windows Operating Funda- mentals certification from MTA in their careers. The relationship between age and which MTA certifications are used was determined to be significant in the survey.

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After carefully considering this part of the survey results, MTA messaging and marketing should shift more and more to address this older audience. Older customers in the survey agreed that the MTA certification would be very useful to younger generations in their field, but believed it was not as applicable to their own careers. This seems to be the central challenge to overcome. We must, however, help them to see that MTA certifications are critical even though people might have years of career experience under their belt. Here are some suggestions for online and collateral messaging to this older audience that we gathered from Pluralsight.com for why certifications would benefit them right now:

It tells your current or potential employer that you value being up to date on your knowledge and skills.

If your boss needs to move on to higher technologies, they can trust you more with being able to meet any new challenges.

It further proves and validates your skills to employers by having an outside certification provider do it for them.

If there is a merger or takeover at work, you will stand out amongst your work peers. (Pluralsight.com)

Another suggestion would be to more heavily market the Windows Operating Fundamentals certification since this is the most widely used certification that this older audience chooses to be certified in. You could effectively do this by:

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Creating several short videos for YouTube that share the benefits of the

Windows Operating Fundamentals certification from actual customers ages 35 and above.

Sending emails to educators and administrators of this age group with an info- graphic about the certification and its benefits.

Publishing interactive posts on Certiports Twitter and Facebook pages that encourage people to respond and discuss why this certification is so beneficial.

The relationship between age and which MTA certifications are used was highly significant in the survey.

What is your gender? We noticed from our customer survey research that more male customers are MTA certified (48 percent) than female (25 percent). It was concluded from the survey that the relationship between gender and being MTA certified or not was significant. Gender, in the non-customer survey, had a significant relationship with which social media channels they chose to use. Here are some other interesting points that we gathered from the survey about gender:

1. Over 58 percent of Certiport customers who acknowledged that they had a Masters degree were female.

2. For respondents who claimed to have a Bachelors degree, 52 percent of them were also female. Female customers have more advanced degrees than the men.

3. The relationship between gender and education level was not significant. This information reflected what other sources have already concluded. Catalyst.org stated that women in 2012 earned over 50 percent of bachelor's degrees and doctorate degrees and almost 60 percent of master's degrees that year (Catalyst.org). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, up to 51 percent of women with

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advanced educational degrees held professional licenses or certifications of some sort compared to only 43 percent of men (Infoplease.com).

The survey found that 52 percent of male and 55 percent of female customers were educators. Women, surprisingly, were discovered to be in more administrative positions than men. This told us that women tend to hold more weight with decision-making for their institutions when it comes to Information Technology (IT) certifications. This information from the survey indicates that Certiport marketing should strive to attract more of the female audience. A few helpful suggestions on how to do this would be:

Send an email to female educators and administrators revealing how the MTA certification can help females receive higher pay and positions in their career fields if MTA programs were to be included in their schools curriculum.

Start a weekly event on Certiports Facebook page where leading women in the IT profession are highlighted and share how MTA certifications helped them achieve great success.

An article on TheStreet.com shared two very helpful tips on how to best market to women: 1) Address what is important to women about your product. 2) Use female contacts to spread your message (TheStreet.com).

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If Certiport does not already know what its female customers in particular love about MTA then they should conduct focus groups and telephone surveys to find this out. Also, Certiport should reach out to female-authored IT blogs like Women 2.0 and ask them to be advocates for MTA by writing supportive posts about the certifications to their female audiences.

What is your marital status? A very large majority of customer survey respondents (66 percent) were married rather than single. These married customers had a higher annual income than their single counterparts. Over 48 percent of married customers made between $51,000 to over $100,000 a year compared to just 44 percent of single customers. The relationship between marital status and income level was found to be significant. Marital status, in the non-customer survey, had significant relationships with an interest in learning more about the MTA certification and if schools incorporate any other certifications. Here are more conclusions regarding marital status from the survey data:

1. More married customers are MTA certified (36 percent) than singles (35 percent). The relationship between marital status and being certified was not significant.

2. Married customers have been MTA certified for longer periods of time. The relationship between marital status and length of time being certified was not significant.

3. Single customers see MTA as more applicable to their careers. The relationship between these was not significant.

4. Married customers are more satisfied with MTA and are more likely to recommend the MTA certification to someone else. The relationship between these was not significant.

Further research should be conducted to uncover the behaviors and decision-making of current MTA certified customers who are married. By understanding

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these reasons, Certiport will be able to more effectively market MTA certifications to this audience. This can be done in the following ways:

Conduct telephone surveys to find and ask married Certiport customers why they value the MTA certification.

Organize a focus group of married Certiport customers and ask them questions regarding the MTA certification and why they choose to use it.

What is your income? Customers aged 50-65 have the largest annual incomes, with 44 percent of this age group making $51,000-$80,000. It was more common for those between the ages of 35-49 to earn $21,000-$50,000 annually. However, there is no significance between income level and how applicable MTA is in the careers of those surveyed. Income also does not correlate directly to the level of certifications. At first glance, the MTA certification does not appear to correlate specific class or income level. This information is valuable for the persona profile because it gives us an idea of the kind of . The result of this question about income demonstrates a partial bell curve. Some of the findings based on the report include:

1. Less than four percent make $20,000 annually. 2. The most common occupation is educator, and the most common income level

among educators is $51,000 to $80,000, or 43 percent of all educators. 3. Although income had little effect on satisfaction of the MTA certification, 47

percent of respondents that rated their satisfaction of MTA a 5 made between $20,000 and $51,000, while 37 percent of those who made $51,000 to $80,000 rated MTA with a 10.

4. When asked how applicable the MTA certification is in their career, 35 percent of those earning $20,000 to $51,000 said it was not at all applicable, compared to 44 percent of those earning $51,000 to $80,000 who said very applicable.

It is difficult to come to a conclusion about the relationship between income levels and being MTA certified. However, those who make more money are more satisfied

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with MTA certifications. The MTA persona should include a medium-to-higher wage earner as evidenced by the collected data.

Please rank in order of importance (1-7) your preferred sources of information related to your career.

Here are the top three information sources for career related information: 1. Internet 2. Industry conferences 3. Peers

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This graph shows the averages for each source. The lower the average number the better because it means that it was ranked in first place more often.

Please rank in order of importance (1-7) your preferred sources of information related to your personal life.

Here are the top three information sources for personal life: 1. Internet 2. Peers 3. Social media

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This graph shows the averages for each source. The lower the average number the better because it means that it was ranked in first place more often. These three sources were on average the most used to get personal-related information. If we only took into account the number of frequencies, social media would be ranked second and peers third. This information is valuable not only because people have listed which channels and tools they use to get their information, but because it provides insights as to where people are spending their time. This allows us to better target our messages at them. For example, people did not list social media as a place where they get information for their jobs and careers. However, if those people were to find appealing information on social media related to their jobs, they would become interested because they would find information they are looking for. Another insight as to why this information is relevant is because it also informs when people are spending their time with those sources. Generally, people are looking for job and career information while they work, while they are in the office. In contrast, they use their personal time at home to find information for their personal life. This means that the three main sources for career information are mostly used from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. while the three main sources of information for personal life are mostly used before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m., when people are not working. An article (Cooper, 2013) on best times to connect with customers through different platforms reports that general emails and consumer-based marketing emails are most likely to be opened in the morning around 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. The key takeaway is that the Internet is the main source of information either for career or personal life. Knowing what websites people use for career information requires further research. But for personal information, we know that social media is one of the places where people reported to go in the survey. In fact, fastcompany.com (Cooper, 2013) reports that social media has overtaken pornography as the number one activity on the Internet.

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According to data from the 2014 Pew Research Internet Project, 93 percent of people ages 30 to 49 and 88 percent of people ages 50 to 64 are considered Internet users. This data confirms the data gathered from the surveys where the Internet was the number one source of information.

People that earn $50,000 to above $75,000 annually are active Internet users. These income groups are similar to the ones found in the survey data and also confirm that

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the Internet is the main source of information. Social media is already prevalent and will continue to grow among these age and income groups.

How long have you been in your current position? The survey showed that 29 percent of respondents have been in their positions for four to nine years, while 44 percent have been in their positions for more than 10 years. The largest demographic represented on the survey was 50 to 65 year-olds, who have remained in their current position for more than 10 years. Of these individuals who have remained in their positions for more than 10 years, 83 percent are married. This clearly points to a persona that tends to be more loyal to organizations and institutions that they are a part of. Some additional findings that correlate to duration in a current position include:

1. Of those that are certified, 39 percent have been in their position for more than 10 years.

2. 67 percent of those who have been in their position for more than a decade rated their satisfaction with MTA an eight or higher, compared to 36 percent that have been in their position for four to nine years who rated MTA seven or lower.

The persona most satisfied and most likely to recommend or use the MTA certification has been in their position for a longer period of time.

Are you MTA certified? Overall, 64 percent of those surveyed are not MTA certified. This statistic is most true for the older demographic, where one of the largest disparities appeared between the certified and uncertified. Over 32 percent of those between ages 50-65 were certified, compared to 35-49 year-olds where 41 percent are certified. Still, when looking at those who reported being certified, 40 percent are over the age of 40.

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Based on these results, he MTA certification, appears to be more common among older demographics. This may be true, because they are the ones that are making decisions about purchasing within the organization. Although Certiport has primarily been focused on secondary education, they have successfully penetrated a surprising number at the postsecondary level, and they appear to be satisfied.

How applicable is MTA certification in your career? In our survey research, we found that 74 percent of respondents thought that MTA certification was at least somewhat applicable to their careers while the remaining 26 percent said it was not applicable at all.

To discover why such a large group said the certification was not applicable at all, we looked at the ages of respondents and found that the longer respondents were in their career, the less applicable they believed MTA certifications were in their careers In forming a persona profile of the MTA product customer, this is important because it highlights some of the thoughts and opinions the older, administrative-type customers. Our research found that customers ages 50-65 did not see the certifications as valuable in their career because they do not need them for the type of jobs they seek. This could be because the certifications were not available in the time before they were in administrative roles.

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An overwhelming majority of respondents that said they used none of the certifications were in the age range 50-65. This illustrates that the MTA certifications are much more valuable for the 18-49 age range.

Which particular MTA certifications do you use in your career? We asked the question Which particular MTA certifications do you use in your career? and asked which MTA certifications they think their students would be most interested in. While answers to the two questions had some significant differences, the top four responses were consistent between the two questions:

1. Networking Fundamentals 2. Windows Operating Fundamentals 3. Security Fundamentals 4. Windows Server Administration

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Which MTA exams would your students be most interested in? There was a significant decrease in the none answer when the question was about the students interest in exams and this highlights the fact that one of the key self-interests of administrators and instructors is their understanding of what their students need.

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Qualitative Research

Introduction

The qualitative research report includes analysis of the four most important themes found in the 28 interviews conducted with Certiports current customers. Those themes are: 1) Electronic sources 2) MTA prepares people for Information Technology 3) MTA certification is a resume booster 4) MTA certification translates into jobs In conjunction with the quantitative research, these themes will be the base for the persona profile of the potential customer of the Microsoft Technology Associate certification.

The following numbers show the work necessary to get this report. Total calls attempted: 720 Total calls answered: 206 Total declined or didnt know: 178 Total interviewed: 28 Our team analyzed each interview transcript and highlighted each topic mentioned by the interviewee. Then, the team counted the number of occurrences of each topic. This process allowed us to gather the most prevalent topics which were the ones that were mentioned more often by the interviewees. Those are the four topics that comprise this report, but more importantly, this information will contribute key elements of the persona profiles. For a full transcription of the interviews, consult the appendix. Names were not included in this report or in the full transcript because respondents were promised anonymity.

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The main problems to conduct these interviews were that people did not answer their phones, people were not willing to contribute and many of them did not know about buying decision of the product.

Electronic Sources

The interviews showcased several pronounced patterns with many current customers and non-customers of Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) across the country. One of the patterns was the choice of clients to use electronic resources as a way to gather information. This piece of information is crucial in building the persona that would be interested in MTA because it will help Certiport to effectively reach potential customers through the right channels. Here are the three main situations in which electronic sources were used:

1) How many electronic sources were used to research around MTA before people bought the service. 2) What electronic information resources they turned to at work. 3) What electronic resources were used to access information at home.

Electronic research resources used before buying MTA During the interviews, clients answered the following question: Did you do any specific research around MTA certification before using it? Where did you research?

For those who did prior research about MTA, most chose to just refer to Microsoft and Certiport websites. However, there is a surprising number of people who claimed that they did not do any specific research around MTA before using the program. One reason for people not doing any research was if they had been a

I went to briefing materials through Microsoft first and then materials from Certiport, said one customer.

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certified partner with Microsoft or if they were not the ones who made the purchasing decision in the first place.

Research resources used at work The second situation was the use of electronic devices by interviewees at work to collect information. Other sources that were mentioned were: webinars, technology websites like Apple or Bloomberg, blogs, LinkedIn, school websites. One person said that many journal publications are being transferred to the web so they had to purchase an

online subscription. Another said that they used Twitter at work to follow other companies and to stay updated on what they were doing.

Electronic research resources at home The third situation was the use of electronic sources in the home.

Current customers of MTA consistently supported this kind of behavior towards social media throughout the interviews. All of the popular social media sites were listed by most of the interviewees as electronic resources for information at home such as: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. The trend confirmed that many more people are adopting these platforms instead of traditional sources like television. Only a few people answered that they chose to stick to traditional methods such as magazines or newspapers. Some actually

I receive most of my industry information from websites and emails pertaining to the IT world, said a former IT instructor. People in the IT industry want specifics and so they go online to get answers.

I am always online. Even if I am

watching TV, I still have Facebook

open. I live online, said one

instructor/proctor.

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admitted that they tried to avoid electronics while they were at home because of using it so much on the job. The findings of these interviews are confirmed by the Pew Research Internet Project (2014) which reported that 74 percent of all internet users user social networking sites. Notice in the chart below that 82 percent of all internet users in the age group 30-49 use social media. Also, 65 percent of the age group 50-64 is on social media. These age groups are representative of the people interviewed by the team.

This information is valuable because it shows a new way in which Certiport could communicate with its customers. Especially those in the age group 30-49. Establishing a relationship with them on social media could result in gaining more customers that are friends of current customers. Several of the respondents specifically mentioned Twitter as a source of work-related information.

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MTA prepares people for information technology

One of the key elements in creating these persona profiles is identifying the motives of those purchasing and/or consuming the MTA certifications. Nearly all of the respondents answered that the MTA certification is primarily used to prepare people for entry-level information technology positions. Although respondents degrees of devotion to MTA and its usefulness varied, it was very apparent that those participating in the MTA program did so to attain basic I.T. skills. An interesting consensus among interviewees is that the MTA certification is viewed as a low- or entry-level certification. One customer said:

Several shared a similar view and said that those getting MTA certified are being prepared for I.T. jobs at the entry level. As far as developing a persona profile, it would seem that a good majority of those attaining MTA certifications are trying to break into the I.T. industry. Those already in the industry or in I.T. personnel management positions did not see the MTA as a valuable designation for themselves. Another way the MTA certification prepares people for I.T. jobs is by saving time and money for the employer. According to a few of the interviews, employers will often need to spend time and resources providing additional training to I.T. employees. A Kotler Marketing Group study (2010) published by CompTIA confirm that certifications reduce costs for a company and help identify knowledge gaps and improve productivity. By having these would-be I.T. professionals attain an MTA certification, those who administer these certifications seem to believe that MTA recipients are just getting started on the highway to I.T. competency from an employers perspective.

Students who are MTA certified go on to do other certifications that are higher than MTA. It is good for secondary students, maybe students at a two-year college. They can go on to get certifications in A+ and Cisco.

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Depending on what point the certification seeker is in his/her careers will determine which certification a testing center will recommend. One respondent said:

It was evident in the interviews that many of the people attaining the certifications are receiving them through their high schools and small colleges. In these circumstances, the MTA certification is more of an exploratory experience than a career-changing one. These students are finding out their interests and competencies. One instructor said:

Whether MTA seekers pursued the certification to get an edge in the I.T. job market, to be more competent in I.T. skills, or to explore if the I.T. industry is the right place for them, respondents generally believe that the MTA certification prepares people for duties in information technology.

MTA is a resume booster

A recurring theme in the data collected from the interviews was the benefit to a resume. As higher education becomes more and more common, job candidates and

When people come in to take our exams [MTA and other certifications], it is usually a career changer. They come to start with a CompTIA into an operating system in Microsoft, then maybe an MCSA in Windows server or a MCSA in SQL. It varies on their background. We generally dont push MTA they are coming. Companies cant afford that time. The market doesnt look for MTA certification.

I know that especially for young students

who are trying to get started in IT, I think its

a great way for them to explore and find out

about things theyre not aware of without

going all out to do a Microsoft Academy

cert.

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hiring managers are looking for what sets you apart. Particularly in the tech industry, hard skills and proven expertise can be more appealing and practical than traditional academic coursework obtained from a textbook alone. During many of the interviews, respondents mentioned MTA padding or boosting a resume. This demonstrates the overall value administrators place on certifications like MTA, helping to equip individuals with an advantage beyond an average resume. To better understand this perception by administrators and instructors, during phone the phone interviews, respondents were asked, What are the values and benefits of being MTA certified? This question prompted the majority of responses pertaining to the resume. An organization administrator said: The resume benefit that comes from the MTA certification is the ability to prove your skills. The certification can help open doors that a resume alone cannot. As educators, in addition to educating students, many administrators and teachers aim to help students find employment. MTA is more than just another bullet point on a resume, it is a trusted certification that backs up the credibility of the job candidate. Another respondent noted the feeling that comes from completing the MTA certification in addition to the improved resume:

Regardless of industry or position, technological skills are increasingly important and everyone can benefit from having a basic understanding. Administrators appeared to understand that technical certifications are not solely

You can fill out a resume and say I can do all of these wonderful things but if youve got a certification to back it up, its more than what Monster says by just checking out a resume.

They will have something for a resume and

feel accomplished about something. MTA will

help your resume. Having a little

understanding of other areas of technology.

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beneficial for students seeking jobs in IT or tech support. Every industry has radically changed over the past 25 years. With the advent of the internet and the prominence of electronic communication, it might prove difficult to find employment where some degree of computer knowledge isnt necessary. The MTA certification is valued because it doesnt require everyone study computer science to have a solid understanding of the basics of Microsoft products.

MTA increases job placement rates One of the key data points we discovered from the interview responders is that the MTA certification helps students and recent graduates have a better chance of getting a job. This job placement focus is significant to developing a persona profile for the MTA customer because it highlights a few different self-interests of administrators and instructors. The success of the students and test-takers is important to the instructors and administrators because it reflects on their commitment to the students. Since the

primary purpose of trade and technical schools is to get their student employed, job placement is a priority as illustrated by the following respondent. Respondents cited IT support and help desk roles as common entry-level jobs certified students get.

The quality of the students entering the workforce could have an impact on the reputation of the organization where they received the training and testing. Respondents repeatedly referred to the confidence and quality of the certified students, highlighting the importance to administrators and instructors. In addition to the students benefit of getting a job, it is in the best interest of teaching institutions for the students to be able to get jobs because it reflects on the quality of the coursework. One way we found this directly affects the administrators

A lot of the students get certified and then

get jobs right down the road at a Microsoft

data center, said an instructor in a

community college in Wyoming.

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and instructors is financially, as illustrated by high job placement numbers from a school whose students had the MTA certification in addition to others. Respondents also revealed that even the jobs and industry for experienced administrators and instructors was very competitive and that the instructors almost always have to be certified in each test they prepare students for in order to be considered qualified to be in that role. One instructor explained a situation in which he was able to keep his job while others lost theirs because he was certified and they werent.

In general, almost all respondents mentioned that the MTA certification in particular helped their students gain confidence to take other certifications and to get entry-level jobs. Some also mentioned that people seeking career changes also composed a significant portion of those taking certifications and these people benefitted greatly from the increased likelihood of getting entry-level positions because of the MTA certification.

Its like any other credentials, it shows what

you know and what you can do for a

company, said an instructor at a testing

center. They can prove their knowledge and

competency.

Being able to show these kinds of solid numbers helps the department get funding, said an instructor at a community college in California.

In my case it's helped me keep jobs. At one of the jobs I worked at my certification kept me at the company while six others were let go, said a high school instructor.

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Conclusion The major results found in these interviews go in accordance with reliable research findings and opinions among the I.T. industry. This is why this report is valuable and provides useful information for the personal profile presented along with this report. It is worth mentioning that it also updates and adds new perspectives regarding the kind of customers Certiport has and should be looking for.

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Persona Profiles

This section is brief snapshot of the two primary personas (IT administrators and instructors) we found were most relevant to the MTA product according to our primary and secondary research. These profiles include demographic, lifestyle/psychographic and behavioral information for each persona and a brief explanation of what a given representative

of the persona might be like.

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Persona Profile #1: Michael

Michael goes to work as an administrator at a local technical institute. He values the opinions expressed among other administrators and they provide information about trends in the industry. Helping the instructors in his technical school is very important to him, and does everything in his power to give them the resources

they need to help students succeed. At this point in his career, he doesnt see the need for additional certifications but understands the importance of certifications for students seeking jobs. Administrator Average age of 57.5 years Generally married (70%) Has a Masters Degree Makes average of $80,000 a year Works in an administrative-type role Has been in position for more than 10 years

Lifestyle/Psychographics: Doesnt believe MTA is relevant to him but that it is to incoming students and

younger professionals. High interest in the success of students and the reputation of institution Greatly trusts the opinions of work colleagues Is worried about sources of funding for organization and its programs

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Wants to see ROI in any investments for his organization Behaviors: Heavy consumer of the Internet (88%) Does not personally seek out more certifications, not MTA certified Prefers older versions of Microsoft programs and is hesitant with purchasing

newer versions Key decision maker in relation to the curriculum and budget of his organization

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Persona Profile #2: Sarah

Sarah has been a computer science instructor at All-Stars Community College for 9 years. She loves technology and tries to utilize innovative approaches in her curriculum. Three years ago she was offered a chance to become MTA certified and jumped at the opportunity to improve her resume and evaluate its value for her students. Since becoming certified, Sarah has used it as database proficiency class. She is very satisfied with the benefits of MTA certification and feels like it is something that every student should have the opportunity to get. She uses social media to

communicate both for work and her personal life. Instructor

Average age of 42 Generally married (60%) Earns $39,000 annually Has a Bachelors Degree Works in an instructor-type role

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Lifestyle/Psychographics: Has been MTA certified for 3 years Very satisfied with MTA certification and often recommends it to others Does not make the purchasing decision but proctors MTA certification exams

or uses it as part of her curriculum Has a great passion for learning and passing on that passion to students Is very interested in students success once they move on.

Behaviors:

Collects career-related information from the Internet, industry conferences and peers

Is always striving to learn new things and stay current on new certifications Is a member of an online community, Born to Learn, and refers to their

services often when she has questions or needs technical support Heavy internet user on mobile device

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Social Media Insights During the course of our research, we set a NUVI alert to track any mention of Certiport, the MTA certification or anything like it. After about a month of tracking, there were no relevant mentions found on social media. We also analyzed Certiports social media channels and noticed the same lack of engagement. A small lesson can be learned from analyzing a similar organizations social media platforms.

CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association, has considerably more likes and engagement than Certiports Facebook page. It appears that CompTIA attracts more attention from Facebook users through 1) linking to articles that are useful and relevant to people in this industry and 2) an effective use of hashtags. These hashtags can attract social media users who are frequenting other sites that are similar to Certiports.

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Conclusion The personas outlined above reflect our recommendation for the specific markets where Certiports marketing dollars would be best spent. These conclusions have been reached through extensive quantitative and qualitative research and analysis. We are confident in our recommendations based on the resources and information available to us throughout the process.

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Pethokoukis, J. (2014, July 9). Think the US job market is healthy again? Well, it isn't -- and hasn't been for a long time. AEIdeas. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.aei-ideas.org/2014/07/think-the-us-job-market-is-healthy-again-well-it-isnt-and-hasnt-been-for-a-long-time/ Thibodeau, P. (2012, July 12). IT job seekers face hot yet finicky market.Computerworld. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.computerworld.com/article/2505743/it-careers/it-job-seekers-face-hot-yet-finicky-market.html Rogers, M. (2013, December 17). Colleges report job outcomes, but results are of limited value @insidehighered. Colleges report job outcomes, but results are of limited value @insidehighered. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/12/17/colleges-report-job-outcomes-results-are-limited-value Employment rates of college graduates. (n.d.). National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=561 Enrollment. (n.d.). National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98 Certiport | Microsoft Technology Associate. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.certiport.com/PORTAL/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=665&roleid=101 National Center for Education Statistics. (2014). The Condition of Education 2014 (NCES 2014-083),Labor Force Participation and Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment.

Salt Lake Community College School of Applied Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.slcc.edu/sat/programs/computernetwork/computersupport.aspx

Tittel, E. (2013, December 27). Best Computer Hardware Certifications for 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/hardware-certifications,2-678-2.html

http://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.aei-ideas.org/2014/07/think-the-us-job-market-is-healthy-again-well-it-isnt-and-hasnt-been-for-a-long-time/http://www.aei-ideas.org/2014/07/think-the-us-job-market-is-healthy-again-well-it-isnt-and-hasnt-been-for-a-long-time/http://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.computerworld.com/article/2505743/it-careers/it-job-seekers-face-hot-yet-finicky-market.htmlhttp://www.computerworld.com/article/2505743/it-careers/it-job-seekers-face-hot-yet-finicky-market.htmlhttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=561http://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.bibme.org/websitehttp://www.certiport.com/PORTAL/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=665&roleid=101http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cbc.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cbc.asphttp://www.slcc.edu/sat/programs/computernetwork/computersupport.aspxhttp://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/hardware-certifications,2-678-2.htmlhttp://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/hardware-certifications,2-678-2.html

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Davis Applied Technology College. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.datc.edu/it

Fortis College. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.fortis.edu/programs/microsoft-network-technology.aspx

Fortis College. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.fortis.edu/programs/computer-networking-technology.aspx

Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.owatc.edu/training/business-it/information-technology/

Snow College. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2014, from http://www.snow.edu/general/catalog/degrees.pdf

Hiltonsmith, R., & Draut, T. (2014, March 6). The Great Cost Shift Continues: State Higher Education Funding After the Recession. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.demos.org/publication/great-cost-shift-continues-state-higher-education-funding-after-recession Some College, No Degree: A National View of Students with Some College Enrollment, but No Completion. (2014, July 1). National Student Clearinghouse Research Center: Signature Report. Jenkins, Venita. (August 24, 2009 Monday ). Community colleges seeing record enrollment. The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, North Carolina), Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic (March 15, 2009 Sunday ). Keep pushing to reduce dropouts. Star-News (Wilmington, NC), Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic Isakowitz, L. (2014, June). IBISWorld Industry Report 61144 - Business Certification & IT Schools in the US. Retrieved 10 2, 2014, from IBISWorld: http://clients1.ibisworld.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/ Zandri, J. (2009, March 25). Why Get Certified If You Know How To Do Your Job?-

Part 1.

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Retrieved from Pluralsight.com: http://blog.pluralsight.com/why-get-certified-if-

you-know-how-to-do-your-job-part-1 Nguyen, L. (2008, August 12). 10 Tips For

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marketing-to-women.html

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http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-united-states Women By The

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Script: MTA Administrators/Users

Hi, may I speak with [NAME]? Hello my name is _________, and I'm with a research group from Brigham Young University. We are conducting a study to determine the value of the Microsoft Technology Associate certification. Are you familiar with the MTA certification? [If no]: Would you be interested in learning more about MTA certification? How would you like to learn more about itemail, webinar or a phone call? [If yes]: Would you be willing to answer a few questions about your experience? Our conversation would be about 10-15 minutes and your responses will be anonymous. [If no]: Is there a better time I can call you back? [RescheduleREMEMBER TO COORDINATE THE SET UP TIME WITH THE APPROPRIATE TIME ZONE] [If yes]: Thank you very much. To give you context, some of these questions were developed to determine the habits and activities of MTA administrators and users.

1. How did you hear about the MTA certification?

2. What was your role in making the decision to buy the certification?

a. Who ultimately made the buying decision?

3. What factors determine your buying decisions? a. [prompts: price based? value based? content based?]

4. Did you face any internal challenges in purchasing the certification? Please

describe.

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5. Do you have any other comments to share regarding the reasons why you or your organization decided to use MTA certification?

6. Did you do any specific research around MTA certification before using it?

a. Where did you research?

7. Have you been MTA certified? a. If YES: What benefits have you realized because of your certification? b. If NO: How do you believe the certification will benefit you in the

future?

8. What are the values and benefits of being MTA certified? i. [prompts: resume booster/ helped your career/ additional

skills]

9. We are interested in understanding where people with your career focus spend time. What resources do you turn to for information that is work related? [Prompt: what websites/what social media channels/magazines/ TV shows/ tradeshows or conferences]

10. How about outside of work? Where do you consume information when you

are relaxing at home?

11. What are the types of careers that would find value in MTA certification?

12. We are also trying to understand some of the personality traits of people who use or interact with MTA certifications. What are five key personality traits that you would use to describe yourself? [prompts: assertive, organized, outgoing, introverted, etc.]

Thank you for your time today; we appreciate your help!

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Copied below are the transcripts of the interviews conducted with current customers.

Interviewee # 1 - Instructor

1. Are you familiar with the MTA certification? Would you be willing to answer some questions?

I am. I really havent had any experience with the MTA certifications beyond being aware of them and knowing a few of the students who took the cert. The only thing I know about it is that they were having trouble finding materials to study for them. One failed the server sert and one passed the networking cert.

2. How did you hear about the certification? I heard about MTA because our organization is a testing facility and we do not do testing for the big certs, but we can do testing for MTA. We received some marketing materials regarding MTA and that was the first time I heard about it, probably two years ago.

3. What was your role in making the decision to purchase the certification? To what degree?

We dont actually train for that certification, thats something that we can do testing for here in our testing facility and its something that weve discussed. Im an instructor, so I have some say in what we do but at the time we werent really aware of any actual training that was available so my understanding is from time to time well get a tester in who is taking an MTA exam, but we never really took it any further than that.

4. So basically you just do testing there? Correct, but we do training for other certs, but the certs we do training for we cant do testing for because were not on that list. But we do testing for a variety of other things, so MTA is one thing we can proctor exams for.

5. Do you have any other comments on why you guys do or dont use the MTA certification?

I think its a good transitional type of a cert. I know that especially for young students who are trying to get started in IT, I think its a great way for them to explore and find out about things theyre not aware of without going all out to do a

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Microsoft Academy cert. Again, Ive only known of a couple students that have gone through our program here. One of them failed and I think its because maybe he didnt take it so seriously, and the other one passed and thats because hes kind of a genius and he was just racking up certs. I think they have their value, certainly, I think theres nothing wrong with them. We are nonprofit so we focus on certifications that are funded through grants and MTA hasnt come up as one of those certifications.

Interviewee # 2 - Instructor/school technician

1. Are you familiar with the MTA certification? I only have 349, thats just the operating systems

2. How did you hear about the MTA certification? I actually work for a computer repair shop and its part of a school called computer training academy. So I have certifications in other things like A+ and a couple of other certs.

3. Are you an administrator in the school or an administrator? Im mostly an end user, Im a technician for the school so I take care of all the computers there.

4. Are you an instructor there? Yes but not MTA type stuff. What I teach is more A+ certification skills, so hardware

5. Did you have any role in making the decision to purchase the software? No

6. So have you been MTA certified? Yeah, just with 349

7. What benefits have you realized because of your certification? Im sure it would open some doors if I was out there applying for jobs, but Im happy where Im at so I havent actually done more of that. But it makes your more marketable and more well-rounded in the IT field. I like all of them actually.

8. Can you elaborate, what do you like about the certifications etc.? Its a school here is well and a lot of our students go out on job interviews, so anytime they have a certification that others dont, because the certification is

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more or less a guarantee that they know what theyre doing. If they can pass the test they can do it in the field.

9. Any specific types of careers within the IT field? All types. Networking careers, technician, if youre an administrator theyre good as well. Of course youll need a few more than MTA if youre going to become an admin.

Interviewee # - Instructor

10. Are you familiar with the MTA program? The students we have, basically the courses we teach are for entry-level IT positions. The school itself is a trade school or vocational school. So we are basically trying to get students started out in the IT field, basically to help them get a solid foundation where they can get their foot in the door with entry-level position. Then hopefully continue their education either through their employer or on their own so they can of course increase their value for higher paying jobs and basically move up the latter.

11. Are you MTA certified? What are the advantages/benefits? Yes. The MTA certifications help the students, and myself in my particular experience, it helped me with gaining an entry-level position with what they call a small enterprise so that when I first got in, i was able to troubleshoot computers, set up new workstations. As I said, they helped me- as I was going through the courses, it helped me get the entry-level positions I needed and also helped me to advance. The more certifications I obtained, the faster I was able to advance up the latter.

12. What are some of the things important to you in your role as an instructor, that the MTA helps realize?

The MTA certification, as I said, is a very good starting point. It shows the students the ins and the outs of the operating system. How to use the operating system, how to make it - for example, with the Windows 7, how to navigate the system and troubleshoot it. We use two tools when we are teaching the course, which is TestOut (a competitor) and then we also use Measure UP. Measure up for testing purposes and TestOut for teaching, along with the books. With those two books, with the books thats published for the MTA certification and the Measure Up certification, the students actually get to work in a virtual environment which simulates different situations, things that could go wrong with the Microsoft

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operating system. It actually shows them how to install and set up the operating system. It is very hands on, but we also teach live as well. So the students for the most part do like the course, the one thing they do say when they are taking the certification is that there are often times information -- there are a lot of questions that they are not used to seeing and not expecting. But Ive only had a handful of students fail the actual test, and Ive been teaching for almost 4 years. Ive only had maybe three or four students that actually failed the test. For the most part, most of them do well. Ive never had anyone ace the test, but they do say there is a lot of information that they cannot ask for. Meaning, there are a lot of questions they were exposed to for the first time while going through the course

13. What are some of the challenges you faced in either teaching the certification courses or in process of getting students to take the course? Any pain points or struggles?

As far as with you alls course, with the MTAs or anything, I dont see any problems there, my issue is the lack of resources available on behalf of the school. The course that I do teach, the MTA course, we teach as a module - the students go to school 5 days a week for four weeks and thats a module. Which is twenty business days- in 4 weeks thats a lot of information to try and get the student to learn. Of course, I dont think the school provides enough adequate resources as far as hardware and software. As far as the actual course itself, I havent experienced any difficulties with the course itself.

Interviewee # 3 - Organization Administrator

1. How did you hear about the MTA certification? Well we are a Microsoft certified training partner. So thats what we do.

2. What was your role in making the decision to buy the certification? See thats difficult to answer because like I said we are a training partner and as part of Microsofts channel for training partners thats just something we do. So it wasnt really a decision it was this is whats there and we embraced it.

3. What factors determine your buying decisions? Well again we offer training and not the product itself. So its all wrapped around that so we didnt purchase anything. By being a partner we get the software and we train the people on the software.

(Skipped questions 4-5 because it was getting repetitive)

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4. Have you been MTA certified? I am not MTA certified, no, I am an MTSE.

5. How do you believe the certification will benefit you in the future? For me it wont because its a lesser certification than I already have.

6. What are the values and benefits of being MTA certified? Well I think it demonstrates a certain knowledge of the product by being able to achieve the certification. It would be difficult to prove otherwise. You can fill out a resume and say I can do all of these wonderful things but if youve got a certification to back it up, its more than what Monster says by just checking out a resume.

7. What resources do you turn to for information that is work related? Microsoft websites, one of them especially the training website. Industry magazines, electronics, web information, Bing information.

8. Any trade shows or conferences? Oh absolutely. Go to WPC every year.

9. How about outside of work? Where do you consume information when you are relaxing at home?

Usually I search the web, with Bing, I do that kind of stuff off my service. And T.V.

10. What are the types of careers that would find value in MTA certification? Junior-level, entry-level positions with organizations using technology.

11. What are five key personality traits that you would use to describe yourself? I have to put myself in the shoes of my students. I cant answer that for myself because I do not have that. But the typical student is someone that is going through a career change or is going a technology change and they are getting into areas that theyve have never been or even had exposure.

Interviewee # 4 - Instructor/Proctor

1. Are you familiar with MTA? Yes, its our most used test. We have used it for as long as I have been here.

2. How did you hear about the MTA certification? Did you have a role in making the decision to buy it?

It was here when I got here. I did not have a role, because the decision was made before I got the job.

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3. Who ultimately made the buying decision? Our site director did.

4. Do you have any other comments to share regarding the reasons why you or your organization decided to use MTA certification?

I cant speak for why they started using it, but I do now, that we are always looking for ways to help our students get an advantage, especially in the technical fields.

5. Have you been MTA certified? No, I havent. I probably should though. 6. If NO: How do you believe the certification will benefit you in the future?

We have seen that it helps to get entry level jobs.

7. What resources do you turn to for information that is work related? We mainly use web searches and the bureau of labor statistics provides information related to our work. Mainly those two.

8. Outside of work? I am always online, even if I am watching TV, I still have Facebook open. I live online.

9. What are the types of careers that would find value in MTA certification? In the desktop tech and support tech, or any entry level position where they are using computers.

10. What are five key personality traits that you would use to describe yourself? Introverted, enthusiastic, organized, detail-oriented, confident in work.

Interviewee # 5 - Proctor

1. What was your role in making the decision to buy the certification? I didnt have a role in buying MTA.

2. Who ultimately made the buying decision? The students who purchase their exams through Certiport make the decision.

It was a smooth transition to adopt Certiport and proctor their exams.

3. How did you hear about the MTA certification? Ive been with Certiport for 14 years, since around 2000-2001. I first heard about Certiport through Microsofts special office program.

4. Have you been MTA certified?

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Yes

5. What are the values and benefits of being MTA certified? It is useful for students. It reduces anxiety and builds confidence as they take higher-level exams. It is a great validation of basic skills in Microsoft.

6. What are the types of careers that would find value in MTA certification? It is good for people who have simplified tasks, who use basic Microsoft applications throughout their work day. Probably good for someone who is starting out at a help desk.

Interviewee # 6

1. How did you hear about the MTA certification? I am a Pearson VUE authorized test administrator from a school in Carthage, Missouri. In Missouri, they have a state requirement to choose a specific technology plan for their students to follow. We chose Certiport. We dont use the supplemental classroom materials Certiport provides. We just use Certiports exam for an exit exam.

2. What was your role in making the decision to buy the certification? I didnt have a role in buying. The state of Missouri decided. We just heard from the state.

3. Have you been MTA certified? No

4. What are the values and benefits of being MTA certified? Students who are MTA certified go on to do other certifications that are higher than MTA.

5. What are the types of careers that would find value in MTA certification? It is good for secondary students, maybe students at a two-year college. They can go on to get certifications in A+ and Cisco.

Interviewee # 7 College institution

1. How did you hear about the MTA certification? We first acquired the MTA program back in late 1990s along with Microsofts MOAC certification program.

2. What was your role in making the decision to buy the certification?

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I was one of the ultimate decision makers in the process of acquiring MTA, I am an Information Insurance Instructor at the institution.

3. Have you been MTA certified? I am certified, students take me much more seriously. Not only do I talk the talk but they see I also walk the walk being certified myself. I also feel more respect from my coworkers and that they value my opinion more because I am one of the only ones certified. Also, with my freelance work, my client has a lot more faith in me and that probably even helps me to get business.

4. What resources do you turn to for information that is work related? I get most of my information from online subscriptions especially Arestechnica.com. I also looks over a lot of the emails I gets from industry providers. Once its out in print its alr