"Along with the career incentives, I wanted to prove to myself, my employer and customers that I knew what I was doing; the certifications have externally verified that," Hewitt says. "The beauty of a certification is that it forces you to learn all aspects of your specialization which is the entire reason why most people do them.

"They qualify a level of professionalism for Web, OS and Enterprise."

He said the qualifications are equally beneficial to IT newcomers and veterans.

"[While] some will help familiarize those entering the industry with basic OSes and generic applications, [people] who have worked in IT for years will be forced to learn aspects of their [specialization] they normally wouldn't come across," Hewitt said.

"Basically it will help them forge new ideas, to be more creative and to think laterally." Microsoft technology adviser Michael Kleef, a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and university student with 15 years industry experience agrees.