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Dianna Read
Adjunct Computer Instructor, Central Florida Community College
Master Instructor
Dianna Read jump-started her interest in computers when her employer purchased their first computer. She knew computers were going to be the wave of the future and decided to go back to school and learn the skills necessary to begin a new career.
Read's first job in her new career was working as an administrative assistant for a large chemical manufacturing company. She enjoyed the position because it enabled her to use and learn additional computer business skills. She taught herself Microsoft Access and was soon promoted to a systems analyst position developing company Access databases. She loved the flexibility of the job and the opportunity to work with Access, and was dismayed when she learned her position would be eliminated because the company was facing layoffs.
Read wondered how she could demonstrate to potential employers her expertise in Microsoft Office products. While browsing through the Microsoft Web site she discovered Microsoft Office certification and knew that this was her answer. She crammed for the Microsoft Access 97 exam and passed on her first try! To broaden her qualifications and become more marketable, Read studied for and passed two more certification exams at her local Executrain center.
Then Read answered an ad for a part-time computer instructor at Central Florida Community College (CFCC). One of the requirements for the position was Microsoft Office certification. Read had always dreamed of teaching but never thought it would be possible without experience or a teaching degree. But thanks to her Microsoft Office certification, the school waived the experience requirement and offered her the job.
Gina Melkus, Corporate Computer Training Coordinator for CFCC explains why Microsoft Office certification is an important qualification. "The preparation necessary to pass a certification exam makes our instructors overall better Microsoft Office product users and trainers. The students recognize this fact, too," she says. "We love to promote our Microsoft Office-certified instructors because students want to take their courses."
The benefits of certification go well beyond personal satisfaction. Read's salary is now about 50 percent higher than all the other positions she was considering. "Thanks to Microsoft Office certification, I am living my ultimate dream of teaching! I feel like I am making a difference by introducing my students to skills that really help them in their jobs," she says. And Read remains a student herself. She recently finished her Master 2000 certification, as well as Master Instructor certification.
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