>>>Honestly Cindy, I don't know any more that you can do. By the end of year, you will have written/completed a book and spoke at a DevCon. Those are truly high honors and you have those in your pocket now. You appear to have it all. Way to go!!!
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>>>How about the certification route? Do you have MCSD yet? Do you want it?
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>>I've got 3 exams down, and have the elective to go. I'm pretty much starting at zero, so I will need to do a lot of studying, and am kind of busy these days, and still trying to decide between SQL (70-029) and Office (70-091). The Office knowledge is more useful now, but the SQL knowledge may be useful in the future. Can't wait to have time to do it!
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>In this case, I would recommend the Office route then.
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>Certification to me is an outward sign to others that I know a semblance of what I am talking about. Actually knowing the material is the most important thing to me. I worked with SQL Server and it was a natural progession to add that in my certification track. I think John (Koziol) works more with Office than he does with SQL Server so that was more natural for him (I apologize if I am putting words in your mouth John).
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>The way the tests work these days, it is more of do you know the product and can you apply what you know. Knowing the product can be learned via studying. Knowing how to apply it can not (IMO). If you don't use SQL Server in your every day job, don't use it for certification now. The reason being I don't think it will do you any good. If you don't use it at your job, your superiors won't care (I used it, got certified and my superiors didn't care -- but that's another story). And if you bust your hump to study and work with it at home in your "off" hours to get the certification, you skills will atrophy without use. Believe me, if you don't use it now, you will use at some point and then that will be the time to add the paper to your already vast (by that time) knowledge base.
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>I doubt very seriously if you are starting at square one with either product but whichever one you decide on, good luck!

I don't know what seems to be the problem in our area but to my disappointment there is no VFP cert exam. I am now studying VB/SQL Server combined just to take certification in the near future. How many months of self studying (3-4 hours a day, 5 days a week) it will take me then? BTW, it so happened that I'm developing a VB/SQL Server app.