General interest in computers, 20+ years now in computers. I started out as a office administrator in the Royal Air Force, i left that career and got a job as a help desk administrator in a small software company. I worked there for 9 years doing several roles including software consultancy and development but they were not in a position to fund any training.
I moved to my current company as a IT analyst and in this new role was given an opportunity to do a MCSE 2003 with Firebrand. I successfully completed this and all the exams and very shortly after that made a sideways move from IT Analyst to IT Manager with responsibility for 6 UK locations.
My first ever certification course was the 2 week MCSE boot camp with Firebrand, it gave me so much knowledge and started me out on a certification route that has not stopped. Typically now I do 2 exams per year and when courses are required, Firebrand are first on the list. Skills learned not only allow for passing exam but to explore new technology areas and give depth to general skills.
I continue to develop broader skill set across all IT areas and not just Microsoft, learning is huge part of my life and I am never far from another course or exam. The industry develops so fast that to try and keep pace with just doing day to day tasks you will not succeed.
The difference from the initial MCSE 2003 course that I completed against the skills I now have are so large that it seems to be a different universe. However, the original course work from the MCSE 2003 at Firebrand is still referred to and used, with particular focus on general tcp/ip knowledge which does not appear to be covered in as much details in any MS courses right now.