Tap the Educational Resources of User Groups

Do you need an inexpensive and easy way to keep your technical skills sharp and increase your value in the job market? You can find it in your local user group.

In the early days of personal computing, computer user groups started as a haven for techies to gain skills and knowledge they couldn't get anywhere else. These computer user groups gradually became less technical and more appropriate for the home and hobby user. But in the past few years, the original concept of user groups has resurfaced in Windows NT-based user groups.

Find a Group
User groups run the gamut of size and experience. In October 1993, Microsoft's Bill Gates helped the Washington, D.C. area launch the first NT user group, the Advanced Systems User Group, at the same time the company was launching NT. Since then, the user group has changed its name to the Association of Windows NT Systems Professionals and uses the acronym NT*Pro, which more accurately reflects the goals of the group and its members.

NT*Pro has grown to more than 18,000 members in 4 years. Membership is free and includes a monthly email newsletter. (Visit NT*Pro's Web site at http://www.ntpro.org to subscribe to the newsletter or join the group.) NT*Pro hosts at least 10 free meetings each month for special interest user groups. The monthly meetings offer a chance to interact with and learn from internationally recognized professionals who are NT*Pro members. For example, if your interest is SQL Server, you can attend NT*Pro monthly meetings lead by Brian Moran, a specialist in SQL Server tuning and performance. Spyros Sakellariadis, an MCSE and certified trainer, heads an Exchange Server group. And for more information about NT Server, Roy Beasley and C.J. Salzano lead monthly user group meetings in Maryland and Virginia. NT*Pro speakers concentrate on technology rather than products and provide high-quality technical expertise.

NT*Pro is only one of many user groups that offer technical education opportunities. Most NT user groups see education as their primary focus.

The BackOffice Professional's Association (BOPA) in Bellevue, Washington, serves as an Internet-based, nonprofit virtual community for education, technical support, and communication among Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs). Sean Mathias, Marjorie James, and the crew at BOPA bring together experienced MCPs, MCSEs, and MCSDs and provide affordable peer-to-peer support, technical problem solving, and previews of future technology. (Visit the group's Web site at http://www.bopa.org.)