Boing Boing reader Abbas Raza says,
This is the story of a girl from a small city in Pakistan who became the youngest Certified Microsoft Expert at age 9. She met Bill Gates last week and asked him why he doesn’t hire people her age. Gates has also said he will go and stay at her home in Pakistan. It’s a charming story, and may go some way toward defusing stereotypes about Pakistan and its people (of whom I am one).
Quick, someone buy that kid a Linux box! Link.
Reader comment: Seb Flyte says,
As this ZDNet article points out, it might not be that simple… India claims to have an eight-year-old MCP. “According to a Channel News Asia report, the youngest every MCP is India’s Mridul Seth, who is said to have gained the qualification at age eight in November 2004.”
Anonymous snarkypants says,
More than anything else, I think these anecdotes are quite illuminating in regards to the actual value of Microsoft’s technical certifications — i.e., they’re so easy to obtain, even nine-year-olds can do it.
Abbas Halai says,
There has been a website following up with this little girl at Pak Technology News at Link and Link
Patrix says,
The group blog Sepia Mutiny blogged last year about the world’s youngest certified geek, Mridul Seth who lives in Bangalore. He achieved this feat in spite of having a severe physical deformity.