Dazed & Confused by the New Microsoft Certifications? - then read this

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I have to admit to have been more than a little confused and bewildered by the changes in Microsoft's certification structures, and with the release of Exchange 2007 already upon us, and the release of Windows Longhorn looming on the horizon, I feel that it's time to try and reclaim a little sanity.

The old Windows 2003 certification track was relatively straight-forward and easy to understand even if it did require a lot of work to complete. You would sit your core requirements, your electives, and your design exams ... and presto! - with 7 exams, you could call yourself an MCSE on Windows 2003. If you wanted to certify on Exchange you had to do the entire Server certification track, and then add in the "Messaging" electives. Similarly, if you wanted to show your Security specialisation you had to do the full Server certification track, and then add in the extra Security specialisation exams. However, with Windows Longhorn, all of this is being changed.

Finish reading here

 

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I was about to reply to you thinking you were confused
then i saw the last line lol


personally i think the new structure makes it all far easier and transparent than it used to be

 

nicely put story. Thanks for the link.

 

I like what they done with the Exchange certs but looks like Security has been removed completely and nothing is in the pipeline to replace it MCSA/MCSE: Security

 

Mate i imagine there are plenty in the pipeline just as Exchange wasnt announced till recently, and the Longhorn stuff is still on the quiet
the Security stuff will come with Longhorn, its not a seperate product like Exchange

 

Yeah, I'm not sure what they were thinking when they decided they'd just dump the well-known MCSE name and go with a billion-and-a-half individual certifications that nobody can remember the differences between. It was hard enough for IT managers just to know what the differences were between MCDSTs, MCSAs, and MCSEs.

Anyway, that's just my 2¢.

 

My feelings exactly ^^

 

That reminds of the funny episode sometime back where a non-technical manager told me that a young fellow was more valuable to the company than me because he had just got his MCP..whereas I had my MCSE and MCDBA.

I said only "are you sure about that" and pointed the manager at the MS certification pages...

I think that Microsoft should retain the MCSE naming even for just an understanding of the general levels the techs are certified at, such as ....

MCP, level 100/level 200
..various new MS certs here....and MCDST, MCSA etc

MCSE, Level 200/level300
...Various new MS certs here...MCITPRO, and the specializations etc...

- you get the idea...

Just my two cents worth also.

 

Yep, but that would make too much sense. ;)

 

I think the point is your no longer just an 'MCTS' or 'MCITP' but an 'MCTS: Exchange Server 2007' and 'MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator' etc

the old system had far less transparency
an MCSE who did one set of electives had a total different skill set to another
it got to the point here where people asked 'have you got the exchange mcps?' my answer was often 'how would you know anyway?'

I think the new system makes far MORE sense than the old one, people just hate change, but change is often good, especially in our industry!

 

But it's not very clear to some people how to get those different certifications... nor will most hiring managers and IT Directors know what exams a certified individual has taken to get those certifications.

Yes, in time, these certifications will be better known... but shoot, they're STILL learning what the heck MCSAs are several years after launch!