Should i start working towards MCSA?

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Hi, could you please give me some advice on what exam path i should take?

Ill be passing my MCDST exams soon (thanks to this forum), which suits me at the moment as i am an it technician in a school running xp and server 2003 (unlikely to upgrade any time soon) and it will qualify me for what i already know.

But i want to work towards a server administrator qualification.

Should i go for MCSA for server 2003 at this late stage or work towards a MCIPT equivilent?

If i do go for MCSA 2003, it will be great for my current role and progressing where i am but will it be worth anything if i wanted get another job somewhere else in a year or two?

hope you can help, thanks, olly

 

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Hi Olly, I had this same question rattling around in my head recently. I used to work for a major UK retailer (every little helps...)in IT Support and they only migrated over to XP from NT about a year ago.

I am starting my MCSA studies at the moment as well. I arrived at that conclusion because:

- It is most relevant in my former and current workplace.

- Unlike the new batch of certs, the MCSA/E never expires (the new ones expire when MS stops providing mainstream support for the product).

- When I need the newer certs, they are only a bridge exam (or two) away if you already have the MCSA/E.

- Businesses, in the main, will stay with XP / Server '03 for quite some time.

That is why I am currently studying for the MCSA - hope this helps.

 

Hi Trogdor, Thank you for the quick response, some good points there, just what i was thinking

But I didnt realise the new MS exams expired, that is useful to know

Cheers, olly

 

XP will be used by businesses for years to come even after MS stop officially supporting it (2014 I think) so getting the MCSA would be a wise move.

 

As others have already said, the MCSA is going to be relevant for a some time yet. We deployed a new web based reservations system here recently which the developers won't yet support on server 2008 so we'll have some '03 boxes for a good while yet.

(we've actually still got a couple of server 2000 boxes on the network)

 

thank you joshiab and greenbrucelee

OK, i feel confident about going for the MCSA now. I guess ill go for the upgrade paths if an when i need to.

cheers, olly

 

The other big benefit that hasn't been mentioned is that it shows potential employers that you've been around for longer and are therefore more experienced.

Would you employ a candiate with just MCITP:EA, or the one with MCSA and MCITP:EA?

Qs

 

Just to clarify, I'm fairly sure your cert does not expire...any of them.
However the software/technology covered will reach a point where it's no longer used, your cert will still remain with you.
Which means a 2003 MCSE will not expire nor does a 2000 MCSE, however Server 2000 is long gone for most people therefore has little relevance.
...then there's cisco, who revoke your certificate if you don't renew after a few years

 

OK, it may not be as black and white as with Cisco, but the new certifications definitely "retire" as MS put it. It may be a question of semantics, but I think that the result is the same. Feel free to look at the quote from MS below found here and let me know what you think.

 

...by retired, this means you can no longer take that exam, however you still retain that certification (my supervisor still as MCSE 2000 showing on his transcript, this retired over a year or two ago).
The last paragraph of Trogdor's quote sums this up perfectly.

 

I think you might be missing a small piece. Although the MCDST, MCSA, and MCSE certifications are indeed lifetime certifications that never retire, the MCTS and MCITP certifications DO retire when mainstream support for the technology expires. Although Microsoft states that the retired credential will appear on your transcript, they have given no clear indication as to whether you will still be allowed to use the retired credential after mainstream support ends.

In any case, there is a clear difference between how Microsoft is approaching the older MCDST/MCSA/MCSE credentials and the newer MCTS/MCITP credentials beyond simply marking "retired" next to the credential. After all, what would be the point in doing so if one can still continue using the credential after mainstream support ends? Why mark it as anything? This is why I believe (but am not sure) that they will disallow official use of retired credentials. I guess we will know for sure when the first batch of MCTS/MCITP certs retire.

 

Hi all. Just a quick post to say a big thank you for the good advice in this thread. I've been toying with the idea of an MCSA for a couple of months now. I work in an primarily XP / 2003 environment, and an MCSA would be my ideal path, but I was worried about taking 'out-of-date' exams. Your comments have bashed that nonsense out of my head. Now, where did I put that 70-270 book...