Costs of MCITP : EA (self study)

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Being made redundant… time to buy a wee box (VM Server) and get on with MCITP : SA or EA

Though I am questioning myself as I have the experience, it seem like it will be a fair bit of cramming for a Cert… should I just go for another job or get this thing done… (ive got the niggles I want this cert and I have little idea why! I just want it)

I figure that including materials, licensing, hardware, tests and practice tests all in its going to cost about £1,600 to get a MCITP : EA (after I sell the hardware off), and probably take the best part of 3-5 months full time (at least this much). But I may as well do something while I look for a new job… (Salmon fishing season may get in the way of a new job just now!)

What sort of costs would you that have qualified expect to incur on such an adventure as an MS Cert?

 

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Do you have server administration experience?

For me, just books, practice exams, and the exam fees. I've got hardware already, and with a TechNet or Action Pack subscription, you can get access to any OS that you don't already have access to.

That said, I wouldn't recommend taking 3-5 months off just to certify. I promise you, it won't look good on a CV, no matter how you try to spin it.

 

Yes i am admin on a pan european domain, 2008 based, mostly virtulised on XenServer, IBM Blades and SAN's Virtualy everything in the book, TS Farms / Gateways, Exchange 07, SQL 05 and a bucket load more.

scary thing is ive migrated the euro domain from 2000 to 2008 and onto new hardware, im the only one that knows how it all works...

Indeed your probibly right on that one, ive done a good percentage of what i would need, i may go for SE and try and get a new job at the same time...

I really dont want to sit on my arse doing nowt on the dole untill i get a new job...
I suspect i could pick up the certs fairly quickly. i guess we will have to wait and see.

 

BosonMichael what test / lab equipment do you use?

Im probibly going way over the top but am thinking along the lines of a Dell PowerEdge T410 2ghz Quad, 16gb ram and 6* 260gb Sata R5 ~ £1800 i figure i can sell it off later... Also considerd a cuple of T105s.

 

If you've got more than a year's experience administering servers in a multi-site, multi-server environment - and it certainly sounds like you do - then you have enough experience for the MCITP SA and EA.

That said, the MCSE on 2003 is very much in demand, as most companies still implement 2003. Why not do both?

Usually, the network I administer. ;) Most recently, that was a buncha Dell servers with a 450+ user base.

 

Skipped 2003 went straight to 2008, saying that i have got most of the experience and still have several 2003 machines "Legacy", honestly i know more of 08 but im sure i could do 03 also. However im thinking in longer terms the 08 will be better as i still have the 00 and 03 experience. if i had the time and money to do both i would, however i think ill have to settle for one at the moment.

yeah me also, though thats about to change
I can keep the systems up but not the business im afraid

Think ill have to chart / log my progress on here it may make some fun reading for someone.
Thanks

 

If you've been made redundant, then you need to certify on what most companies are using: 2003.

You say that the 2008 certs will "be better". I'll put this in a slightly different perspective. Do you believe my MCSE on NT 4.0 is useless? Or do you think I'm probably a darned good tech who has been in the industry for a while? If nothing else, the MCSE on 2003 will make you look like you've "been around longer"... at least, long enough for someone who knows what they're looking at on a CV to take notice.

In addition, employers don't really know what the MCITP is yet. It hasn't gotten anywhere CLOSE to the buzzword status as the MCSE acronym has. The MCSE is instantly recognizable to employers; the MCITP is not.

Ultimately, the decision is yours... but if you want my advice on which certification is going to make you more employable, the choice is clear, in my opinion.

 

Actually, that's not entirely true. I'd have MORE to gain if he were to pursue the MCITP on 2008, because Boson doesn't have any ExSim-Max products for the MCSE on 2003 (only ExSim, not ExSim-Max). But what would benefit ME wouldn't benefit HIM. So instead of lying to him for my own benefit, I choose to tell him the truth for his benefit.

 

i kind of agree with you both and i do respect your thoughts on this.

I am looking at this from a slightly longer time perspective, i would ideally like to have MCSE 2000/2003 and MCITP EA however costs / time will be an issue.

I am hoping that by the time i complete this, that the UK may be starting to pull its ass out of this recession and that employers will be looking to invest in IT infrastructure again.

Id like to position myself as some one looking to make the move to new tech. The idea being most new and re-deployments are going to progress towards 08 in the next year and at least some company’s will ideally wish to have someone that has not just experience of it but has the certs to go with it. {I agree that people with both will look better}

My CV would say something along the lines of :
MCITP Enterprise Administrator 2008 (the replacement for MCSE 2003)

[im not stating i have one but HR will pick up on that keyword id hope]

 

Well... all I can say to that is that when there was no recession, companies were (and are!) still using Windows 2000 instead of upgrading to 2003 or 2008. While companies may indeed purchase 2008 servers, few will upgrade their entire infrastructure to 2008, leaving many, many companies in need of people who can support 2003.

Unfortunately, WE don't get to decide whether a company moves to "new tech" or not. Our jobs are to support the technology that a company has... not to implement technology just because you know how to support it or because that's what you want to move to.

In short, I think you're putting the cart before the horse.

That said, it sounds like your mind is made up, so I simply wish you wisdom in your decision.

What makes you think that, especially in light of my first paragraph of this post?

 

Yes but i can and do support 2003, 2000, but not NT (im not that old... yet)

guess that may be the case in most places, i guess i was just lucky to get involved with the decision making, 2 years back my company wanted to spend the pennies and move to 2003 - my advice wait for 2008 to hit buy the licensing for 2008 and move to 2008 (especially as we could always downgrade). saving in the long run.

In fact ive saved more in the last 3 years than what i was paid, way, way more.

Hay i loved 2000 Server was quite a fine peace of kit. (i like 2003 also)

mostly my pocket makes the decision, i cant do both so i figure go for the one im most confident in, especialy as it has the longest shelf life.

why oh why didnt i take the blue pill!

Honestly if i have to go back to 2003, ill quit this gig and become an accountant they get paid more anyway.

 

9 years, 2000, 2003 and 2008

funny i wouldn't give much thought to someone that had MCSE on Windows NT but had not progressed!
but maybe that’s just me.

if they had all NT, 2000, 2003 and 2008 id be really quite impressed. but then i would also wonder how old they were...

Id rather take the 2008 rute and then do other certs v's doing 2003 and 2008 but yes i would really like to have the MCSE title..

 

Well at least that brought a smile to my face today.

Ive already virtulised everything that could be, even the 2000, 2003, 2008 and XP boxes, though not the AIX ones...

mmm its a short tearm thing, i do wonder how quickly i could get the MCSE nailed.

I just shudder at the thought of answering questions about DDS 1's

 

MCSE Core Requirements (big books dont scare me)
MCTS 70-620 Vista (this is one ell of a book)

Ram is Here 16gb.
Dell PowerEdge T410 is on its way... (yeah i know its overkill)
HDD are on there way 4*1tb Raid 0 id expect (performance not space)

70-290 first i guess. Seems like ive done this before... (that i expect is a good thing!)