Certification - Which way?

[scottishdave]

Afternoon all,

I'm after a little advice on which direction to go with my certification. I have sat and passed exams 270, 290 and 291, but I cant decide whether or not to carry on with the MCSE path that I set out on in the first place or should I change what I'm doing and aim for an MCSA and then upgrade to a MCITP? These new certifications have thrown me somewhat! Not sure what to do...

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

D

[BosonMichael]

It depends on what your current level of experience is.

In any case, it's always a good idea to knock out the lower-level certifications, then pursue the higher-level ones.

[hailstorm]

Well personally I'd get your MCSA then go for the MCSE. One thing worth remembering is that Microsoft require you to refresh your certification with the new certs. I can see what they were aiming for but I don't think I could stand having to take a refresher exam every two years.

The MCSA 2003 should still continue to be relevant for a long while yet.

[scottishdave]

I've 6/7 years of experience with MS server 2k and 2k3 and networking. I've just never had the inclination to get the qualifications.

The plan was to go all the way with my MCSE before starting on Cisco certifications. In the last 3 weeks I've sat the three exams I mentioned and I was given advice to go as far as an MCSA and then upgrade to MCITP from there.

I'm not sure what to do.

[BosonMichael]

Originally Posted by scottishdave

I've 6/7 years of experience with MS server 2k and 2k3 and networking. I've just never had the inclination to get the qualifications.

The plan was to go all the way with my MCSE before starting on Cisco certifications. In the last 3 weeks I've sat the three exams I mentioned and I was given advice to go as far as an MCSA and then upgrade to MCITP from there.

I'm not sure what to do.

With your experience, you should be fine pursuing the MCSA and MCSE. If you were just starting out in IT, I'd have advised that you wait.

I would recommend that you get your MCSA and continue on the Server 2003 path towards the MCSE. Companies currently use Server 2003, and they will for some time to come. Windows XP is proof of that! In fact, many companies still use Windows 2000 Server, believe it or not!

Also, remember that you can always upgrade to the MCITP... but you can't "downgrade" from the MCITP to the MCSE if you decide that you want it later. So I *always* recommend pursuing the older certification to its fullest extent, then upgrading to the newer certifications.

[scottishdave]

Thanks for the advice. I reckon I'll carry on with the original plan and then upgrade to a MCITP further down the line.

I'll go and book the next few exams now before I change my mind!

[Crito]

Most companies still don't really know what MCSA is, let alone MCTS or MCITP. Just the other day I had someone with an MCSE on NT 4.0 tell my boss (at the time) that I wasn't qualified with an MCSA on 2003. I really wanted to tell him that MCSE on NT 4.0 is a joke in comparison to the performance/simulation-based exams they use now, but I bit my tongue and resolved to just go ahead and finish what I had started on the Server 2003 track.

[Crito]

Also made me think that mandatory recertification every three years isn't such a bad idea after all.

[scottishdave]

Originally Posted by Crito

Most companies still don't really know what MCSA is, let alone MCTS or MCITP.

That was one of my concerns. Definitely sticking with the original plan!

[greenbrucelee]

Hi Welcome

[BosonMichael]

Originally Posted by Crito

Most companies still don't really know what MCSA is, let alone MCTS or MCITP.

Still, you can use the MCSA to your advantage. If nothing else, saying you have an MCSA and MCSE might look better to an uninformed employer than just saying you have an MCSE.

In truth, it's not like you have to go out of your way to get the MCSA; it comes along quite naturally in the pursuit of the MCSE. So you'll likely pick it up anyway.

[scottishdave]

Originally Posted by greenbrucelee

Hi Welcome

Evening!

[Inspiration]

May I add my own reply to this in the form of my own path question.

You may recall I posted a couple of months ago regarding going for the MCDBA qualification.

A little background to myself. I've been in IT support for around 10 years now. In that time I have installed/supported Windows Servers (2000, 2003), Windows XP and more recently I've been working with a Microsoft SQL 2000 database including installation and development of an Access front end.

So I know my way around Windows and Windows Server, although my knowledge of subjects such as domain controllers and networking is a little shabby. But hey, we're all here to learn.

I'm debating perhaps taking the following certification route:

MCSA
MCSE
MCDBA

My questions are as follows:

- Does this sound a realistic route for me, based on my experience?
- Based on my experience, would self study with books give me a reasonable chance of success in the exams?

And finally a question that may sound silly and is probably covered in an FAQ, but I wanted to ask anyway:

If I take exam 70-290 as part of my MCSA, and this exam also appears as an exam in the MCDBA.. do I need to:

1) Retake the same exam
2) Pick another exam
or 3) Can I simply forget about that section knowing I've already passed an exam in that section

In other words, can you take 1 exam, such as 70-290 and use that 1 pass to go towards gaining 2 qualifications?

I hope I'm making sense!

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. You all seem liek a great bunch here and I'm looking forward to perhaps getting started on this long term goal.

[scottishdave]

Hi Inspiration,

I'm glad to see I'm not the only person thats finding this whole certification thing confusing. Or maybe my issue is just being undecisive...

In your example the exam will count towards each certification, so you dont need to retake it or choose another exam.

[Crito]

Originally Posted by Inspiration

In other words, can you take 1 exam, such as 70-290 and use that 1 pass to go towards gaining 2 qualifications?

YES! That's exactly what I did.