What are the Microsoft certifications available?

A full listing of Microsoft certifications is available here.

Common certifications are:

MCP – Microsoft Certified Professional, a person who has passed one Microsoft exam (eg Windows XP Pro, or Windows Server 2003). The usefulness of this certification will depend on which type of job you are applying for.
MCDST – Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician, a person who has passed the two required exams. This certification also earns you MCP status. This certification is aimed at Help Desk/1st Level Desktop Support roles.
MCSA – Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator, a person who has passed the four required exams. This certification is generally for system administrators who support and administer Microsoft products on a daily basis. This is a milestone on the road to MCSE status.
MCSE – Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, a person who has passed the seven required exams. This certification is generally for system engineers who design, implement, and support Microsoft environments.

I just heard about the new Microsoft certifications. Should I stop my current credential path, or hold off until the new ones are established?
To quote the Microsoft.com website:
No. Continue pursuing your current credential. It’s still the most relevant credential in the market for the products you are certifying in. An upgrade option toward the next credential will be available

Information on the new certifications is available on the Microsoft website here.

Can anyone be certified?
The only requirement to a Microsoft certification is to pass the appropriate exam(s). However, the latest exams are structured in such a way that hands-on experience with the product is essential to passing.

Will Microsoft certification guarantee me a job?
Microsoft certifications are well regarded by some employees, and less well regarded by others. It is commonly found that experience is equally if not more important than certification when seeking employment in the IT industry. However, with so many jobs requiring some level of certification, even for entry level positions, why not get certified and put yourself in the running!

If you are relying on certification to get you a job you should try to compliment your studies with some type of IT or customer service related experience. Don’t discount jobs because they are not directly IT related – getting a job in IT can be as much about your IT skills as your transferable skills from other jobs (teamwork, customer relations, time management).

How do I get certified?
The process is explained in the Six Steps to Certification.

Generally the process is:
1) Choose your exam
2) Collect applicable training materials
3) Study/attend course
4) Book and sit the exam

How much do exams cost?
Exam prices vary from time to time, so check the exam provider (eg Prometric) website for the latest information. You should also check the Microsoft Training website in case there are any special offers running at the time.

Do I have to sit a course/read lots of books to pass?
The only requirement for certification is that you pass the exam(s). Your personal learning habits will determine which is the best approach for you.

Courses
Pros: instructor led, access to equipment, opportunity to ask questions of teacher/other students. Can also be attended as part of a TAFE Cert III/IV or Diploma.
Cons: high cost, often not comprehensive enough for full exam preparation, generally quite brief (eg 5 days)
*Tip: shop around and don’t think price = quality. Some providers charge like wounded bulls for these courses. TAFE often provides a good balance of cost/duration, where the course is spread out over more hours than the typical 5 day course.

Self Study
Pros: low cost, set your own pace
Cons: may take some people longer to grasp more difficult concepts

Tip: most software you need for training is available for download from Microsoft.com as 120 day or 180 day trial versions. An old pc to run as a server, or lots of RAM in your regular machine plus a VMWare license can be all you need to run the practice labs in the training guides.

Note: VMWare has released two freeware products that can help with your studies:
- VMWare Player. This is basically a “runtime only” version of VMWare Workstation that lets you run prebuild VMWare images but not create new ones.
- VMWare Server. This is a Beta of the upcoming successor to VMWare GSX Server, and can be used to build and run an isolated test network of virtual machines for your study needs. Combining this with evaluation software is an excellent strategy for studying your Microsoft subjects.

How long does it take?
Short answer, it depends on the individual.

Some people with extensive experience in the products can study and pass each test in only a few weeks, whereas others can take a few months. For a full MCSE, starting from scratch, for someone with minimal exposure to Microsoft enterprise environments, 12 months is a good target.

The important thing for your skills and employability, and for the continued reputation of the MCSE itself, is that you properly learn the materials. There is no point braindumping your way through the MCSE only to sit in a job interview and be tripped up by the slightest technical question (and it happens more and more these days as employers wise up).

Study the materials in the training guides closely. Do each practical lab that they offer, and at the end of each chapter redo all the labs to make sure you can repeat the tasks without referring to the notes in detail. Read all recommended additional reading such as whitepapers and chapters from the Resource Kit. Spend some time on your own flicking through the various dialog boxes for an item in Windows, and click the Help button on each one for a brief description of what all the options do. Do not move on from a section or chapter until you are 100% comfortable with the materials.

If you do all this you will probably find many of the exams to be quite easy, and wonder why you went to all the effort. But remember, the exams should be relatively easy if you have studied correctly.

Which books are the best?
Books by various publishers target different audiences. MS Press typically aims to cover the product as much as possible to benefit you in your working day, whereas Syngress or Sybex may aim more at purely covering what is required to pass the exam. The Exam Cram series offer good revision/review books with practice tests that will give you an indication of your readiness for the real exam.

Information about Microsoft Press books and online sellers can be found in IT Booksellers / Bibliography.

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I heard about “2010″ Certification. What’s that?
MCSA and MCSE (and probably others) come in two flavors: “2003″ and “2010″ variety.

“2003″ is the traditional type – many people take this branch because they have the experience in 2000 systems.

“2010″ is a relatively newer type of branch, and focuses on slightly different capabilities, and tends to focus more on the most recent Microsoft technologies.

Historically, there was once a type of MCSE specialising in NT4, as well. Microsoft has discontinued this. If you have an ancient manager who says he is MCSE qualified, he might have this.

Also, you can be a fully qualified MCSE 2003 cert holder and do the two upgrade exams and you will be recognised as a MCSE 2010 cert holder.

Then why shouldn’t I just go 2010 straight away? Isn’t it better?
There is a train of thought that encourages you to do this.

There is another train of thought that encourages you to only certify what you have practical knowledge in (and for most people, that means 2003) and then upgrade as 2010 becomes more prevalent through the workplace.

2010 definitely requires hands-on knowledge though – Microsoft have noticed the complaints of “paper MCSEs” that flooded the market back when IT actually made big money.

Can I upgrade MCSA 2003 to MCSA 2010 the same way?
Yep. You only need one exam for that one, though.

Its all so confusing, which exams do I need to/should I choose?
Read the links for each certification above. The Exam Requirements are spelled out for each certification, and a list of applicable exams is provided, along with recommendations for training courses and materials.

Read the topics covered in each exam and choose exams that you think will interest you, as this will help you study. A lot of the content you learn for one exam will be applicable to other exams as well. If done correctly you will build and compliment your previous knowledge as you progress through the exams, and it will be a little easier each time. However each exam will cover new topics and some of them are quite complex, so study hard!

When reading the certification requirements don’t confuse courses with exams. For some exams Microsoft recommend multiple courses to cover all the content in the exam.

MCSE 2003
There are a minimum 7 exams to complete for MCSE status.

Firstly there are 6 core exams, broken down into 3 categories:

Core Exams: Client Operating System (1 Exam Required)
Here you have a choice of two exams; XP Pro or 2000 Pro. Recommend you choose XP Pro, as it has everything Windows 2000 Pro has plus more. This will be more relevant long term. This is the easiest place to start, and when you complete your Client exam you will earn MCP status.

Core Exams: Networking System (4 Exams Required)
There are only four to choose from here, so you do all four. Some of these exams have multiple courses suggested for them. Again do not confuse courses with exams, it is not a 1:1 mapping in all cases.

Core Exams: Design (1 Exam Required)
Again you have a choice of two exams. A requirement of MCSE is at least one design exam, and this is where you meet that requirement.

Then there is your elective exam.

Elective Exams (1 Exam Required)
There is a long list of elective exams to choose one from. You will note some of them are design exams, however not all design exams are elligible to meet the MCSE requirement of one design exam. For example exam 70-229 doesn’t meet the MCSE design requirement (however it does meet an MCDBA requirement).

Your electives are something that you should take a good look at before choosing one. Over time you may go on to sit multiple electives here, which certifies you in other products and in some cases certifies you as an MCSE specialist (either Security or Messaging).

MCSE 2000
Similar to above, in that there’s 7 exams, but only 5 core exams – this means 2 electives.

Core Exams: Client Operating System (1 Exam Required)
As above, XP Pro or 2000 Pro. They are very easy to do if you’ve been supporting the systems already.

Core Exams: Networking System (3 Exams Required)
Three to choose from, all required.

Core Exams: Design (1 Exam Required)
You have a choice of six exams. However, only 70-297 and 70-298 are allowed for the MCSE 2003 branch, so if you have any plans to upgrade branches eventually, think about them. It might make the upgrade exams easier.

Elective Exams (2 Exams Required)
It’s up to you, but I suggest the Exchange MCP as one of these. There are specific types of MCSEs known as “Specialisations” – you can get the “Messaging” flavour or the “Security” flavour. I don’t think recruitment specialists can tell one of these from a regular MCSE but still, many businesses will advertise for Exchange knowledge.

All that’s about MCSE. MCSA was easier, right..?
Yes. Many desktop support types get their MCSA first, move into more complex netadminning, get experience with more high end stuff, and then upgrade to a MCSE.

What’s required:
MCSA 2000 – 3 Core exams, 1 elective.

The core includes a client exam, a server exam, and an exam on how to manage a network environment. The elective is up to you, but you’re allowed to sub other combinations for your MCSA elective (for example: having both Comptia A+ and Network+ certifications = one MCSA elective. Remember, this doesn’t work for the MCSE.)

The MCDST certification can also be substituted for an MCSA elective.

MCSA 2003 – 3 Core exams, 1 elective.

Exactly the same client exam and elective exam choices, but the server and managing network environment exams have specific 2003 exams required.

I want to get a milestone cert now then go onto the full MCSE later.. what should I take to do the minimum amount of work?
There is a little wiggle room to get an exam counting towards multiple certifications. For example if you complete MCSE, there is only 2 more exams required for MCDBA which on its own is normally 4 exams. But since 2 overlap with MCSE you don’t have to resit them. Then looking further at some of the other certs you can see that doing SQL for MCDBA can also be an elective towards MCAD.

For an MCSA to MCSE upgrade (this example done with the 2000 branch) there is only one exam required for the core MCSA exams that you don’t need for the MCSE – 70-218, “Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment”. Fortunately, it’s on the list of MCSE 2000 electives, so you have only one extra elective you need to do.