Microsoft Certification: Farewell For The MCSE

Microsoft is in the centre of a major drive to upgrade its certification program. This past year, they introduced the new Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) certification, which is not just a written exam but alternatively a practical exam that can be rated by a board of examiners case management certification . Only obtaining the certification will need 10 years' experience in IT along with three years of practical experience as a system builder. 

For those of us nearly prepared for that, Microsoft has announced that it is also likely to revise other certifications. The MCSE that people have all come to know and love is going to be a thing of days gone by. In its place will be a number of expertise tests and IP Professional certification tracks. 

If you are presently an or working it, do not fear, you've plenty of time to adjust to the newest tracks. Microsoft's official term is that the new certification construction will be implemented if the next Windows server/client version is introduced. For anyone holding MCDBAs, your overall certification will remain good and you'll have a chance to upgrade to the new certification with SQL Server 2005. 

Those people who have been on the certification course for a time recall the outcry when Microsoft planned to phase-out the much-maligned NT 4.0 certification in the move to Windows 2000. There was rather an outcry from many qualified people who felt MS was being unreasonable in their time-table and in the pipeline insufficient support for the 4.0 certification. Whether you agree with Microsoft's planned changes, I urge you to visit Microsoft's certification site regularly to keep up with these changes. 

Whether you choose to pursue any of these new tracks can be your choice, but you owe it to yourself and your job to understand about the new tracks. Change is inevitable in IT and the IT certification world, and you need to know about these changes!