So you want to get Microsoft Certified or maybe you just want to update your existing  certifications but somehow it all seems a bit bewildering with the new tracks. A couple years ago Microsoft began transitioning their certification tracks, as you may well have noticed by now tracks like the MCSA, MCSE, MCDBA and others are no longer offered for the newer technologies and you may be wondering as to the reasons Microsoft would make this change. And while I can’t personally speak for Microsoft or Microsoft Learning I can speak as to why I believe they’ve done this and hopefully alleviate some of your concerns and questions as to the flow of the New Generation of Certification. We’ll start by talking about the old certifications and work our way forward to the newer generation certifications like the MCTS, MCITP and MCPD.

For years the Microsoft Certified Professional Program has had its ups and downs, but for more than a decade it has been one of the definitive certification programs in the field of Information Technology. Programs like the MCSE for example served its purpose to help a candidate express demonstrated expertise and ability to implement Microsoft Based solutions like Windows NT, Windows 2000 Server, and Windows Server 2003 and so on. There have been, however a few failings in the individual certification tracks. For my prime example I will use the Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA). In my case as an MCDBA in SQL 2000 Server I am a true IT-Pro certified DBA, not a true developer. Sure I may write code when I have to, just ask me about my recent experience with C# and SharePoint, but for the most part I’m an implementer and administrator of the server technologies.

A fundamental problem is that if you (a true database developer writing applications that use SQL as a platform) also hold the MCDBA certification, but by taking more developer oriented exams there is no distinction as to the end result. So if you and I were both submitted by a hiring agency because someone saw the same certification on our resumes it might be confusing when I try to explain I’m not a developer to the hiring manager, yet I hold what he/she feels is a development certification. While I admit the MCDBA is the one real example of this type of confusion there are other issues with the original MCP Program.

For example, let’s say that you would like to prove your skills as a Tier One Server Support Agent by certifying on just the basic technology Windows Server 2003 offered. You could take and exam like 70-290 for example, but there isn’t any real distinction between passing that exam and passing any of the other Windows Server 2003 exams like 70-294, which is an Active Directory exam for the most part. The other side effect is that you really don’t get any additional certification status once you’ve passed your first Microsoft exam until you complete a track, which in this case would be the Microsoft Certified System Administrator (MCSA) requiring 3 or 4 more exams depending on the path you chose to take.

This elementary flaw is what I believe at least in part is a contribution to the “New Generation Certifications” presented by Microsoft. Enter first of these, the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) which has been designed as a single exam certification to prove your knowledge about a product and what it can do. With more than 20 (and more coming every day) MCTS certifications you can specifically target your knowledge to a single certification to both prove your skill set with a technology and strengthen your resume for the potential future employment opportunities at or beyond your current place of employment. If you wish to prove your knowledge of Exchange 2007 configuration tasks for example you can now take just one single exam (70-236) in contrast to the older program requiring you to complete the Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) track then adding the “Messaging” designation for a now total of 8 or 9 exams depending again on how you chose your track. And if you decide a simple certification like the MCST: Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Configuration isn’t enough because you need to more than prove a skill set in a single technology you also need to prove your capacity to fulfill the job role of Exchange or Messaging Administration then you will want to follow-up this exam by perusing the next level of certification the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP).

This brings us to the MCITP, a certification that is an extension of the MCTS. If the MCTS is a certification of knowledge about a product the MCITP is the certification to then take that knowledge and put it to use. These certifications are typically 2 or 3 exams and require a prerequisite knowledge (MCTS) exam. As I said before if you wanted to prove your  Microsoft Exchange 2003 skills in the form of a Microsoft Certification you would do that by earning the MCSE: Messaging certification by taking 8 or 9 exams. With the MCITP you can prove your Exchange Messaging Administration skills (currently Exchange 2007) by earning the MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator. This 2 exam (3 with the MCTS) certification is a much more streamline way of doing so when compared to previous program tracks. And remember my MCDBA dilemma? Well I am also certified as an MCTS: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 as well an MCITP: Database Administrator, as opposed to my development counterpart the MCITP: Database Developer or the even more specific job function, MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer. Now as a hiring manager and as a candidate it’s far less confusing to distinguish the difference in purpose and function of the certification tracks.

So MCTS certifies us in technologies ranging from Windows Vista to Windows Server 2008 Active Directory to help us demonstrate our knowledge. The MCITP helps for mostly IT Professionals establish their ability to function in job roles ranging from Enterprise Support Technician to Enterprise Server Administrator. So what if you’re a developer? You still have the options to certify (MCTS) in technologies like the .NET Framework, but your job role specific certifications have a different name, the Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD). The MCPD program is split up into many areas to help you better find a certification track or tracks that suit both your expertise and job related goals. These job specific tracks range from Enterprise Applications Developer to Windows Developer across differing versions of the .NET platform and versions of Visual Studio.

There are a few other Certification Programs at Microsoft like the Microsoft Certified Application Specialist (MCAS) designed to help you prove skill in Microsoft Office applications like Word, Outlook, and Excel, or you might be interested the Microsoft Certified Business Management Solutions Specialist which is designed to prove skill in Microsoft Applications like Dynamics GP or Dynamics CRM, but which ever track you choose to take, I wish you luck on your endeavor and I hope this has in some way helped to simplify your path. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask. Here are a couple external links to get your started.

Find more information about the individual Certification pathways.
Microsoft Learning

Fairly new Microsoft Sponsored forum just for questions.
Training and Certification

Your one stop location for all things new in Microsoft Certification
Trika – MCP Communications

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