MCPD or MCSD??

Hi,

I currently hold an MCAD. I can't decide what track I should be
doing. Should I go for the MCSD - which would be useful for me - as I
only need to complete 70-300 & 70-315.

However, I feel I should be looking to MCPD. I don't want to take the
the upgrade exams - I have heard some very bad reports about so them
I'd rather start from the bottom. Having said that - I'm not sure
what exam I will need to do for the MCPD.

Does anyone have any comments on this?

Thanks

Barry

Barry

Barry:
I recommend that you start with the 70-536 exam, which you would have to
take regardless of whether you went for .NET 2.0 or 3.5 certification. Then
decide from there.

You might want to look at the 70-300 exam and see if you understand the
material. I found that exam easy (but I also found it's predecessor, 70-100,
even easier), but some people found it to be hard. The materials in 70-300
are not tested in the MCTS/MCPD certifications.

Personally, I would recommend that you complete your MCSD, even if you
decide to go the regular non-upgrade route to the MCPD. The reason being that
there are some HR people who haven't heard of the MCPD. Just look at all the
job postings on Monster, etc. that request an MCSD for a job dealing with
Visual Studio 2005.

Remember that 70-300 and 70-315 retire at the end of March, 2009.
--
Larry J. West, MCSD, MCPD, MCITP, MCTS x8, MCSA, MOS x2, FLMI, ACS
* always open to after-hours telecommute (second job) positions.
* developing personal computer software since before the PC.


"Barry" wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I currently hold an MCAD. I can't decide what track I should be
> doing. Should I go for the MCSD - which would be useful for me - as I
> only need to complete 70-300 & 70-315.
>
> However, I feel I should be looking to MCPD. I don't want to take the
> the upgrade exams - I have heard some very bad reports about so them
> I'd rather start from the bottom. Having said that - I'm not sure
> what exam I will need to do for the MCPD.
>
> Does anyone have any comments on this?
>
> Thanks
>
> Barry
>

LarryWestMCSD

"LarryWestMCSD" <LarryWest-at-hotmail-dot-com> wrote in message
news:EC198A33-ABD6-41FA-8B2A-...

> I recommend that you start with the 70-536 exam, which you would have to
> take regardless of whether you went for .NET 2.0 or 3.5 certification.
> Then
> decide from there.

Agreed.. (but not why I replied..)

> You might want to look at the 70-300 exam and see if you understand the
> material. I found that exam easy

Really!!??

> (but I also found it's predecessor, 70-100,
> even easier), but some people found it to be hard. The materials in 70-300
> are not tested in the MCTS/MCPD certifications.

I've been studying 70-100/70-300 (i.e. MSF) off and on for going on five
years now.

I'm very interested in the material (and in MSF), but wasn't a lot of
motifivation to take the exam (without the related MCAD exams to go with
it), and while I understand the concepts, I've always been challenged
getting caught up in all the nitnoy details of the process (which on a
day-to-day basis I can easily refer to published documentation to get).

I'm encouraged by your analysis of the 70-100/70-300 and will rethink
sitting for the exam.

> Personally, I would recommend that you complete your MCSD, even if you
> decide to go the regular non-upgrade route to the MCPD. The reason being
> that
> there are some HR people who haven't heard of the MCPD. Just look at all
> the
> job postings on Monster, etc. that request an MCSD for a job dealing with
> Visual Studio 2005.

And... if the continued presence of VB6 is any indication, there will likely
continue to be a strong presence of .NET v1.1 apps from organizations trying
to find (stupid) ways to avoid .NET v2.0. Having documentation of the
VS2003/.NET v1.1 skills could be a big plus as the rest of the community
focuses on .NET v2/v3 development, and forgets where the limits are in .NET
v1.1 applications.

--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP(x2), MCTS(x5), MCP(x7), MCBMSP
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

MS WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My Websites: http://www.onsitechsolutions.com;
http://wsusinfo.onsitechsolutions.com
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

Lawrence Garvin \(MVP\)

Many thanks to both of you for your comments.

I think I should have enough time to complete 70-300 & 70-315 before
the exams retire.

Thanks again

Barry

Barry

[eagleknight.com]

I just took the 70-300 exam ( November 2008 ). This exam was last updated Febuary of 2008. It was a little different from what I have read in other reviews of this exam. The total time allowed for this exam was 160 Minutes (2 Hours, 40 Minutes). This is a little misleading as each case study has individual time limits ranging from 10 - 40 minutes depending on the number of questions.


Good Luck!

EagleKnight

eagleknight.com