That's a mistaken assumption. Server Administrator is not a junior
certification to Enterprise Administrator, as MCSA was to MCSE. Exam 70-646
covers a totally different job specification, or job role as Microsoft likes
to call it. In fact, the Server Administrator is focused on day-to-day
operations, while the Enterprise Administrator is focused on design (no more
hands on). Design is obviously a more senior position, but not a more
technically advanced one. If you're a "doer" and not a "set in the office
and go to meetings all day" kind of guy, then I believe that Server
Administrator is the better of the two job roles. Although most of us do
some of both jobs.
Microsoft has broken down the certification process into smaller, more
easily obtainable chunks. They call it "providing certifications that more
closely match a person's job role". I call it "we better make getting
certified easier, because each year there's fewer and fewer people getting
certified".
Check out the "Number of Microsoft Certified Professionals Worldwide" site.
Compare MCSEs for Windows NT (395,816), Windows 2000 (290,456), and Windows
2003 (139,790). The exams have gotten harder, and the people that are
willing to endure the process, has gotten fewer. Can you imagine how few
Windows 2008 MCSEs there would have been. I'm guessing well under 50,000.
Microsoft had to do something. So the the good old MSCE has been broken down
into multiple MCTS certifications that only require two exams and two MCITP
certifications that require 5 or less exams. Now when they talk about the
number of Windows 2008 certified people, it will look really impressive.
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/certified.mspx
I know that in large companies, IT people do specialize. But I would hate to
have on my resume; for the last 6 years I was a Backup Administrator or an
Infrastructure Specialist. The more you know, but more importantly, the more
you've actually done, will make you that much more valuable.
For that reason, I would think that most people that already have a MCSE
would naturally want to earn both of these new certifications. And if that
goes for people upgrading their certifications, it should also apply to the
new commers as well.
Here's a couple of quotes from Microsoft's Certification web site.
-----
Q. Is Exam 70-647 a superset of Exam 70-646? If I take Exam 70-647, will I
earn MCITP: Server Administrator certification automatically?
A. No. In the past, MCSA could be a subset of MCSE, but based on feedback
we received, we now have two separate paths:
.. Enterprise Administrator focuses on design
.. Server Administrator focuses on operations
Unlike MCSA and MCSE certifications, these are two different job roles with
two different sets of requirements. If you earn the MCITP: Enterprise
Administrator certification, you do not automatically earn the MCITP: Server
Administrator certification.
-----
Differences between MCITP: Enterprise Administrator and MCITP: Server
Administrator
The MCITP: Enterprise Administrator certification does not encompass the
MCITP: Server Administrator certification. There is overlap in the
requirements and prerequisites for each certification, but you need to
complete both paths separately to earn both certifications. The
certification you choose depends on your current or future job role. Our
research and your feedback have led us to conclude that these are two very
separate roles in organizations. You now have the option to become certified
on your job skill set.
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