70-620 exam

I have been studying for the 70-620 Windows Vista exam and getting ready to
take the test next week. Does anyone know if this test will expire soon
after and be replaced with windows 7 or should I go ahead and take it.

Thanks

Chris


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Chris K

"Chris K" <> wrote in message
news:...
>I have been studying for the 70-620 Windows Vista exam and getting ready to
>take the test next week. Does anyone know if this test will expire soon
>after and be replaced with windows 7 or should I go ahead and take it.
>
> Thanks
>
> Chris

The MCTS:Vista Config will expire when mainstream support for Vista expires.
To my knowledge, a date has not yet been set when to retire the exam.
70-270 for XP is still available so I would think that would retire long
before 70-620. Historically, exam retirements have been announced at least
a year in advance. There is a blog on MS Learning, but I can't seem to find
the URL at the moment.

John R.

John R

"John R" <jsr^^^813@zoom^^^internet.net> wrote in message
news:%23cs0%...

> "Chris K" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>>I have been studying for the 70-620 Windows Vista exam and getting ready
>>to take the test next week. Does anyone know if this test will expire
>>soon after and be replaced with windows 7 or should I go ahead and take
>>it.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Chris
>
> The MCTS:Vista Config will expire when mainstream support for Vista
> expires. To my knowledge, a date has not yet been set when to retire the
> exam.

Yeah.. but it's reasonable to assume the exam will retire on or very near to
the same date the certification expires. What would be the point in taking
an exam if the certification it was designed for would no longer be awarded?
Ahh.. well... presumably one might want to take the 70-620 (Vista) to
fulfill a requirement for the MCITP:EA (Win200, and to that point the exam
might be useful for another year. On the other hand, if the MCITP:EA is
reworded to require an MCTS certification in a desktop operating system,
rather than specific exams (and many MCITP exams are now worded in that
fashion -- requiring the MCTS, not a specific exam), the MCTS:Vista
expiration would put the cork in that scenario.

For the record, mainstream support for Vista expires on April 10, 2012 --
about two and a half years from now.
Mainstream support for Windows Server 2008 expires on July 9, 2013 -- about
15 months after Vista.

> 70-270 for XP is still available so I would think that would retire long
> before 70-620.

Windows XP, the MCDST, MCSA, and MCSE certifications have different rules,
and are not based on any published retirement/expiration policy.

> Historically, exam retirements have been announced at least a year in
> advance.

This is the key point here. If it's not yet announced, and it's a legacy
exam (MCP/MCSA/MCSE/MCDST/MCDBA) you can reasonably assume you've got at
least a year left to take it -- but do note, that's no guarantee, and
everything is always subject to change without notice.


> There is a blog on MS Learning, but I can't seem to find the URL at the
> moment.

http://borntolearn.mslearn.net



--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP:EA, MCDBA
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

My Blog: http://onsitechsolutions.spaces.live.com
Microsoft WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

Lawrence Garvin [MVP]

"Lawrence Garvin [MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:2563DCAF-75E3-451A-BB36-...
> "John R" <jsr^^^813@zoom^^^internet.net> wrote in message
> news:%23cs0%...
>
>> "Chris K" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>>I have been studying for the 70-620 Windows Vista exam and getting ready
>>>to take the test next week. Does anyone know if this test will expire
>>>soon after and be replaced with windows 7 or should I go ahead and take
>>>it.
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>> Chris
>>
>> The MCTS:Vista Config will expire when mainstream support for Vista
>> expires. To my knowledge, a date has not yet been set when to retire the
>> exam.
>
> Yeah.. but it's reasonable to assume the exam will retire on or very near
> to the same date the certification expires. What would be the point in
> taking an exam if the certification it was designed for would no longer be
> awarded?

I didn't mean to imply anything here other than to distinguish between the
cert and the exam, and to point out that a retirement date has not yet been
set, again to my knowledge.

> For the record, mainstream support for Vista expires on April 10, 2012 --
> about two and a half years from now.
> Mainstream support for Windows Server 2008 expires on July 9, 2013 --
> about 15 months after Vista.
>

All good info.

>> 70-270 for XP is still available so I would think that would retire long
>> before 70-620.
>
> Windows XP, the MCDST, MCSA, and MCSE certifications have different rules,
> and are not based on any published retirement/expiration policy.
>

Again, not implying or inferring anything here other than "I would think"
(read: personal opinion) that XP exams most likely will retire before Vista
exams. I suppose, in the realm of possibilities, that might not be 100%
correct, but I'll take my chances

>> Historically, exam retirements have been announced at least a year in
>> advance.
>
> This is the key point here. If it's not yet announced, and it's a legacy
> exam (MCP/MCSA/MCSE/MCDST/MCDBA) you can reasonably assume you've got at
> least a year left to take it -- but do note, that's no guarantee, and
> everything is always subject to change without notice.
>

And, again, I left it open on purpose by only saying what has happened
historically. Microsoft could cancel the certification program and
decertify everyone today. But I don't think I need to add that to every
post as it isn't too reasonable. It is certainly reasonable to assume
however that there will most likely BE an announcement prior to the actual
retirement. And so far, as mentioned above, there hasn't been one.

>
>> There is a blog on MS Learning, but I can't seem to find the URL at the
>> moment.
>
> http://borntolearn.mslearn.net
>
>

Thanks for the link Lawrence. I suffer from chronic momentary CRS (can't
remember stuff) Let's see if I can remember to bookmark it now, lol.

John R

John R

"John R" <jsr^^^813@zoom^^^internet.net> wrote in message
news:...

>>> The MCTS:Vista Config will expire when mainstream support for Vista
>>> expires. To my knowledge, a date has not yet been set when to retire the
>>> exam.
>>
>> Yeah.. but it's reasonable to assume the exam will retire on or very near
>> to the same date the certification expires. What would be the point in
>> taking an exam if the certification it was designed for would no longer
>> be awarded?
>
> I didn't mean to imply anything here

None assumed. My reply wasn't intended to correct anything, merely add to
the opinion pool.


>> Windows XP, the MCDST, MCSA, and MCSE certifications have different
>> rules, and are not based on any published retirement/expiration policy.
>
> Again, not implying or inferring anything here other than "I would think"
> (read: personal opinion) that XP exams most likely will retire before
> Vista exams. I suppose, in the realm of possibilities, that might not be
> 100% correct, but I'll take my chances

Me too.

Of course.... I'm not particularly interested in an MCDST, and beyond the
MCSA which I'm one exam away from, I suspect I'm done with legacy exams.
(I'd prefer a few of the newer MCTS/MCITP certs before taking the Win2003
Active Directory exams -- which is all I'd need for the MCSE.)

--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP:EA, MCDBA
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

My Blog: http://onsitechsolutions.spaces.live.com
Microsoft WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

Lawrence Garvin [MVP]