MCSE or MCITP? or MCTS?

i can't decide what to take... i heard that MCSE and MCSA are diverting to
MCITP and MCTS

im on early 30s now, is it too late to take these exams?

thanks!

 

MCSA and MCSE will end with Server 2003. The exams will be around for a
long time yet, but there will be no MCSE for Server 2008. Many
organizations will choose to stay on 2003 domains for quite some time. Some
day MCSA and MCSE will be meaningless, but they will never retire or expire.

Starting with Vista and Server 2008, the new structure is MCTS (Technology
Specialist) for the base technology, and MCITP (IT Pro) for the job
functions such as System Administrator, Enterprise Support Tech, etc. MCTS
will expire when support for the technology retires, and MCITP will be good
for three years, and must be renewed (details on renewing MCITP
certifications is not yet available).

The path you should choose is only a question you can answer. Who will you
be working for, and marketing yourself towards? What is your experience
now? Do "YOU" see value in MCSA/MCSE 2003 for yourself given your situation
and where you are?

For more information concerning all of the available certifications, see
www.microsoft.com/learning

John R

 

Dude?? I'm 32. What does age have to do with achieving these
certification?

 

You could have just left it at " For more information concerning all of
the available certifications, see www.microsoft.com/learning"
show-off...

 

Young whipper snapper!! I'm 47 and I completed MCSE last year (started in
2005).

Back when I started with computers, we had to punch cards ...
in our bare feet ...
up hill ...
both ways.

John R

 

I think the MCSE 2003 cert will still be recognized for quite a while. The
new MCITP and MCTS certifications will confuse alot of employers, because
there are so many different certs. For example, you can get MCITP Enterprise
Support Technician certified by taking Vista 70-620 and the 70-622 exam.
This cert is the equivalent to a MCDST (Desktop Support Technician).

On the other hand, the MCITP Enterprise Administrator sounds almost the
same, but you have to take 5 exams, including Vista. From what I can tell,
this cert will eventually replace the MCSE. There is also an MCSA
certification to further confuse things.

The MCTS certification sounds more impressive than the MCP certification,
but it's practically the same thing. For the MCTS certification, the only
exam you really need to pass is Vista 70-620, unless you want to specialize
in another area.

So which one should you go for? It depends on which exams you've already
taken. If you've already taken Windows 2000 Pro or XP, the I say go for the
Server 2003 MCSA. You would only need to take Vista 70-620, Server 2003
70-290 and 2003 Network Infrastructure 70-291 exams. This would also give
you an MCTS certification for Vista as well. Then you could take 2 more
exams 70-293 and 70-294 for the Server 2003 MCSE. Or, you could take the the
MCSA 2003 to 2008 upgrade exam and work towards the MCITP Server
Administrator or Enterprise Administrator certs. Not all of the exams for
the Server Administrator and Enterprise Administrator certs are available yet
though.

If you haven't taken any Microsoft exams before and you're starting from
scratch, I recommend starting with the 70-620 Vista exam for the MCTS cert.

By the way, Microsoft originally wanted the MCITP exams to expire every 3
years. I read today that this has changed. Now the MCITP exams are good for
the lifecycle of the product. That's good news.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

 

To be certified, there are no age restriction. You should consider which path
do u want to focus in. I've taken MCSE last year, to be honest i've to go
through seven tiring exams but you have the advanced of taking those exams.
Learning for MCSA or MCSE exams, you'll get to know basic stuff and what's
really inside W2K3. I didn't see this in MCTS exams, MCTS exams tends to be
specialized in one area while in MCSE you're proven to know lot of things of
everything.

Benedict C. Pasaribu, MCSA, MCSE, MCTS

 

By the way, I just turned 50. I'm already MCSA and MCSE certified for both
Windows 2000 and 2003. I'm MCTS certified for Vista and I just got the
MCITP Enterprise Support Technician certified. I'm also CompTIA A+, Network+
and Security+ and Cisco CCNA certified. I've been working on these
certifications seriously for about 4 years, but I became an MCP for Windows
2000 Pro in 2001. I think it looks good to employers if you stay current in
technology and have 'continuing education' instead of people just milking an
NT MCSE certification for the rest of their life. I think that's one reason
why Microsoft attempted to put a 3 year time limit on their certs.