The Value of Microsoft's New MCTS & MCITP Certs

by James Carrion Principal & Senior Instructor Mountain View Systems, LLC

I've helped thousands of IT professionals achieve their Microsoft certifications, from NT 4 MCSE to the current new MCTS and MCITP certifications.

It's interesting to observe the rollercoaster ride Microsoft certs and exams have taken throughout the years. NT4 exams were simplistic and produced a number of paper MCSEs, Windows 2000 exams were more difficult but nothing like the incredibly complex Windows 2003 exams that caused exam failure rates to jump through the roof.

Many of my clients are wondering what the Windows 2008 exams are like and whether or not to jump ship to the Windows 2008 certifications or stay the course and complete the Windows 2003 MCSE track. I am going to give you the skinny on what I think you should do.

Microsoft Learning has finally realized that the Windows 2003 exams are not as psychometrically sound as they preached and that the "ardent" process of exam question development they claim is a farce. The Windows 2003 questions are ambiguous, misleading and unfair, the net result being many exam failures and the frustration levels driving candidates to cheat by using brain dumps. It was the pink elephant in the room and they finally decided to do something about it.

The results of that realization are reflected in the Windows 2008 exam questions which are much more straightforward, and a more valid way of testing technical knowledge, not how good of a test-taker you are or your level of reading comprehension. In addition, Microsoft is moving to true performance-based questions, where your exam will be a live virtual machine and you are required to accomplish real world tasks. This is the future of testing and I applaud Microsoft learning's efforts in this area.

So if you are at a cross road wondering whether to pursue Windows 2003 or Windows 2008 certifications, here is what I recommend:

• Already started the 2003 track and only have a couple of exams left to achieve your cert? By all means finish. You can always tack on the 2008 certs at a later time.
• Only have a couple of 2003 track exams under your belt or are starting from scratch or upgrading a NT4, or Windows 2000 certification? Then the decision is a no-brainer, start the Windows 2008 track instead. Your life will be less stressful as reflected in less stressful exams and there are less exams to take to achieve a cert. In addition, the knowledge you gain from Windows 2008 is backwards compatible for application in a Windows 2003 environment. After all Windows 2008 is just Windows 2003 on steroids and with a lot more features added in.
• Job-seeking? What a better way to distinguish yourself from the thousands of MCSEs out there then to add a MCTS or MCITP certification to your resume. When hiring managers are stacking resumes, you need all the differentiation you can get to make sure that your resume ends up in the interview stack.
• Looking to upgrade your knowledge because your organization is moving to Windows 2008? The Windows 2008 exams are broad enough to force you to really know your stuff which and give you the confidence to implement Windows 2008 in the real world.

"Why I came back go MVS..." "I've attended 4 boot camps with MVS. I continue to return to MVS because of the instructors and course material. The instructors at MVS are very knowledgeable not only in the material but real world issues. I've attended many other training schools whose instructors teach from a book, not from real world examples or issues."		Raymond Louder Lead Windows Platform Engineer MCP, MCSA, MCTS, MCSE, MCITP Windows, Exchange, Security, Vista, Security +
"I attended my first course, an MCSA 2003 bootcamp, back in December 07. I found the whole experience excellent from start to finish. The training was well presented with plenty of breaks and some UT to let off steam. The accommodation is great and being co-located with the classroom really helps you focus on revision which helped me pass all my exams first time round. My second course was the CCNA back in July 08, which was excellent (as expected) and I even stayed on to do the CCDA, passing both. I now hope to attend the MCTS course in January and get some snowboarding in at the end! I've attended other certification classes and none come close to MVS. Even with flights to Denver the course is the same cost as most other courses, once you take into account food, accommodation and exam costs – well it’s just a great package and experience."		Martin Grist ArmorGroup North America