Certification Prep – The 20 Minute Workout

So in my last post I offered my thoughts and opinions on the two tracks and what I would personally do if I was first starting out in the field at the end of 2009 or if I was already engaged and that would be to get or finish my MCSE and then move on to the MCITP certification. The folks over at Windows Server HQ which is a member of the family of sites run by TrainSignal.com have recently written three very good articles on the subject. Gosia Grabowska wrote an article back in August titled MCSE vs MCITP: Is the MCSE Still Worth It? in which she outlined her thoughts on which certification might be more valuable and worth the time and effort. She also took the time to outline the different certifications available and the tracks to get you there. Brian Nelson wrote a couple of articles this month (October) titled Why Getting Your MCSE Now Is Still A Good Idea and What’s The Next Step for MCSEs? Both of these articles offer some history and perspective of the venerable MCSE certi

I get asked pretty regularly by folks looking to get into the Information Technology field or even the ones in there a year or so what makes more sense – getting their MCSE or working toward getting their MCITP certification. The way I look at it is this – if you’re already started on the MCSE then it makes sense to finish it even if you’re just one or two exams in. The additional reasoning for this is that many corporate environments are still Server 2000 / 2003 mixes or fully blown 2003. There are some that are running Server 2003 with a mix of 2008 and a few that are totally 2008. The long and short of that is that many will need to have 2000 and 2003 expertise and you can validate that for perspective employers by getting that MCSE finished. This advise is true for people looking for new opportunities as well. Most places will need to know what your foundation of skills are and this will be shown on your resume and in your work history as well as any certifications you have o