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The maze of MCSA and MCSE certification explained!Traditionally Microsoft certification has been split into three distinct areas namely: Over the last six to 12 months Microsoft has introduced a number of new certifications in an attempt to clarify the specialisation required in today’s IT environments. This article will focus on these changes as they apply to the Network Administration. When Microsoft introduced certification based around their operating systems in the mid 1990s there were two levels of certification, namely Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE). Over time two main issues emerged that caused problems with this model. One was the gap between MCP and MCSE was too large and the second was that during the NT-4 certification days the certification lost significant creditability due to the exams being too easy and the ability of some participants to go to the Internet to brain-dump sites and learn exam questions by rote. With the release of Windows 2000, Microsoft have made significant changes to exams. They have made the rules of taking exams stricter and the exams technically more difficult. It is acknowledged that when an employer determines the best person for a job selection is made by a combination of both qualification and experience. Unfortunately for many organisations recruiting employees in the lat 1990’s more emphasis was placed on qualifications rather than experience. As a result too many examples exist of organisations employing people who where not capable of performing the tasks they were required to do. |
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It is important that if
person indicates they are MCSE qualified that the formal Microsoft transcript is
obtained and that you check that this qualification for Windows 2000 or Windows
2003. The relance to organisations now of NT-4 certification is rapidly
diminishing. My impression is that approximately ½ the people in the
IT workplace who claim that they are MCSE are people with NT-4 MCSE
certification that they have not bothered to upgrade to either Windows
2000 MCSE or Windows 2003 MCSE. To better align their certification with industry requirements Microsoft introduced in early 2001 the MCSA (Microsoft Certified System Administration) certification. It was also in response to the market realising that not everyone could or should be a MCSE. MCSE’s are highly skilled professional with many years experience in developing and maintaining IT infrastructures. They are key people to any organisation but many other people with a subset of these skills are required to run a Microsoft IT Infrastructure. As server based products have become more complex it is important that organisations are able to identify people who have specialised in messaging and more recently security. It is for these reasons that Microsoft have introduced over the last six months specialised certifications in both MCSA and MCSE. These specialised certifications have enable an existing MCSA or MCSE to indicate to perspective employers or there current employer that they have strengthen their skills in key areas. So for both Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 the following certification now exists where an individual is focused on Network Administration.
Click here for exact details of the requirements of these exams The message from this certification maze is that customers will need to check the current status of the person they are employing or contracting to ensure they have the independent ratification of their current skill set. |