Which MS Certification(s)?

Big Chris

Big Chris

Big Chris

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I've been in IT Support for 6 years now, 2 in 1st Line and 4 in 2nd Line. I have lots of experience but no qualifications.

I'm looking to do some Microsoft Certifications but there are so many of the damn things that I'm not sure which to go for.

There's a MCDST (MS Desktop Support Technician) which looks pretty basic, but might be handy to have. Then there's MCSA and MCSE which are more comprehensive but also a lot more expensive.

What would you guys recommend and what do you have? I'm looking to stay in support but would welcome more knowledge as we don't get much/any exposure to 3rd Line kinda stuff at the moment.
 
Personally I would do the easy ones first as they won't take long, i.e. A+ N+ MCDST (not done that last one but if you think its easy, go for it) then start working towards MCSA or MCSE by taking the individual MCP exams.
 
CompTIA A+ is probably an easy exam(s) for you, the earlier one used to comprise 2 exams. There is a newer version now though, it might be 1 exam - not sure. I should think you would find that fairly simple given your experience although it is worth reading the material since the exam can often pose some obscure question, where you know the answer but perhaps don't know the _exact_ way to find it straight away, if that makes sense. You can self study this via a single book, the exam costs ~£100.

CompTIA also do the Network+ (N+) which is obviously more networky orientated. They also do the Security+ which I haven't done myself yet.

Any of those are good CV material, even if they're teaching you how to suck eggs.

I would look at the MCDST (MS exams are ~£88 each), you can also self study this through the Microsoft Press books - ~£25 each online. Again you may know 90% of it, but always good to have on your CV.

MCSA is 4 exams I think, again you can self study. Not sure what the new version is called. MCSE is the 4 from the MCSA plus another 2 I think. The 2008 version which replaced the MCSE is called the MCTIP (not sure on the exact names).

All can be done self study via books, and you can take the tests at a test centre of your choosing, usually via Prometric and/or Pearson VUE.

MCSA/MCSE are more network support orientated, the others are more 1st/2nd line.
 
MS Exams are £88+VAT so around £110 each.

I'd, personally, stick with the MS qualifications. More and more employers want these where as I've not seen many requesting CompTIA.

MS exams may look easy on the outside (especially the operating systems ones) but they ask questions which cross many realms (i.e. active directory, dhcp, dns, etc) so I wouldn't take them lightly.

I'd start with MCDST (2 exams) move on to MCSA (3 exams) and then MCSE (4 exams). You can then do more if you want to (i.e. Exchange, etc).

If you elect to ignore the MCDST then the exam number changes to 4 exams for the MCSA and then 3 additional exams for the MCSE.

And I wouldn't say they were network orientated they are more geared towards 2/3rd line support roles.


M.
 
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Maybe our experiences differ then, as mine were certainly a lot more network orientated than the MCDST.

Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure
Planning and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure
Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure
Designing a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory and Network Infrastructure

But perhaps you chose different exams to me. There are some pretty large sections on DNS which seem to go on, and on. I think they would be fairly new territory to a 1st/2nd line support person - although of course this depends on your overall experience with domain admin type access, certainly I never got much server experience in my Service Desk role.
 
www.examcollection.net

Get all over it... Sure you will be one of the many "paper mcse's" but if you want to get a job that has the potential to get into this area a prospective employeer will look favourably on someone who has bothered to get of their ass and try.
Just don't go into an interview claiming to know it all, just say you read books and had a few computers to use as a lab and practise on.
It will show a willingness to learn, and that will stand you out better than other candidates.
 
XeNoN89 said:
MCSA and MCSE are outdated now, go for MCITP instead
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These are in terms of the latest software but a lot of companies still use XP and Server 2003. It all depends what your company is using and how quickly you'll pass and how involved you'll be in any migrations to Server 2008, Vista (yeah some companies are :confused:), and Windows 7

MW
 
I saw the MCITP on the MS website, it's not one I'd heard of.

Due to the cost of these exams/modules, it sounds like it might be worth doing this instead of MCSA or MCSE if they're getting outdated.

Am I right in thinking that you choose from a selection of certain modules to make up an MCSA/MSCE/MCITP?
 
I'm currently doing a MCITP course.

MCITP is essentially the MCSE equivalent in Windows Server 2008 environments. You should typically choose the course that reflects the technologies that you're currently working on. Where I work we're deploying Windows Server 2008, so that's influenced which course I chose.

You seem to be quite experienced in 1st/2nd level support, I'm wondering if it's really worth you taking the MCDST. Do you do a lot of server work at the moment? If you do, I would just dive straight into a MCITP, that's what I've done after 1 year 1st line and 1.5 years sysadmin (1st/2nd/some 3rd).

I'm currently taking the MCITP:Server Administrator, so feel free to fire any questions to me about the course/content/syllabus etc.
 
Exams on there own are not that great (mainly because people think you've cheated as you've got a high qualification but no expertise) but experience on its own isn't either (though will get you further) all jobs I've seen recently want both.


M.
 
DiscoDave said:
You seem to be quite experienced in 1st/2nd level support, I'm wondering if it's really worth you taking the MCDST. Do you do a lot of server work at the moment?
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I've got 4 years 2nd Line under my belt, but no exposure to servers. We also have a Systems Management Team who look after DNS etc so I don't really know too much about any of that, it's purely Desktop related stuff and builds, Blackberries etc.

The MCDST looks fairly simple, but it seems like a good place to start.

m4cc45 said:
Exams on there own are not that great (mainly because people think you've cheated as you've got a high qualification but no expertise) but experience on its own isn't either (though will get you further) all jobs I've seen recently want both.
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Yeah, a lot of the jobs I've been looking at require a few years experience at least and nearly all say an MS cert would put an applicant a significant advantage.
 
Duke said:
Personally I would do the easy ones first as they won't take long, i.e. A+ N+ MCDST (not done that last one but if you think its easy, go for it) then start working towards MCSA or MCSE by taking the individual MCP exams.
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Dont do an MCSA or MCSE, there outdated (ish). do this: MCITP

m4cc45 - lol, I have the Enterprise admin, You would think I knew that it was called. :rolleyes:
 
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janesssssy said:
Dont do an MCSA or MCSE, there outdated (ish). do this: MCTIP
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I think you mean MCITP (just been pedantic)? Enterprise Admin (EA) is the equivalent of an MCSE now which is what I would personally aim for.

MCSA/E 2003 are going to stay as the defacto qualification meaning it never gets removed from your transcript where as the EA and such like will need to be upgraded in line with Microsofts lifecycle (pretty much every 3 years).



M.
 
It's still pretty confusing, just been looking here: Distance Learning Centre

Am I right in thinking that you choose the 4 modules you want to learn from the 8, which costs you £650 for all the course materials, then you have to pay £88+VAT for each of the 4 exams you've studied for? Do you need all 8 exams to qualify for an MCSA?
 
No, MCSA requires you to have one core os cert, the 2 required 'core networking' as stated on that page, and then an elective module like exchange for instance. It's only 4 exams.

Everyone saying to the mcitp does realise there's loads of different mcitp tracks right? So might be helpful to specify which you think he should do :)

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mcitp.aspx#tab2

There's 4 mcitps for desktop, 'client' support. As he's purely desktop based at the moment that's not a bad place to start.

If he does want to move over to server support then go ahead with the windows server track.

I'd also highly recommend getting some server side exposure at your current work if you can, will help you in the long run.
 
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The WIkipedia article is quite easy to understand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MCITP#Microsoft_Certified_IT_Professional_.28MCITP.29

for example to become a MCITP server admin you need:
Server Administrator

* MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration
* MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration
* Exam 70-646 (PRO): Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator

Which means you need to do 2 MCTS exams:
Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration

* Exam 70-640: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring

and

Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration

* Exam 70-642: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring

Plus the MCITP exam:

* Exam 70-646 (PRO): Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator


MCSE and MCSA is old, ignore it. Work on getting Microsoft Certified Tech Specialist (MCTS) certifications. Each certification is in a specific area, such as networking, AD, etc.. get enough of these and you can combine them into a MCITP certification with an exam such as Server admin, or enterprise admin.
 
I'm just posting to subscribe to the thread, I want to look into this stuff since Architecture is non-existent as profession in Ireland now, I need to re-train.

Nate
 
Ev0 said:
I'd also highly recommend getting some server side exposure at your current work if you can, will help you in the long run.
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They moved the servers and the guys who look after them about 40miles up the road a few years ago, only site-essential teams are left here in the office I work at. Makes sense for the company but it means the exposure I get to other teams & processes is very limited.

I think I'll start with the MCDST to get a feel for how the certification process works. Even that is £200 for the course then £88+VAT for each of the two exams.

I'll look into the MCITP/MCTS desktop stuff following this (when I've got some more money!). Would I be stuffed without any prior knowledge of servers and the like when it comes to these more in-depth exams though, or it this taught as part of the course material?
 
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