Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) refers to both an individual Microsoft certification and a broader professional certification program. To be an MCP, candidates must complete any one exam within the program. The MCP program offers multiple certifications, based on different areas of technical expertise. To attain these certifications, a candidate must pass a series of exams within the program. Popular certifications are MCP, Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA) [1] .For detailed information about the requirements for each refer to Microsoft's Official Learning site. Some employers require or prefer certain MCP certifications for specific jobs. MCP curriculum revolves around Microsoft's operating systems. Other vendors have their own certification programs such as the Sun Certified Professional program, the Red Hat Certification Program, the Oracle Certification Program and the Cisco Career Certifications program. Each exam costs approximately US$125. Exams usually take between 2 and 3 hours to complete and consist of between 50-90 multiple choice, drag and drop and solution building questions. Microsoft has recently announced a return to simulated content within exams and students are also required to perform certain common administrative tasks appropriate for the topic at hand. Microsoft in Oct 2005, [2] announced the restructuring of its certification by launching a threetiered certification program. See more detail below.
Certification Programs
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (or MCSE) is the best-known Microsoft certification. It qualifies an individual of being able to analyze the business requirements for information systems solutions, and design and implement the infrastructure required. As of 2006, the MCSE is available for two different product lines; Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003, each of which requires a different set of exams. For the MCSE 2003, candidates must pass six core design exams (Four networking exams, one client operating system and one design exam) and one elective exam, for a total of seven exams. For the MCSE 2000, a candidate needs to pass five Core Exams (Four operating system exams, one design exam) and two electives. The topic of these exams include network security, computer networking infrastructure, Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and other topics of both general networking interest as well as specific Microsoft products.
-1-
According to Microsoft, people who operate MSSQL 2005 should apply for other certifications such as the MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) or MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist), rather than the MCDBA. Complete course lasts 250 hours.
-3-
The seven Microsoft Certified Professional Developer Technology Specialist certifications are:
Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Applications Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications Technology Specialist: SQL Server 2005 Technology Specialist: BizTalk Server 2006 Technology Specialist: Live Communications Server 2005 Technology Specialist: Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Applications
The 'Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications' certification requires that one pass the following examinations:
Exam 70-536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation Exam 70-528: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Web-Based Client Development
The 'Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Applications' certification requires that one pass the following examinations:
Exam 70-536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation Exam 70-526: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Windows-Based Client Development
The 'Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications' certification requires that one pass the following examinations:
Exam 70-536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation Exam 70-529: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Distributed Application Development
The 'Technology Specialist: SQL Server 2005' certification requires that one pass the following examination:
Exam 70-431: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 - Implementation and Maintenance
The 'Technology Specialist: BizTalk Server 2006' certification requires that one pass the following examination:
-4-
Exam 70-235: TS: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions Using BizTalk Server 2006 (available early 2006)
The 'Technology Specialist: Live Communications Server 2005' certification requires that one pass the following examination:
Exam 70-262 TS: Office Live Communications Server 2005-Implementing, Managing, and Troubleshooting (available early 2006)
There exist study groups dedicated to studying for various certifications. If there is not a study group in your area and there is good chance that there exist at least two other people that would be interested, then one could form one.
Criticism
Microsoft received a lot of criticism at the beginning of its MCSE Certification program because of its lack of hands-on experience. The MCSE for NT 4.0 was widely considered a "paper certification" that focused too much on theory. Microsoft corrected the problem in later MCSE programs for Server 2000 and Server 2003 by increasing the difficulty of tests and focusing on practical skills.[citation needed]
-5-