Monday, June 24, 2013

The MCSA Certification Versus MCSE MCITP

Microsoft offers a variety of professional certification examinations for professionals, Information Technology developers and business users. Certificate holders have demonstrated competence in a particular aspect of a Microsoft product. These certifications include Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE).
Approach

The MCSA covers management skills and support for Windows Server 2003 systems. This is considered a starting level certification for candidates with less than one year of experience working in desktop environments or network. The MCITP certification covers updated technologies, including Microsoft Server 2008 and focuses on more focused skills, including customer support, general support and server support dedicated servers. The MCITP certification is considered intermediate to advanced, for candidates with several years of experience in their specialty. The MCSE certification covers management skills Windows Server 2000 and Server 2003 Microsoft.

Assessment requirements

Each Microsoft certification requires that a candidate complete a number of tests. The MCSA requires four tests: two exams networking, an examination of client operating system (Windows 7, Vista or XP Professional) and an elective exam. Examination requirements vary depending MCITP certification of specialization. For example, certification MCITP Enterprise Support Technician on Windows 7 requires two certification exams while MCTIP: Enterprise Administrator on Windows Server 2008 requires five exams. The MCSE certificate requires six tests: four tests in Windows Server 2003 networks, one client operating system (Windows 7, Vista or XP Professional) and one design exam.

Updates
Microsoft offers upgrade paths to MCSA and MCSE holders who want to advance their MCITP level certifications. MCSA certificate holder who wants to upgrade to MCITP certification must pass two exams. The first is the mandatory exam update, 70-648. Once the mandatory update, candidates can take the exam 70-646 to become an administrator of Windows Server 2008 server or more pass three exams (including issues of Windows 7 and Windows 2008) to complete the certification MCITP: Enterprise Administrator .

Considerations

While MCSA exams focus on older versions of Microsoft Server 2003, certification may still be valuable for professionals working in environments that use that version of the server operating system. People working with current environments with Microsoft Server 2008 primarily may want to consider taking or upgrade to the MCITP certification. Although Microsoft 2000 Server environment has officially reached its end of life, the MCSE certification itself does not expire. Many courses in MCSE certification path have been removed. If a candidate has previously taken an exam can count toward MCSE certification. However, if a test has been taken, a candidate cannot have it count towards certification.


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