Welcome to IT Free Training. This video looks at new certification paths released by Microsoft
for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. Even if you are currently studying for 2008 certification,
understanding what else is available will help you make an informed decision about which
exam to do next. Choosing the right exam today will help you tomorrow get additional certifications
faster. One of the most common questions we are asked
is, “Where should I start my Certification?” With the change of certification structure,
Microsoft has made it easier than ever before to know where to start.
Looking at the certification tracks supplied by Microsoft you can see that it has been
divided into 3 parts. Starting from Associate and working your way up to Expert and finally
Master. To better understand the certification paths, let’s start from the bottom, the
associate level. The MCTS, or Microsoft Certified Technology
Specialist, has historical been a starting point for many IT professionals. It is important
before studying and eventually booking any exam, check the Microsoft web site and see
if any requirements have changed and the exam is still available. MCTS exams expire after
mainstream support for that product ends. Some of the MCTS exams already have expiry
dates. Once the exam expires it will no longer be available.
Depending on the MCTS requirements, you may need to sit 1 to 3 exams. These exams will
cover one type of technology. Currently there are 20 different technologies for which you can
get an MCTS. Microsoft has stated that no new MCTS certification will be released.
The next certification is Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate or MCSA. The MCSA is offered
for 2008 and 2012. First, I will look at the MCSA for 2008.
In order to obtain an MCSA in 2008 you need to complete 3 exams. These are Active Directory,
Network Infrastructure and Server administrator. In a moment I will look at the MCSA for 2012.
If you have your MCSA for 2008 you can upgrade to an MCSA for 2012 by completing one upgrade
exam. The upgrade exam is available to July 31th 2014.
If you have finished 2 of the 3 exams listed, it may be worth your time to complete the
third and then take the upgrade exam rather than start the process again with an MCSA
2012. The next certification is MCSA 2012. Like
the MCSA for 2008, you need to complete 3 exams in order to obtain this certification.
These are Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012, Administering Windows Server
2012, and Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services. Once you complete these exams
you will obtain an MCSA 2012. The next certification is the MCITP certification
which stands for Microsoft Certified IT Professional. This certification is moving up the pyramid
to the expert level. The expert level is aimed at an IT Professional who has moved away from
the helpdesk and is responsible for administering of the network at the server level.
The MCITP certification is being retired on 31 July 2013. Currently there are 15 different
MCITP certifications that you can obtain. To get one of these certifications you need
to pass anywhere from 2 to 5 exams. If you have any of the 5 MCITP certifications
listed, you can upgrade your certification to MCSA 2012 by completing the 417 exam. This
is the same upgrade exam to upgrade from MCSA 2008 to MCSA 2012.
Regardless of where you are now in the certification path, if you have just started or have a few
certifications under your belt, in order to start moving up to the next certification path
provided by Microsoft you want to aim for the MCSA 2012. Once you obtain your MCSA 2012
you are at the associate level of the pyramid. The MCSA 2012 will provide the foundation
to your IT career and also provide the stepping stone to the next level of expert.
The expert level is aimed more at the serious professional who is moving up from the helpdesk.
This brings us to the next certification called MCSE. Some of you may have heard of the MCSE
certification before. Some may not even be aware that it was retired, but now it is back,
sort of. Those who have been in IT for a long time
will remember the MCSE for NT, 2000 and 2003, which stood for Microsoft Certified Systems
Engineer. With 2012, this has changed to Microsoft Certified Solution Expert. The change is in
line with the new MCSE certification being focusing more on building solutions that involve
integrating multiple technologies. Microsoft is also stating the MCSE has been reinvented
for cloud technology. The MCSE originally focused on a single job
role and single technology. Now days, there is more technology and software than ever
before. IT professionals nowadays are looked at as people who implement solutions rather
than skilled in one product area. Since the focus of the MCSE has changed to
solutions rather than a single technology, the MCSE is not an MCSE for 2012. To get certified,
the candidate needs to understand technology and solutions available at that time. Once
you have your MCSE, in order to keep it valid, you will need to be certified in new technologies
as they become available. Regardless of what the letters stand for,
the MCSE will be seen by employers once again as being a certification held by IT professionals
who are experts in their field. There are 4 MCSE certification paths available
for the MCSE. In this video I will look at 3. The fourth is SQL Server which I do not
cover in this video. The 3 paths I will look at are Desktop Infrastructure, Server Infrastructure,
and Private Cloud. All the 3 MCSE paths have one thing in common,
they all have the MCSA 2012 as a perquisite. Once you have your MCSA for 2012, you can
start to look at getting your MCSE. Regardless which MCSE path you take, they all require
you to pass two exams. The exams you need to pass for each of the
paths are shown. None of the exams overlap so if you want to obtain multiple certifications,
you will need to pass all the exams for that MCSE path.
The MCSE provides the expert level for certification. If you want to start the process from the
beginning and get your MCSA 2012 and then get your MCSE, this process would take 5 exams.
3 for the MCSA 2012 and 2 for the MCSE. If you decide to get your MCSE at the expert
level, the next level is the master level of certification. As the pyramid suggests,
less people achieve each level as you go up the pyramid and it is the hardest certification
to achieve. A person that is at the master level has an
MCSM or Microsoft Certified Solutions Master. Formally this was called Microsoft Certified
Master. In order to obtain this certification you need to complete the relevant certification
for that area. Once that is complete, an application needs to be submitted to Microsoft for approval.
The application must show that you have relevant experience and expertise to be awarded a certification
at this level. It is not an easy certification to obtain.
The last certification that I will look at is the MCSA in Windows 8. Despite sounding
similar to other MCSA and MCSE Certifications, it should be noted this is a totally standalone
certification. In other words, obtaining this certification will not give you credit towards
obtaining an MCSA or MCSE in 2012. To obtain the MCSA Windows 8 certification,
you will need to pass the 687 and 688 exams. Once you have passed these exams you will
obtain an MCSA certification in Windows 8. This certification is useful to have if you
work in a helpdesk role or are attempting to get a role in a helpdesk.
Once you have done your study and ready to
sit the exam, you need to book a testing time. To do this, visit ProMetic.com. On this web
site you can schedule the exam, find your nearest testing center and costs for the exam.
From all of us at IT Free Training we wish you good luck in obtaining your certifications.
If you need any free training materials to help you prepare, please see our web site
or YouTube channel. All our training courses are free. See you in the next video and feel
free to let us know how you do in your exams.