Certification

Outsourcing Article on SourcingMag.com

Josh Evitt — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 08:36:00 GMT

The article I recently wrote about outsourcing was picked up by SourcingMag.com. I spent some time fleshing out some of the details in the article, and the modified article can be viewed on SourcingMag's Web site. Read my original article here.

Outsourcing

Josh Evitt — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:41:00 GMT

I've recently published an article about my experiences with IT outsourcing, titled Outsourcing - A Year in Review.

Microsoft Certifications

Josh Evitt — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 10:15:00 GMT

Microsoft has officially announced their new generation of certifications. (via Lorenzo Barbieri)

The announcement defines three formal levels of certification: the Technology Series, the Professional Series and the Architect Series. The Technology Series is the lowest level in the new generation of certifications and typically consists of one to three certification exams and do not include specific job roles. The Professional Series is the next level in the certification hierarchy and consists of one to three exams, is focused on job roles, and requires prerequisites from the Technology Series. The Architect Series is the highest level of certification in Microsoft's new certification hierarchy and culminates in an oral review in front of other certified architects. Click here for the complete details.

Microsoft Certified Architect Pilot Phase and New Exams

Josh Evitt — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 14:50:00 GMT

The Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) certification has entered into a pilot phase, according to this article from MCPMag.com. Microsoft has also indicated that 39 people have already been certified as MCAs with a goal of 500 by the end of 2006.

Additionally, the article indicates that new exams for Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 will be released shortly after the products are released in November.

Microsoft Certified Architect Program

Josh Evitt — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 14:10:00 GMT

David mentioned that Microsoft is planning on launching a new certification program called the Microsoft Certified Architect Program (MCAP). This new program was unveiled at TechMentor earlier this month. According to Al Valvano, Lead Product Manager with Microsoft Learning, the program will be on par with Cisco's highly-respected CCIE program. I'm extremely interested in how Microsoft launches this program and how it will relate to the company's other certifications.

Working in the certification industry has been interesting over the past five years. Even before I started my current job, I was preparing for and taking certification exams and communicating with people about certifications. There was an enormous amount of interest in certifications in general, and the MCSE in particular. With the dot-bomb days behind us, that interest has waned somewhat for various reasons. One of those reasons is that most people saw or knew of people who simply crammed for the exams with no knowledge of the technology they were supposedly learning. This led to the term "paper MCSE," which essentially means someone who has passed the exams to obtain the certification, but has no real knowledge of how to use the technology in the "real world." As a result, the promise of easy money for certified individuals (which was never completely true in the first case) went away, and so did some of the interest in certifications. Microsoft is currently working to change this perception by including performance-based simulation items in their exams, which require the user to actually perform a sequence of actions instead of answering a multiple-choice item. I see the Microsoft Certified Architect Program as a step beyond that into really gaining the prestige in their certification program that they once had. I rarely hear of people who are able to take a Cisco exam without real knowledge of the products. As a result, the Cisco certification program has a high level of respect in the industry. Will the MCAP provide Microsoft with this level of prestige? It remains to be seen, but I'm interested in seeing what happens. Not many details have been released at this point, but I hear rumors that more information will be unveiled at TechEd this year.

SecretGeek's Six Points in Favor of the MCAD

Josh Evitt — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 08:21:00 GMT

SecretGeek.net has posted six points in favor of the MCAD certification. I agree.

IT Certification Resources

Josh Evitt — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 17:28:00 GMT

I have recently posted an article containing a list of certification resources for those interested in learning more about IT certifications. The list is nowhere near comprehensive, and I'll most likely be adding to it over time. However, I think it will provide a good starting point for those new to certification and for those interested in learning more about certification. Check out the list here.

MCSD .NET Certification Article

Josh Evitt — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 14:41:00 GMT

I was reminded a few days ago about an article that a former coworker of mine, Phil McCollum, wrote for .NET Developer's Journal a few years ago. The article is titled MCSD .NET Certification and covers the seven core concepts that you'll need to know in order to pass the core MCSD .NET exams. Phil offers some solid advice on where you should focus your efforts when studying for these exams. The seven core concepts that he mentions are:

ADO.NET
Security
Debugging
Web Services
Events and Error Handling
Internationalization
Assemblies/GAC

Microsoft to Add Performance-based Questions to Exams

Josh Evitt — Thu, 03 Feb 2005 16:43:00 GMT

via Mike Gunderloy: Microsoft will soon be adding performance-based testing to their certification exams. I personally feel like this is a good move on Microsoft's part to try and enhance the validity of their exams. The 2003 exams will be the first to be converted, so look for new items in these exams by March 31. It looks like they'll be rolling this feature out to the rest of the exams by the end of the year. I don't think this should affect anyone who's actually familiar with the technology being tested. The exams will still be delivered at Prometric and Vue testing centers. Check out the Microsoft Q&A for more details.

What is Certification Good For?

Josh Evitt — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 11:13:00 GMT

In a recent post, David Neal responds to JavaKid's post titled "Microsoft Certified? ... Not Impressed!" David outlines three reasons why he thinks Microsoft certifications are a good thing:

1) They help you get your foot in the door.
2) Studying for a certification forces you to learn more about a technology (or different aspects) than you might otherwise learn on your own.
3) When I'm interviewing a potential candidate, a certification speaks volumes to me -- not in terms of technical skill, but in terms of aptitude, ability to set and obtain goals, and self-discipline, especially if the certification was obtained through self-study.

I agree with David. One of the arguments that many people make is that the MS certification exams are contrived or they don't reflect real-world scenarios. In some respects, I agree with that argument, and I think that Microsoft is striving to correct this perception. However, the real value of certification is in how employers perceive the certification, and Microsoft certification is still one of the most recognizable certification programs in the world.

I have found that getting certified has greatly enhanced my career potential. Although, like David, I'm a bit biased towards certifications, as I currently work for Transcender, I got certified before I began working at Transcender, and I believe that getting certified has played a large part in my career up to this point. I will, however, say that getting certified is not the golden ticket that some people believe that it is; instead, you should look at certifications as one part of building your resume. You should also look towards building your "real-world" toolkit in your chosen technology. No certification can take the place of real-world experience.