Certification towards first job - MCSA 2012 via MCSA 2008 upgrade worth it?

thatguy67

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if it would matter much to employers to be certified in both 2008 and 2012. I have read that one MCSA should be enough for an entry-level job but I want to be well-versed in both. I am currently studying for the 2008 track because my college courses covered that version, and figured I could have both Servers to my name by passing the single upgrade exam (easier said than done I know).

Are the upgrade exams more geared for veteran server admins of the older technology? Would employers frown upon two MCSA's with no real-world experience? Does it even matter that much in the first place? I imagine the more technology you know the better, but how much would be a red flag in my situation (associates degree, 2015 goals being CCNA/MCSA/VCP)?

Thank you for your help.

srabiee

It would only really matter if a particular employer or their clients were using/deploying the Server 2012 R2 platform, and even then anyone certified in 4-2008 R2 would pretty much know their way around 2012 by default. So really, it's up to you. Take the 70-417 upgrade exam to obtain the MCSA: Server 2012 with a single exam.

Both the regular exams and the upgrade exams are tailored toward sysadmins with several years of experience under their belt. They are not easy exams to pass, even for those who work with Server technologies every day. The upgrade exam is especially difficult, because it's basically 3 exams rolled into 1, and if you fail a single section you fail the entire exam. (even if you scored 100% on the other two sections)