70-980 - Will you be more or less competitive after recertifying your 2012 MCSE?

Will it be just like Security + CE where you will never be asked by employers what version of Sec+ you took?

Will it be like the A+ CE where in 20 years I have never been asked what version of the A+ I have?

Or will I have constant arguments with bonehead recruiters where their customer is wanting a 2016 MCSE?

Kind of like getting my MCSE in late 2013 didn't do me any good for almost a year because everyone wanted me to have an MCITP and having a newer Cert and selling the idea of it was like moving a mountain uphill.

Once I get my MCSE 70-980....how would my MCSE be worded? If it doesn't go on to effectively say MCSE 2016 I can see this being a problem in the job market. I know that it won't say MCSE 2016, but will we also be getting certs that say MCSE 2016 once the MCSE 2016 exam is made available?

If not, I don't care what anyone says, this will be a problem when trying to fill the typical laundry list job description, especially when speaking with your typical recruiter who's first language isn't English.

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ITSpectre

Re certifying is just like changing the oil in your car... it maintains the car but you don't get any extra stuff for doing it. So to answer the question, No when you get your MCSE you would word it "MCSE"
No recruiter, HR person, or manager cares when you got it or what year.... they care if you have it, and they don't care if you got it in 2013-14-15-16 as long as you have it... that's all that matters.

And to make the comment... it wont be a problem when trying to fill laundry list descriptions.... you have the OPTION to deal with recruiters. Many of us don't because recruiters are a waste of time. And stop dealing with the foreign ones they always waste your time...

ukiltmybrutha

Thank you for your post. I have to disagree with you. I have had numerous (non-foreign) recruiters get semantical about which version you have. Case in point, you must be Security + CE certified (as opposed to just lifetime Security+ Certified) in many instances or you have a 0% chance of getting that job.

I alluded to an instance where I had an MCSE2012 as opposed to an MCITP and it was game over, not just once but numerous times. The end customer has the right to select anyone they want.

I would have to say that depending where you live, you have a high probability of needing to deal with a recruiter in an effort to obtain a specific objective. I am emailed about 30 times per day on average because my area is "hot" and I have a pretty good skillset. Of those 30 interactions, I'd say that about 2 of those instances are corporate recruiters.

I am still pretty curious if the folks who get their MCSE that covers 2016 material will in some part get a piece of paper saying that they are MCSE 2016(s)....because some recruiters (whether corporate or bottom feeders) specifically ask for an MCSE 2016.

I have seen some recruiters (also corporate recruiters) ask for what exams you passed. If not the right ones, there is no room for further discussion. That is usually the government talking as well.

Like I said, if you answer no....it is game over no matter how well you attempt to sell it. They may go "ask" or pretend to ask the end customer, (or the government in my case) but they are more likely to vanish.

Believe me, I speak from experience.

For those of us who pass the 70-980, will we wake up to a magical email (or series of emails at different dates) (Microsoft's favorite time seems to be 3am) with a congratulations/additional certificate indicating that you are now also "x" "y" and "z" e.g. 2012 MCSE/2016 MCSE/Plain old MCSE bla bla bla.

It wouldn't be the first time they did this and I hope that they do it again because if they decide not to I and others will surely face the situations that I have faced in the past as stated above.

ajs1976

I thought 70-980 was a composite of 70-413 and 70-414 which are both Windows 2012. How would passing it bring in Windows 2016 material?

netsysllc

no matter what it is MCSE Server 2012, the date you do it is irrelevant. Microsoft does not even differentiate 2012 or 2012R2 which were very different tests.

ukiltmybrutha

ajs1976 wrote: »

I thought 70-980 was a composite of 70-413 and 70-414 which are both Windows 2012. How would passing it bring in Windows 2016 material?

I don't know about that....sometimes the way they word things on paper when handing out numerous concurrent certifications can work either way.

Getting my MCITP EDA and MCSA on the Desktop side had nothing to do with Servers either, but I leveraged that by putting the words "MCITP and MCSA" on my resume without any caveats which got me hired as a Server admin a few years ago and the rest was history. I certainly hope that their statement will be that I simply have an MCSE and do the same for others.

That still won't preclude employers or their assignees from effectively saying "....will hire only those who passed exam 70-xxx" or go pound sand. Reminds me of the old "Irish need not apply signs".

ukiltmybrutha

netsysllc wrote: »

no matter what it is MCSE Server 2012, the date you do it is irrelevant. Microsoft does not even differentiate 2012 or 2012R2 which were very different tests.

In that case, there may be LESS to worry about. Uninformed individuals on the other end make my life more difficult. No a huge problem in a hot market, but I am not sure that I want to live around here forever.

Hopefully maintaining my MCSE will be analogous to getting a Security +CE e.g. "the standard".

powerfool

The difference in what you are seeing is that they were asking for MCITP, not MCSE. They weren't with it enough to understand the difference, or lack thereof. Once they are talking about the MCSE again, you are in the clear. I got my MCSE back on 2000 and didn't upgrade it anywhere beyond that until about half way through the MCITP cycle.... at least 8 years. Nobody asked a thing about when or how long. I said MCSE, they said cool. I then did my 2003 and my MCITP 2008 cycle and finally am about ready to wrap up the 2012 cycle. Nobody is going to care, for the most part. The only folks that I have ever experienced that cared are the crowd that were the impetus behind the re-certification... the DOD. They have a requirement for re-certification and the vendors created it to be compliant. They are fine with the re-certification exams... it is kind of their thing.

ukiltmybrutha

Thanks, hopefully it goes well. My work almost exclusively has a nexus to DOD and other 3 letter agencies. Some require less, some require more. Many moving parts besides certs in this game. Not just what clearance you have, but who holds it, who can see it, when it is up for review etc.

Appreciate all of your individual thoughts on this matter.

kiki162

I'm in the same boat myself this year regarding re-certifying on the 2012 exam. Figure Server 2012 will probably be released at the end of July with a lot of other MS products. So that would put exams to be released sometime in the early fall. For me, my expiration date lies not too far after that. The MCSE itself was extremely popular back in the late 90's and early 2000's, kind of how the CISSP is today. I don't think it's going to get you a lot of "brownie points" with recruiters, however having it is a nice thing. For the rest, managers have been oh cool, you have your MCSE, that's good!

One of the things that does bug me is ppl who put their legacy MCSE's on their resume...like seriously??? If you live in the DC area, I think ANY type of major cert is going to get you lots of e-mails from any type of recruiter. One of the things I can't stand with regard to 8570 and the DoD is having certs like Sec+ as a basic requirement for walking in the front door. Lets get a sys admin cert in the mix like MCSA, RHCSA, etc. A lot of ppl coming into the front door with a clearance and Sec+ do the bare minimum to keep their job. Holding ppl's feet to the fire, and making it a point to learn, whether it be employer funded or self funded, will help keep the good ppl good within IT.

With the 2012 they started getting into SCVMM, and I think with 2016 you'll see more Azure placed into the exams this time around. So, that certainly helps with exposure to other MS products. Right now, I do some work with 2012 and slowly getting into 2016. The only reason I'll do the re-cert is to keep it, AND it's good for CPE credits for my other certs.

ukiltmybrutha

Thanks for the info. I think you meant Server 2016 being released this summer.

I'd still put my legacy MCSE on my resume if I don't get it lol! Also, I have gotten *some* unique DOD related opportunities simply by having my MCSE.....but what creeps me out is they'd rather focus on the MCSA 9 times out of 10.

Security...I'd say that I am approached for infrastructure roles about 70-75% of the time and the other 25-30% of the time it's Security. Makes sense, I only have a Security+ and started Security not too long ago...but the work I am involved in is work that you'd not see in the private sector (really neat stuff too) and that's as far as I can go.

I get kicked down at random for not having a CISSP.

bettsy584

I need to re-cert my MCSE Server before August.

1 - how difficult have people found 70-980?
2 - does anyone know when the 2016 MCSE exams are coming out?

Assuming it is MCSE, Microsoft like to change the acronyms every major server release