Substitute exam still available for 70-412?

Hi Everyone

First post, just wondering if there is still the option to substitute 70-412 with the Hyper-V or O365 exams when completing Windows Server 2012 R2 MCSA.

Since the Certifications were refreshed in Nov 2016 can't see these options listed on the Microsoft page anymore.

Thanks everyone in advance.

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poolmanjim

From the looks of things you may have to take the 412.

If you look on the 412 exam page it mentions the MCSA
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-70-412.aspx

If you look at the 409 exam page it only mentions MCP
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/exam-74-409.aspx

I'm not finding any references to the 409 for the MCSA anymore. Unless someone finds something else, I'd say the 412 is the only way to get an MCSA 2012. There are other avenues for the MCSA now though focusing on different content areas.

dialedIn

Thanks for the reply.

Thought this might be the case. I've heard 70-412 is a real headache of a cert but can't hurt to battle through it can only be beneficial for future development.

Thanks again.

doubleo

Take one of these exams instead of 70-412 to count for MCSA WS 2012: 70-462, 70-346, 74-409.
You can see it under a certification planner option on your MCP page.

chopsticks

I'm also thinking about it. Has anyone beaten the 70-412 beast?

poolmanjim

chopsticks wrote: »

I'm also thinking about it. Has anyone beaten the 70-412 beast?

I have. It's passable it just covers some difficult areas that require a lot of focus.

craig88

Was still excepted in Jan - http://www.techexams.net/forums/mcsa-mcse-windows-2012-general/124838-74-409-done-mcsa-doneeeeeee.html

OctalDump

I think it's more problem with the new website layouts after the big revision. They've dropped a lot of information about these alternative routes.

I think if you log into MS and check the certification planner, you will get a better idea of what pathways are available.

Doing the hard work for you, the options are 410+411 and one of 462, 412, 409, 346.

urstuffplz1

I done the 70-346 myself, was a fairly straight forward exam and it gave me a good overview of half the Office 365 suite (the 347 gives a good overview for the other half). I have recently taken the 412 exam after doing a course and having a free voucher for the exam... it's a beast of an exam. I believe you can still take the alternative exams instead of 412.

Jaikora

Hey,

I have passed the 411 this morning and am looking into the 409.

The certification planner on my benefits and exams page shows its fine.
The new certification pages show that the 412 must be completed.

I called up the MS Regional Exam Center for Europe and have been told that the cert tracker is wrong and the website is up to date and the 412 must be completed.

Just wanted to check if anyone has had success with the 409 working as a substitute for the 412 for the MCSA certification recently?

greg9891

yes the 74-409 is still an option for the Mcsa. just finished my MCSA last week.

Jaikora

Excellent, thanks Greg!

kengjames

I am sitting my 70-411 exam on July 6. I read this and got confused. I passed both 70-410 and 74-409 last year. I'm now wondering if I'll still qualify for the MCSA after passing 70-411.

jagors

Can you guys access the certification planner on Microsoft Learning web site?

I did the 74-409 exam and was going to do the 70-410 and the 70-411 to get the MCSA, but, it's been a few days I can't access the certification planner to see if I can use the 74-409 for the MCSA.

kengjames

Mine says

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate: Windows Server 2012

2 out of 3 Completed

crumbs11

No, the 74-409 (and all other previously available electives) no longer count towards the 2012 MCSA.

I received the following from Microsoft when I queried why it was not showing on my transcript as credit towards the MCSA (since I just passed 74-409):

"Microsoft has updated the process about earning the [MCSA] certification. The update was completed this June 2017 and the exam 74-409 was removed as a substitute exam and all other substitute exams listed."

This needed to be made way more visible.

doubleo

That's a huge damn change. So strange they didn't publicly announce that anywhere. It's going to affect so many training facilities that offer substitute exam training.

kengjames

crumbs11 wrote: »

No, the 74-409 (and all other previously available electives) no longer count towards the 2012 MCSA.

I received the following from Microsoft when I queried why it was not showing on my transcript as credit towards the MCSA (since I just passed 74-409):

"Microsoft has updated the process about earning the [MCSA] certification. The update was completed this June 2017 and the exam 74-409 was removed as a substitute exam and all other substitute exams listed."

This needed to be made way more visible.

The certification planner is a mess right now. It says 2/3 for mine (see screenshot). But when I click the link, it says 2 requirements are needed.

Did they mention who will be affected by this change? Because I'm thinking this may only affect those who will just start with this certification track. How about those who are currently in the middle or almost done with it?

Can I get the contact info you used to contact Microsoft? I want to clarify my situtation as well.

You are right this needs to be more visible as there are a lot of people that are in the middle of the MCSA Server 2012 certification track.

Thanks!

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crumbs11

@kengjames

It was very hard to squeeze anything out of them - they do not make this easy. They directed me to fill out this form: https://support.microsoft.com/getsupport?oaspworkflow=start_1.0.0.0&wf=0&wfName=capsub&productkey=visualstudio&locale=en-us

I received a reply about two days after submitting it. Here is the full reply:

"Thank you for contacting Microsoft about earning the MCSA: Windows Server 2012 certification.

Checking on the certification path showing on the MCP Learning site, it only shows the required exams 70-410, 411 and 412 to earn the MCSA: Windows Server 2012 certification.

Microsoft has updated the process about earning the said certification. The update was completed this June 2017 and the exam 74-409 was removed as a substitute exam and all other substitute exams listed.

The paths that are posted on the Learning site are correct. If you have further questions, please refer to the specific certification page:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/mcsa-windows-server-certification.aspx

In addition, I have checked your Certification planner, and it shows that it was updated having the exam 74-409 removed as a substitute exam to earn the said certification.

If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know. David, you may receive a survey in 5-7 days about this interaction and I would appreciate your feedback..

Thank you for choosing Microsoft.

Babylyn
Customer Service Representative
Microsoft Certified Professional
Office Hours: 5:30am to 5:30pm PT, Monday - Friday"

atavius

kengjames wrote: »

The certification planner is a mess right now. It says 2/3 for mine (see screenshot). But when I click the link, it says 2 requirements are needed.

Did they mention who will be affected by this change? Because I'm thinking this may only affect those who will just start with this certification track. How about those who are currently in the middle or almost done with it?

Can I get the contact info you used to contact Microsoft? I want to clarify my situtation as well.

You are right this needs to be more visible as there are a lot of people that are in the middle of the MCSA Server 2012 certification track.

Thanks!

I have exact same thing in cert planner. Send email to MS yesterday to ask them for what is going on. No answer so far...

TechGuy626

I was highly upset with the change. I called Microsoft because I think they should honor the electives until its publically released that they will no longer except the electives. Microsoft learning is the entity you want to reach out to. They kind of performed a magic trick on test takers. They released a huge posting through born to learn and other places about the electives but slowly change their site for it to reflect the changes that exams like the 74-409 only counts toward the MCP but the cert is found under the MS. If you don't call or come to sites like this you will never know. The reason it is on some cert planners and not others either you have completed the cert for the MCSA already or the change is coming. They will recommend test takers to follow the website to get the MCSA which removes any electives and force the 412 exam. Notification of such changes should be expected. I don't think fair that some are under the impression that they are completing their MCSA but are not.

craig88

kengjames wrote: »

The certification planner is a mess right now. It says 2/3 for mine (see screenshot). But when I click the link, it says 2 requirements are needed.

Did they mention who will be affected by this change? Because I'm thinking this may only affect those who will just start with this certification track. How about those who are currently in the middle or almost done with it?

Can I get the contact info you used to contact Microsoft? I want to clarify my situtation as well.

You are right this needs to be more visible as there are a lot of people that are in the middle of the MCSA Server 2012 certification track.

Thanks!

Did you get any update on this? I'm in the same situation, passed 70-409 in 2015, 70-410 last year and have my 70-411 booked for this year.

crumbs11

Got this back from Microsoft today after complaining about the first response I received:

"We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused you.

I understand that you have exerted time, effort and money to take exam 74-409 and earn the MCSA: Windows 2012 certification.

Your feedback has been forwarded to the Business team for review. Usually, the respond within 3 - 5 business days. Once I have received an update from the team, I will immediately let you know.

If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know. Thank you for choosing Microsoft.

Jarusel
Customer Service Representative
Microsoft Certified Professional
Office Hours: 5:30am to 5:30pm PT, Monday - Friday"

caliostro

It's really unfair situation with electives, thanks some lazy managers in Microsoft. After I pass 410 in beginning May I book 411 on the and of June. But when I got access to mcp site and under cert path planner find electives , I realise, that I could easily use 409 (I really work exactly with hyper-v virtualisation on daily basis ) instead of 412. I did it and pass 409 on the end of May. Even when I check planner on the middle of the June, it was still show me 2 of 3. Now i got 411, and guess what? Yee... See you next time with 412. I complain, but didn't receive any respond from them yet. It is not about 412 itself, I'm ok to go, but I loose money and time for 74-409 and they didn't give me even a badge.

caliostro

So, to be clear, since Feb 2017 I done with 74-409, 70-410, 70-411 and 70-533. All what I have now is MCP and 2 MS. Nice. $700 for MCP.

atavius

crumbs11 wrote: »

Got this back from Microsoft today after complaining about the first response I received:

"We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused you.

I understand that you have exerted time, effort and money to take exam 74-409 and earn the MCSA: Windows 2012 certification.

Your feedback has been forwarded to the Business team for review. Usually, the respond within 3 - 5 business days. Once I have received an update from the team, I will immediately let you know.

If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know. Thank you for choosing Microsoft.

Jarusel
Customer Service Representative
Microsoft Certified Professional
Office Hours: 5:30am to 5:30pm PT, Monday - Friday"

Same here. Today I had lengthy call with Microsoft about this. Firstly they said that electives are not usable since March, which is total BS since there are people even on this forum who got it at the beginning of this month using electives - http://www.techexams.net/forums/mcsa-mcse-windows-2012-general/127337-guess-who-just-joined-mcsa-club-74-409-done.html
When I asked where they announced that electives are no longer valid option they admitted that there was no announcement and tried to persuade me that the update on the MCSA learning site is enough, which again BS, because each time they changed something so far they always announced change months ahead on their Born to learn site.
When I asked why I was able to see this path in cert planner just a week ago they said that cert planner is still undergoing changes.

When I also pointed out that I am not alone who ended up in the same situation, they played dumb and said that they are unaware of any problems...

So I pointed them to this forum and asked them to investigate what exactly is going on, because this all seems really fishy to me.

My advice to all who are affected with this is to contact Microsoft and demand answers since we are all paying customers/test takers and this behavior and changing rules on the go without notice is totally unprofessional.

caliostro

I just want at list ask them, to return my money back. They could take 74-409 cert back too, if they want.

caliostro

Got answer from representative:

"We have done some changes to multiple systems to ensure consistency across the board. The information on learning is correct but there were still outstanding issues before with what's being displayed in Cert Planner as well as the entries in Cert Path Manager."

So,sounds like even now if you decided to go some path on Microsoft site, nobody could guarantee that path is not changed on the last moment and you should take another exam. Done with 70-412 and... Oh, sorry, we have some "outstanding issues before" and you should go to 413,414 etc.

"In addition, the coding for the Cert Planner changes are already implemented in our production. Hence, exams requirements being posted on your certification planner are correct."

Yea, code of mcp site so complicated, that was absolutely impossible to attach warning message about incorrect information in Cert Planner.

"Since this has caused you some confusions, I'll forward your concern to our Technical Support team for any possible arrangements."

Ouch, we have another Support Team on board. Let see, what they say...

atavius

I just got another call from MS and it seems that they are slowly starting to admit, that there might be something wrong on their side, since they asked me if I would be willing to accept voucher for free exam for my trouble.

Their current version is that option to use electives was discontinued at the end of March 2017. When I asked them how is possible that other people were able to get MCSA using electives after this date they said that it might be possible, but they are not sure why, so they will look into it further and let me know.

stunnedsoup

Golly, what a mess this is. I called them last month to confirm if 70-409 was still an elective for 412. I got a rep in the Philippines that told me it was still good to go as an elective (she even listed the other electives as well). So when I questioned as to why the website still says 410, 411, and 412 are the only ones listed, with no mention of electives, she said "Sir, the US version of the certification page is still under construction. You can still take 70-409 to complete the MCSA Server 2012 R2. To confirm this, check out the Philippine version of the certification page. From there you can see that you can also substitute 70-412 for one of the electives to achieve MCSA."

Not sure what the deal is as I'm about to take my 410 soon.

crumbs11

Update - I received this from Microsoft today (this is from their "business team"):

[note: I passed 410, 411, and (just a few weeks ago) the 74-409]

"Once we realized that there was an issue and how it was impacting candidates, we investigated and found that it was caused by a disconnect in two systems due to them containing different data. I want to assure you that I am working with the development team to make it right for you as well as for all other candidates who are in the same situation. The last update that they provided is that candidates should see the credential on their transcript by the end of this week. If that timeline changes, I will reach out to you with revised timing."

I just checked my transcript, and it's now showing I have passed the MCSA 2012. So customer service is not dead after all and it looks like this was just a screw up. I'd proceed very carefully though if you're currently planning on taking one of these electives. Probably better to play it safe and go 410, 411, and 412.