Passed Microsoft 70-697 Today (04/06/2019)!

sensitivestoic

After months of studying I finally passed the 70-697 today notching Windows 10 MCSA certification! *Whew* Just before the April retirement deadline. Score: 785/700. I'm shocked, because I was sweating bullets and felt the source material was more ambiguous due to the more cloud/Azure oriented focus. But, I did it! Now the question is where to go from here.

In the long run I think the MCSE Server 2016 route would be a good track. Combine that with PMP and some base certifications along the way like CompTIA Server+ and Project+ to prop up foundational knowledge and I think I'll make good headway on being a well-rounded Helpdesk/IT Consultant. Thoughts or any nuggets of wisdom? The updated Modern Desktop Associate track doesn't seem to dramatically change the MCSA I just completed. But, Microsoft does like to keep us on our toes.

Thanks to all in the community who helped and supported me to make these accomplishments possible!

Cheers,

wiredtitan

Congrats!

There is definitely demand for someone who can cross the gap between technical acumen and business focused missions. If well rounded-ness is what you're looking for, you're definitely on track.

securitychops

Congrats on the pass!

Johnhe0414

Awesome! Congratulations!

Infosec_Sam

Congratulations on the pass! I think with Server+, Project+, and PMP, you could make a case to land a service desk manager job if that's your jam. Otherwise, you could continue with the Microsoft certs and pivot into a Sysadmin/Cloud Admin role if you want to stick to technical roles. I think you're at the right point to pursue either track!

sensitivestoic

Infosec_Sam said:

Congratulations on the pass! I think with Server+, Project+, and PMP, you could make a case to land a service desk manager job if that's your jam. Otherwise, you could continue with the Microsoft certs and pivot into a Sysadmin/Cloud Admin role if you want to stick to technical roles. I think you're at the right point to pursue either track!

In all honesty as someone whose academic background wasn't IT or Computer Science, the prospect or scope of understanding a Cloud Admin role is a bit foreign to me. Naturally I've tried to dive into InTune, SCCM, Azure AD management with my MCSA certifications. But understanding how that is dynamically evolving and growing with modern cloud technologies paints a blurry picture regarding what a career path would look like for Cloud specialization. Do you see it as just a future Sys Admin role? Or, do you have any resources to help a small company admin understand the larger "enterprise/industry" perspective?

Thanks.

Infosec_Sam

You know, that's a great question, and it took me a while to find an answer. Here's a Microsoft blog post on how the cloud changes the role of the SysAdmin. I wouldn't think it would be anything too drastic, but it might take some getting used to. There's a lot more virtualization, which can be good or bad, I suppose. No network admin to blame connectivity issues on!

MrNetTek

You made it just before retirement of that exam. Congrats!