MCSA down – what next?

After retaliating against a narrow defeat by giving the Exchange exam (284) a second-shot wholloping, I've very recently become an MCSA(: Messaging, even). Now the dust has settled I'm trying to weigh up which path to take next – and am considering between going for the full MCSE or "upgrading" to the 2008 MCITP:SA; both paths leading ultimately to the 2008 MCITP:SE certification. Currently I'm managing a rather small 2003-based network, but am going to be migrating (to Australia) in a few months, and am planning on getting my teeth into something more elaborate then!

There seem to be less exams involved in doing things the 2008 way, but most job adverts I look at are still mentioning MCSA/Es rather than the new certs and so in terms of opportunities it may make more sense to go for the MCSE. Additionally, although the 291 is a semi-distant memory now, if other posts are to be believed if I dredge that back up then the 293 should be pretty accessible; I've not even looked at a Server 2008 machine yet so there's certainly more of a learning curve there. The final thought into my conundrum is that the probably most useful exam for me right now is the Vista client one (which I'll need at some point in any case); however it's not needed for the MCSE and if it's similar to the XP one then I'm not particularly looking forward to the excitement factor of that one.

Anyone got any helpful thoughts to add/assist me? Thanks in advance!

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Comments

nicklauscombs

I don't see any reason for you not to get the MCSE then upgrade to Enterprise Administrator, 2003 isn't going anywhere for a good amount of time plus the certification is a powerful one to have

astorrs

nicklauscombs wrote:

I don't see any reason for you not to get the MCSE then upgrade to Enterprise Administrator, 2003 isn't going anywhere for a good amount of time plus the certification is a powerful one to have

+1

HR staff will still be looking for "MCSE" when Windows 2012 comes out.

RobertKaucher

Jon,

I don't know anything about the market in your area or your experience. If you have 3+ years of network admin experience and companies in your area are looking to migrate to 2008 then I would day go for the NCITP SA. But I imagine that is not the case based on my experience on the other side of the pond. Here in Ohio the MCSA seems to have little value unless backed by some good experience and most companies are looking for MCSEs. Even those companies who are intending on adopting 2008 servers into their infrastructure are really only doing so as member servers, so they still need good MCSEs. I say finish the MCSE!

Sie

astorrs wrote:

nicklauscombs wrote:

I don't see any reason for you not to get the MCSE then upgrade to Enterprise Administrator, 2003 isn't going anywhere for a good amount of time plus the certification is a powerful one to have

+1

HR staff will still be looking for "MCSE" when Windows 2012 comes out.

+1 on you +1, MCSE is still the best choice following your MCSA at the time of writting this (IMHO)

jonwilford

Thanks for the quick and seemingly conclusive replies; MCSE looks like the most sensible way to go for several reasons so it looks like the 293 will be next up for me then. Thanks