Am I on the right track?

A bit about me first.

Started programming in 1981 using assembly language and C on PCs. Did that for 3 years and then went to work for a consultanting company where I programmed in Basic on a VAX system for the next 6 years.

Got back into PCs in early 1992 using Basic and was one of the first people in the province I live in to get certificated as a MCSE. In 1995 I took a job as an IT Manager, where the level of programming dropped off, but I still managed to do a fair bit of it using Visual Basic/ASP and later on .NET and C#.

After 14 years I got laid off, so now at the age of 49 I need to upgrade my technical skill set as I really don't want to end up in a boring management position for the remainder of my work career.

It appears to get the asp.net certification, I need the following:

Exam 70-536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation

Exam 70-562: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, ASP.NET Application Development

Exam 70-564: PRO: Designing and Developing ASP.NET Applications Using Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

The Self Paced Study Guide for the 70-536 exam appears to be this book:

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft® .NET Framework 2.0—Application Development Foundation?

I am confused as this is the study guide for .NET Framework 2.0 and the certification path seems to be for .NET 3.5 ... Is this correct?

For exams 70-562 and exam 70-564, I have not been able to find any self study guides? Is there some out there?

As I am off work and have limited funds and I really can't afford the full up courses.

Also does anyone know the cost of taking each exam? I think I read it was USD $125?

Thanks in advance for any responses.
Dave.

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jbrown414

The MS exams are $125.

The 70-536 is now geared towards .NET in general. Here is an insert from MS about it.

Exam 70-536 is designed to measure your knowledge of .NET development fundamentals and is not tied to a particular version of .NET. Since the exam is now applicable to both Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 certification tracks, we have changed the name of the exam. Formerly TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 – Application Development Foundation, Exam 70-536 is now called TS: Microsoft .NET Framework, Application Development Foundation. If you are a .NET 2.0 developer, you do not need to learn .NET 3.5 to pass Exam 70-536; conversely, if you are a .NET 3.5 developer, you do not need to review .NET 2.0 to pass the exam.

Check out this link for more.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/certifications.mspx#TOOLS

New 70-536 book: http://www.amazon.com/MCTS-Self-Paced-Training-Exam-70-536/dp/0735626197/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229614306&sr=1-3

70-562: http://www.amazon.com/MCTS-Self-Paced-Training-Exam-70-562/dp/073562562X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229614228&sr=1-1

Also, .NET 3.5 is relatively new so you might be better off going for the .NET 2.0 stuff as it is the most current.

EDIT: Added more relevant info.

DeepCode

You simply have to take 70-536 (foundations - .net 2.0) and 70-528 ( Web apps .net 2.0). As an assembly/C coder, I don't think these exams will be challenging to you as far as the material is concerned. The 536 study guide is voluminous (1000+ pages)

JDMurray

Don't take the material too lightly. No matter what you code, you still need to learn OOD and the .NET Framework to pass the exams.

MidLiveUpgrade

jbrown414 wrote:

70-562: http://www.amazon.com/MCTS-Self-Paced-Training-Exam-70-562/dp/073562562X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229614228&sr=1-1

Good stuff, exactly what I was looking for,

Thanks,

JDMurray wrote:

Don't take the material too lightly. No matter what you code, you still need to learn OOD and the .NET Framework to pass the exams.

I recall from the SE and OCP certifications that you really need to know the stuff in order to pass.

Although it does seem a lot easier today with so many sites offering practice questions. When I did my SE in 94, all you had was the manual or self study course, no second party books or websites, so I will stick with that approach and really understand the stuff.

I am also currently taking the securities exchange course, so with that certification along with my MCPD I should be able to get a higher charge out rate as I will be doing (or hope to be doing) contract work for the Government Financial department.

Thanks again for the feed back, anything else is most welcome.

Dave.

MCPWannabe

That's the key. Expect a learning curve on object oriented programming. It's a different way of thought and concepts like polymorphism and drive old-timers crazy. So, give it time and work hard. Within time, you'll regain your programming groove and get a nice payday.

jbrown414

Be careful with some sites and their practice questions. Some places use actual questions from the tests and that is illegal.

MidLiveUpgrade

MCPWannabe wrote:

Expect a learning curve on object oriented programming.

Well I am not totally new to OOD as I did learn JAVA when it first came out, but dropped it when C# came out, which I have been programming in ever since in ... Having said that I am sure there are many holes in my overall knowledge base, which I hope to fill during this certification process.

This might be out of line, but does anyone have links to other forums dealing with MCPD?

Thanks,
Dave.

JDMurray

MidLiveUpgrade wrote:

This might be out of line, but does anyone have links to other forums dealing with MCPD?

Microsoft's newsgroups are always the first place to look: microsoft.public.cert.developer.mcpd

All others I've run across are a bit too "dumpy." There are some legit programming cert blog articles at blogs.msdn.com, like http://blogs.msdn.com/gerryo/archive/2008/06/05/what-s-up-with-the-new-mcpd-exams.aspx and http://blogs.msdn.com/trika/archive/2008/04/18/net-framework-3-5-certifications.aspx#8572959