Are Microsoft/Cisco certifications worth it?

I have thought about getting my CCNA and MCSE in server 2008 but I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble to get these certifications as I would have to re-certify as they eventually expire. One of my teachers has been pushing me to get my MCSE. So is it worth the trouble to get and maintain these certifications?

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

veritas_libertas

networker050184 wrote: »

Well, were you actually expecting anyone on these forums to think certifications are not worth it? If you were looking for someone to tell you they are worth it you came to the right place, but if you were looking for a mixed base of opinions you came to the wrong place.

That's like going to the NRA forums and asking if they think guns should be illegal!

Nice...

Paul Boz

Of course they're worth it. That's a silly question honestly. I don't think anyone here would argue that (since that's why we're all here).

exampasser

networker050184 wrote: »

Well, were you actually expecting anyone on these forums to think certifications are not worth it? If you were looking for someone to tell you they are worth it you came to the right place, but if you were looking for a mixed base of opinions you came to the wrong place.

That's like going to the NRA forums and asking if they think guns should be illegal!

I succeeded in getting everyone’s attention though, so this was in a way an experiment. I could have rephrased my question like “how much worth are held in Microsoft/Cisco certifications and how have they helped you advance in your career?” but my original title gets more attention lol.

Paul Boz

exampasser wrote: »

have they helped you advance in your career?

Infinitely.

exampasser

Paul Boz wrote: »

Of course they're worth it. That's a silly question honestly. I don't think anyone here would argue that (since that's why we're all here).

I just phrased my question that way to grab people's attention.

dynamik

exampasser wrote: »

I succeeded in getting everyone’s attention though, so this was in a way an experiment. I could have rephrased my question like “how much worth are held in Microsoft/Cisco certifications and how have they helped you advance in your career?” but my original title gets more attention lol.

However, you might have gotten more useful responses had you asked a more level-headed question.

Now you just get stuff like:

RobertKaucher wrote: »

You're lucky that's all you got!

That's what she said (fortunately the ointment I got cleared everything up).

Aldur

dynamik wrote: »

Didn't your have something like a six-day ride on horseback just to get to the airport? Or was that before you moved to Canada?

sheesh, it's only a 3 day ride....

sagewalkinthere

RobertKaucher wrote: »

It would be nice to get the feedback from those who have taken an 83 series exam...

I passed the 83-640 with an 800 score. I love these new exams... waaaaaay better than just working with multiple choice questions. I really feel like I've learned something when I have to do the vitual labs.

I also think they're easier than the old exams if you know what you're doing. You don't have to memorize as much on paper, but you have to actually *know* how to do stuff on the server. Much better.

Hyper-Me

HeroPsycho wrote: »

A few distinctions.

MCSE does not expire. MCITP according to Microsoft will expire, but to recertify, you simply need to pass the applicable MCTS exams for the new versions of the product you're working with. For example, I should only need to take the replacement for 70-236 when I recertify for MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator for Exchange 2010. You only need to do that before mainstream support ends for the version you are certified in. As far as I'm concerned, that's more than fair and a reasonable workload to keep my certification updated.

You cannot get MCSE in Windows 2008. It is covered by the MCITP track.

What you stated is true. I do think, though, that the "retiring" is sort of irrelevent. Because anyone who takes their career seriously is going to be upgrading in a timely manner anyway. The MCSE might not "retire' but it certainly becomes irrelevent at a point-in-time. As such, people with MCSE's will upgrade to more relevent technology and so will the serious MCITP EA guys.

Just because an NT4 MCSE doesnt expire, doesnt mean that someone that only has that credential wont get laughed at when applying for a Server 2008 engineer job.

AlexMR

JEEEZ, what a bunch of crap on that "Certification Schmertification: Why They Are Useless" blog. Jesus. I really hate the guy who post that link for wasting my valuable, unemployed, time.

The whole thing is absolutely stupid nonsense. I mean, the other guy was probably a CCENT and decided to... reset the router or whatever...I mean, are we going to say that Yale and Harvard University are crap because they let graduate.... hmm...ok, you know.

I only wanted to say that there are two important thing that make certifications worth getting: 1) there is nobody more capable of creating a program with the relevance to the market than vendors. 2) It is the best way to let know employers that you are up to date with the technologies they require to support their businesses.

What is the relevance of a 1989 computer degree from Stanford University? It only tells employers that you are very VERY dedicated and POSSIBLY bright, but nothing more. When you hold a CCNP, a MSCE or whatever, it is likely that you have the a very good grasp of the knowledge those certifications require.

That kind of person is the one who never does anything because they'd rather complain about the few things they dont have control over (uncertainty, chance or whatever you want to call it) and do nothing about the things they can control.

HeroPsycho

dynamik wrote: »

That's what she said (fortunately the ointment I got cleared everything up).

Well played, sir!

exampasser

In spite of me purposely asking a question that people would reply with an obvious "yes", I see this is a great community. There have been a lot of thoughtful responses on this thread than I ever imagined. Maybe for my next experiment I should ask a question in Spanish? Don’t worry I won’t push my luck lol. There is a lot of friendly and helpful people here.:D

tpatt100

Seriously though don't get any certs or college, its not worth it.

Wait until I achieve my CISO goal then go for it

veritas_libertas

tpatt100 wrote: »

Seriously though don't get any certs or college, its not worth it.

Wait until I achieve my CISO goal then go for it

Funny, I was thinking the same thing as I read through this.

Kasor

If you are working on cisco products on your job, then CCNA, CCNP and any Cisco Certs will help you a lot. Otherwise, I don't see any point to go after for renewal after you already have CCNA one time.

tenrou

If Microsoft are moving to a single recertification exam in the future then I'll be doing cartwheels around the room.

I'm MCSE at the momment and I'll do the 3 to upgrade to MCITP:EA but the though of having to do that along with the Messaging track every 3 years is really not fun. If they can bring that down to a single exam per track then I would be rather pleased.

I'm a big fan of the cisco recertification model.

It's not so bad when you're younger with a bit more free time but you just don't have the time later in life.

dynamik

Last I heard, there was no upgrade for the Exchange 2010 MCITP since they just dropped it down to two exams anyway.

HeroPsycho

Hyper-Me wrote: »

What you stated is true. I do think, though, that the "retiring" is sort of irrelevent. Because anyone who takes their career seriously is going to be upgrading in a timely manner anyway. The MCSE might not "retire' but it certainly becomes irrelevent at a point-in-time. As such, people with MCSE's will upgrade to more relevent technology and so will the serious MCITP EA guys.

Just because an NT4 MCSE doesnt expire, doesnt mean that someone that only has that credential wont get laughed at when applying for a Server 2008 engineer job.

Generally agree, although there are plenty of people who might not upgrade a cert and still take their careers seriously. I could see a day coming where I might not upgrade my Exchange MCITP if I stop being interested in Exchange, or the market for Exchange engineers goes south. Or maybe you're transitioning to management, and don't need so many technical certs (or any tech certs for that matter). If I went to a position where let's say I was a VMware architect, I definitely could see myself not bothering with upgrading my MCITP for Exchange, although admittedly I probably would anyway.

From a "marketing yourself" perspective though, expiring certs do matter versus others. Someone who is an MCSE NT can still put in their resume they're an MCSE. The problem is recruiters and employers often don't care to look or ask which version their MCSE is.

"You're an MCSE?"
"Yes."
"GREAT!"

That is where expiring certs will help. You simply cannot say you're an MCITP anymore if you let it expire. And I think MCTS certs not expiring while being version specific is exactly how it should be. I should always be an MCTS in Exchange 2007, but I shouldn't be an MCITP in Exchange once E2K7 isn't being deployed anymore unless I learn the current version.

HeroPsycho

dynamik wrote: »

Last I heard, there was no upgrade for the Exchange 2010 MCITP since they just dropped it down to two exams anyway.

If Microsoft follows their original plan, upgrading would simply be passing MCTS exam for E2K10.

But I notice that isn't what they did with SQL 2005 -> 2008 MCITP upgrades...