opinions on MCTIP 2008 SA

Brownie1985

Hi with ms changing there certs do people think MCTIP SA or mcsa 2008 worth going for? I have previously got mcps for 2003 networking n managing ad but not an ad exam yet which i need. As 2008 exams are surely going to be around for longer than 2003 now is this still worth going for? There is overlap with 2008 n 2003 ad bar somethings. and its easier to go for mcsa in 2008 than finish an mcsa or mcse 2003 in the current time frame and longevity of os's?

Thanks

ptilsen

They're definitely still worth going for. The vast majority of Windows server environments will be 95% Windows Server 2003 and 2008 R2. Even if 2012 is amazing, it will take years to get any serious penetration.

With that in mind, you would be extremely wise to finish MCSA 2003, even MCSE 2003 if you have the time, drive, and aptitude to complete the requirements before the exams retire. At the very least, take 70-680 (MCTS Win 7) to complete you MCSA 2003. After that, if the prospect of completing MCSE 2003 is too much, go forward with 70-648 (MCSA upgrade to 2xMCTS) and finally 70-646 to finish off MCSA 2008. If you can do that by next year, you'll have achieved, technically, six certifications in only three exams:
MCTS Win 7 Conf
MCSA 2003
MCTS Win 2008 AD
MCTS Win 2008 Net. Inf.
MCITP: SA
MCSA 2008

The last two are in fact the same cert. If it takes you past July, you will not get the MCITP title, but that is not a big deal. You're still look at five valuable certifications in the three Windows products that will dominate enterprise and SMB environments a like for years to come. After finishing those, you need only take a few more tests to upgrade to MCSA 2012 and in turn MCSE Server Infrastructure.

I will reiterate again that MCSE 2003 is still worth finishing if you truly have it in you. It will continue to be valuable even as 2003 loses market share, as it will still indicate experience and historical knowledge of the platform, which will always indicate value to employers.