MCSA: Windows 10 Released

https://borntolearn.mslearn.net/b/weblog/archive/2015/12/07/certification-update-mcsa-windows-10-released

Microsoft is pleased to announce the release of an MCSA: Windows 10 certification for IT professionals. This credential demonstrates expertise to configure, manage, and maintain a Windows 10 enterprise system.

The new certification incorporates the recently released Exam 697: Configuring Windows Devices, which helps Windows 8 administrators upgrade their skills to Windows 10. The complete MCSA certification is earned by passing all three of the following exams:

The MCSA: Windows 10 certification will be available starting December 14, 2015.
With the continuing importance of Exams 687 and 688 to earning the new credential, the MCSA: Windows 8 credential will also remain active until July 31, 2016.
For more details on the new MCSA: Windows 10 credential, please visit the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate landing page on December 14, 2015..

Just to add to the confusion.

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OctalDump

someperson49 wrote: »

Just to add to the confusion.

Yes, that's exactly what that is.

Where does it leave 689? I am assuming that will still give you MCSA Windows 8. So, the 697 is like another upgrade exam?

I guess we wait until 14 December to see what the official word is, and maybe they will finally remove the MCSA Windows 7 from their pages and update the retirement date details... The MCSA Windows 7 is finally on the retired certifications list, despite never having had an official retirement date announced on the MS pages (just Fall 2015).

Still not clear what 398 is for, but it sounds like it might replace the 687/688 requirement.

TacoRocket

OctalDump wrote: »

Yes, that's exactly what that is.

Where does it leave 689? I am assuming that will still give you MCSA Windows 8. So, the 697 is like another upgrade exam?

I guess we wait until 14 December to see what the official word is, and maybe they will finally remove the MCSA Windows 7 from their pages and update the retirement date details... The MCSA Windows 7 is finally on the retired certifications list, despite never having had an official retirement date announced on the MS pages (just Fall 2015).

Still not clear what 398 is for, but it sounds like it might replace the 687/688 requirement.

If you go to the home page for borntolearn. There's a post that has retirement updates which notes that the 687-688 are extended to the July date. However the 689 will still be retired in January.

OctalDump

TacoRocket wrote: »

If you go to the home page for borntolearn. There's a post that has retirement updates which notes that the 687-688 are extended to the July date. However the 689 will still be retired in January.

Yeah, the retirement dates for the exams have been on the MS certification website for a little while now. I guess the news is confirmation that the MCSA Windows 8 will stay around until the exams retire.

someperson49

From the link above, the writer has replied to a few comments

@All - Thanks for all of the feedback!
@Nik - While upgrade Exam 689 will be retired on 31-January, we will add that (and Exam 692) as alternatives to 687/688 for the new MCSA: Windows 10.
@Elias - Exam 398 is designed as a cloud-focused parallel to current Exams 695/696, as, as such, will play a role in a future MCSE option.
@Andrew - MCSA: Windows Server 2012 will have its own upgrade path when the new Windows Server exams are released next year.
@Mark - No, Exam 697 only applies to the MCSA level.

@Nik - My apologies. Exam 689 and 692 are already options for earning the new MCSA: Windows 10, as our system evaluating candidates on MCSA: Windows 8 + Exam 697. For clarity, we are listing the three most likely component exams that would be taken by candidates new to this certification.

stunnedsoup

Thanks for the post.

So, if I am not mistaken, by just taking the 697 you will earn a MCP. However, if you want to earn a MCSA, you have to wait until Spring 2016 for the Windows 10 "administration exam" to come out? <-- in addition to passing the 697?

Cheers.

culpano

This is so confusing. Does this mean that passing 70-687 and 70-688 before July 31st now means MCSA Windows 8.1 again ?
Why are they mixing up/combining Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 exams ? Ridiculous.

You need another exam in itself to understand all this !!!

someperson49

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/mcsa-windows-8-certification.aspx

Note The MCSA: Windows 8 certification is retiring in July 2016. See the lists of retired exams and retired certifications for more information.

[TH][/TH]
[TH]Exam[/TH]

Retiring on July 31, 2016

70-687: Configuring Windows 8.1
70-688: Supporting Windows 8.1
70-689: Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows 8
70-692: Upgrading Your Windows XP Skills to MCSA Windows 8

culpano

I can sort of understand the logic of keeping the Windows 8.1 exams and bolting on a Windows 10 exam but they keep changing dates ! I sold my 70-688 books after MS confirming the MCSA was retiring end November and I thought I didn't have enough time to do the second exam. Very thoughtless - they should have checked with me first !

Spiegel

So let me get this straight. In order to get MCSA Windows 10 certified you need to pass the 687 and 688 exams for Windows 8 plus the 697?

According to the site it states that "You can upgrade your MCSA Windows 8 certification to MCSA Windows 10", kinda sounds like an option. Meaning that 697 is the only exam you need to take, or am I reading this wrong?

Spiegel

I went ahead and spoke with a Microsoft rep. According to him you need to have MCSA: Windows 8 certification before you can earn a MCSA: Windows 10. If you take Exam 70-697 without MCSA: Windows 8 certification, you will have Microsoft Specialist certification in Windows 10.

So I'm guessing this will be the way to get your MCSA for Win 10 until Win 8 version expires officially.

bwillford

Any update on this? Or does anyone expect an update anytime soon? I would like to pursue MCSA Windows 10 but do not currently hold any other microsoft certifications and feel like studying windows 8 would be a waste...

Svoboda

bwillford wrote: »

Any update on this? Or does anyone expect an update anytime soon? I would like to pursue MCSA Windows 10 but do not currently hold any other microsoft certifications and feel like studying windows 8 would be a waste...

In the same boat myself.

Kashee

I've got the same issue. Hopefully Microsoft makes it clear.

culpano

bwillford wrote: »

Any update on this? Or does anyone expect an update anytime soon? I would like to pursue MCSA Windows 10 but do not currently hold any other microsoft certifications and feel like studying windows 8 would be a waste...

It's not a waste to study Windows 8 at all. The majority of technologies you have to learn are the same in Win 7/8/10. Bitlocker, Branchcache, GPOs, Powershell, the architecture of the OS itself, WinPE etc etc. The only differences are some interface changes, some newer technologies in Win 10. Biggest overall change in Windows 10 is the way it updates. It'n now Windows as a service and there will be no other new releases of Windows, it will just be a gradual update of Windows 10 through MS update process.

A few other technologies that Win 8 and Win 10 have in common are Storage Spaces, Windows to Go and Hyper-V.

Windows 8 is very relevant !

Networking_Student

I spoke to a representative earlier about this MCSA. It is by far the most mentally deficient and backwardscertification system I've ever seen.

"Hey, you want to be certified on the latest and last operating system we are ever going to release per our press conferences? Take the MCSA exams to the operating system we just killed off entirely making you have to illegally pirate our operating system to practice on it and gain experience on it needed to pass our MCSA exams before you take the windows 10 exam and get MCSA Windows 10! But screw logic! We want you to focus on a dead operating system we MADE YOU upgrade from if you wanted continued technical support and security updates".

Their marketing team needs to be terminated en mass, as do their certification map authorities. Every one of them should be terminated and have NO BUSINESS being involved with professional development of IT professionals on their systems, or their marketing.

It's stupid beyond words and makes me wonder if Microsofts marketing teams hire people outside of high school students on this ridiculous oversight and beyond stupid set up.

I'm not kidding, I was FURIOUS when the rep was telling me this, pretty much told me I HAVE TO pirate windows 8 without directly saying I need to pirate windows 8 in order to study for the certifications to this exam.

But hey, I can get MCP certification for windows 10 at least while wasting my time on a dead operating system that has never seen the inside of a production environment, but WTH do I know?

Networking_Student

culpano wrote: »

It's not a waste to study Windows 8 at all. The majority of technologies you have to learn are the same in Win 7/8/10. Bitlocker, Branchcache, GPOs, Powershell, the architecture of the OS itself, WinPE etc etc. The only differences are some interface changes, some newer technologies in Win 10. Biggest overall change in Windows 10 is the way it updates. It'n now Windows as a service and there will be no other new releases of Windows, it will just be a gradual update of Windows 10 through MS update process.

A few other technologies that Win 8 and Win 10 have in common are Storage Spaces, Windows to Go and Hyper-V.

Windows 8 is very relevant !

Ummm.... Windows 7 to windows 8 have hardly any relation. They completely changed the Kernel in windows 7 and again in 8/8.1. WIndows 10 was a total overhual and rebuild of windows 8. The streaming engine of windows 8 was also modified. In windows 10 it doesn't handle media or project itself into an ISO the same manner windows 8 does.

The way it takes GPOs is also different. I'm reading the Windows 10 book right now, and compared to Windows 7 there's literally almost no relation outside of some of the GUI file locations and file explorer. Navigation is different, and powershell isn't 100% the same to automate tasks. And deploying from server 2012R2 or 2016 tech preview to Windows 10 is also different in how it handles, I don't have some of the boxes to pxeboot and remotely install or reimage or create images as I did for windows 7.

I'm finding HUGE differences between 7 and 10.. As far as windows 8, waiting to get a hold of a pirated ISO before I can do anything.

AMD4EVER

Since they are planning on letting 687 and 688 retire in another few months there must be plans of replacing them with actual Windows 10 cert tests. This is still really weird that they came out with just an upgrade path and no way to get it from scratch without doing Windows 8 tests.

culpano

Networking_Student wrote: »

Ummm.... Windows 7 to windows 8 have hardly any relation.

Rubbish. I would agree with your statement if you were comparing XP to Vista.

supallcomm

Hey all, is there any new information for Win10 certs?

Piers

Nothing new, still only upgrade option from Window 8, or 697 + 698 for MCSA

supallcomm wrote: »

Hey all, is there any new information for Win10 certs?

bub9001

What a bunch of rubbish!!!

#1 reason why I dislike Microsoft's Certification process. If you wait 2 years they move the finish line every time.

I cannot be the only person that really dislikes the fact that Microsoft killed off the Single exam upgrade for Windows 8.1?

Well, I need to get busy and shell out some $$$ for poor old Micro$oft.