Certification Length

friend07

I was curious how long is a certification good for? Does it have to be renewed only when a new version comes along?

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Essendon

Depends on which vendor you certify with. MS certs dont expire, Cisco ones expire every 3 years, for example.

Firemarshalbill.com

The good thing about Cisco is that taking additional professional level certification exams adds time to the associate level others. So now all my certs expire on 9/22/2012

JDMurray

Some certs will not expire while you are collecting and reporting related continuing education credits. Fail to stay up on your learning, your cert(s) will expire, and you'll need to retake the exam(s).

NinjaBoy

friend07 wrote: »

I was curious how long is a certification good for?

Depends on the vendor and subject, for instance:

1. Microsoft, the old track (MCP, MCSA, MCSE, etc) does't expire, however the new track (MCTS/MCITP, etc) retires when the support for the technology does.

2. Cisco every 3 years

3. Comptia: The certification doesn't expire, but the exam objectives that you were tested on does.

friend07 wrote: »

Does it have to be renewed only when a new version comes along?

That depends again, take for instance the MCITP: EA and the SA tracks, I got certified when 2008 came out, 2008 r2 is now out, but there is no need to for a r2 track.

Comptia will have an "upgrade" exam for a limited time for those that want to update their certification to encompass the newest objectives, but it's not compulsory.

And Cisco, you just need to sit their exams every 3 years* (generally speaking)

Hope this helps

-Ken

RobertKaucher

NinjaBoy wrote: »

Depends on the vendor and subject, for instance:

1. Microsoft, the old track (MCP, MCSA, MCSE, etc) does't expire, however the new track (MCTS/MCITP, etc) retires when the support for the technology does.

-Ken

Just to add to what Ken has written here:

Q. Is there a recertification policy for the MCITP credential?

A. We no longer require a "refresh" or recertification of the MCITP credential within three years. To better meet our customers’ needs, we now retire a certification when mainstream support for the related technology phases out. If you earned an MCITP certification before the policy change, no action is required—the updated policy applies to your certification, which will remain valid until mainstream support for the related technology ends.

Q. How long will my certification be valid?

A. All Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) certifications retire when Microsoft discontinues mainstream support for the related technology. After a credential retires, it still appears on your transcript but is listed as "inactive." In most cases, an upgrade path is available for people who have that credential, which allows them to demonstrate their skills on the newest version of the technology without completing all exams associated with the new credential. The following credentials will not be retired: Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA), Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST), Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA), Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD), and Microsoft Certified Applications Developer (MCAD).

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mcitp.aspx#tab3