Anybody ever order your MCTS Certificate from Microsoft?

I recently passed my first M$ exam and I noticed that you have to pay $10 to receive the certificate.

Does anybody how know big the actual certificate is or what the level of quality is? Is the seal on it real or is it just ink?

P.S. I searched this thread, but there is no mention of the size or seal and the certs being discussed are older.

Thanks in advance

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Comments

ptilsen

No. I really don't see the value. If you really want to frame and hang a certificate, I'm sure the printed one is just fine. The paper is not necessary or even useful in proving you have the certification, so I can't see any need for it.

joshmadakor

ptilsen wrote: »

No. I really don't see the value. If you really want to frame and hang a certificate, I'm sure the printed one is just fine. The paper is not necessary or even useful in proving you have the certification, so I can't see any need for it.

That's cool, but I asked specific questions about the quality of the certificate for those who have purchased it.

ptilsen

joshmadakor wrote: »

That's cool, but I asked specific questions about the quality of the certificate for those who have purchased it.

Your thread title is a question, and I answered that question.

joshmadakor

ptilsen wrote: »

Your thread title is a question, and I answered that question.

Thank you so much for answering it! I can't imagine they would charge $10 for just a piece of thick paper, so I'm hoping it's good you know?

Hypntick

I haven't, however when I finish the 646 up i'll go ahead and get my MCITP one sent to me. Work for some reason is wanting us to hang them, so I figured if they're gonna frame it, may as well get a decent one. They're ugly enough as it is, yellow and blue, just look kinda tacky.

ptilsen

joshmadakor wrote: »

Thank you so much for answering it! I can't imagine they would charge $10 for just a piece of thick paper, so I'm hoping it's good you know?

Microsoft charged over $100 for Windows ME, IIRC, and it was far less useful then a thick piece of paper.

Humor aside, I'm very serious in my insinuation that Microsoft would charge money for something that was crappy and worthless. Most businesses would. "Everything is worth what it's purchaser will pay." Perhaps I am too stingy, but I would not pay $0.10 for an embroidered certificate I've already spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on when the sub-one-cent printed PDF will do.

joshmadakor

Thanks for the replies. I suppose what you're saying is true pt, it's worth what people will pay. I guess I'll see how it is when it gets here!

erpadmin

ptilsen wrote: »

Microsoft charged over $100 for Windows ME, IIRC, and it was far less useful then a thick piece of paper.

I would rather pay Microsoft $10 each for every certificate I'm entitled to, than spend $100 for a crappy O/S like Windows ME....(at the time it came out, of course...lol. I was smart enough to stick with W2K Pro...)

More humor aside, I hate Microsoft's slickness when it comes to charging for their certificates....carbon footprint nonsense. I'm with Hyp, though...and just get the MCITP:EA cert.

I'd rather have Voltron than the individual lions anyway.

MentholMoose

joshmadakor wrote: »

I recently passed my first M$ exam and I noticed that you have to pay $10 to receive the certificate.

If you are going to take more exams you can wait and order multiple certificates at once. Last I checked it was $10 for one but only $1 for additional ones added to the same order. If it's urgent you can just print the PDF and order multiple certificates at a later date.

joshmadakor wrote: »

Does anybody how know big the actual certificate is or what the level of quality is? Is the seal on it real or is it just ink?

It's standard 8.5 by 11. The paper and print quality is good, but the seal is printed in ink. I last ordered a certificate over a year ago so things may have improved.

The certificates originally did have metallic seals. My first three MCTS certificates (received in early 2009) have metallic seals, so they actually look better (shiny = good

) than my MCITP: EA certificate (from late 2009) which came with a printed seal.

joshmadakor

MentholMoose wrote: »

If you are going to take more exams you can wait and order multiple certificates at once. Last I checked it was $10 for one but only $1 for additional ones added to the same order. If it's urgent you can just print the PDF and order multiple certificates at a later date.

It's standard 8.5 by 11. The paper and print quality is good, but the seal is printed in ink. I last ordered a certificate over a year ago so things may have improved.

The certificates originally did have metallic seals. My first three MCTS certificates (received in early 2009) have metallic seals, so they actually look better (shiny = good ) than my MCITP: EA certificate (from late 2009) which came with a printed seal.

Ah very interesting! Thanks for the good information. Rep+

powerfool

Yep... print it yourself...

I received certificates from Microsoft when they automatically mailed them to you and did not charge. Since they started charging, I haven't ordered any. To be honest, I don't even think I could find my old certificates. Cisco still mails you certs for free.

They aren't really worth anything unless you want to frame them and hang them. I wouldn't do that for an MCTS that builds up to an MCITP... just do the MCITP. If your life is SCOM or SCCM, then maybe you do it for those, because that is all there is, however.

Saundie

The quality of the certificates seems pretty good, though I didn't get any of the free ones that Microsoft used to give out, so I can't compare them. Unfortunately you cannot specify what paper size the certificates are printed on when you order them, which meant I got mine in letter format rather than standard A4. Obviously this won't be a problem if you're in the US!

They really aren't worth having unless you want to frame them - we have a wall in the office for certifications which is the only reason I bought one.

Excellent1

I have copies of my MCTS and MCITP simply because I was curious like you. The quality is good, but, like all of my other certs, they sit buried in a folder/binder out of sight. I personally think the MS certs are ugly. So far, the ones that I think look the best are the ones from Cisco, simply because they are simple and use more conservative colors. The MS certs look like a clown car collided with a rainbow in terms of coloration (heavy on the yellow for MCTS / heavy on the orange for MCITP).

Anyway, if you want to hang them up, I'd spring for the $10 certificate. Also, when I bought mine, I'm thinking each additional certificate was like 1 buck, so I ordered 2 of each. It's crazy, I know, but it made me feel better about getting 2 for $11 vs 1 for $10. :P

Mike-Mike

powerfool wrote: »

Cisco still mails you certs for free.

to be fair, I think Cisco gives you the choice of a digital copy or a physical copy for free. And then if you choose physical, and then go back and get a digital copy, you have to pay for said digital copy..... which I thought was crazy when I got the CCENT.

Mike-Mike

Excellent1 wrote: »

The MS certs look like a clown car collided with a rainbow in terms of coloration

this cracked me up