The MCSE 2003 - A Strong Certification

The Microsoft MCSE 2003 certification is a very strong cert without a doubt. Being in the training industry I speak to many IT pros on a daily basis and I have noticed how many of them seriously underestimate the difficulty of the MCSE 2003 exams. Especially those who have taken exams on Server 2000 and even more so with those who have taken NT4.0 tests.

People in IT often have larger egos than professionals in almost any other industry. The MCSE 2003 track of exams virtually grabs a lot of these egos directly by the throat and smacks them across the face really hard, without warning. Microsoft throws every last trick and twist they can into the MCSE 2003 exams and they have also made the exams more application based (so you need to know how to perform and not just answer a question). I also get the priviledge of seeing certification exam testing daily and I get to see the aftermath of these people who underestimate then fail the exams. Its often quite amusing but usually involves a lot of anger, blame, surprise, sadness and hatred all mixed together. In fact sometimes people go through stages of each immediately following a test failure - so funny...

Microsoft of course made these exams very difficult on purpose because they wanted to limit the number of MCSE (non-deserving) achievers and reduce the ability to cheat so that the value of carrying the certification would rise, and it did.

If you would like to compare the number of people in the world who currently posses the MCSE 2003 cert versus the older platform MCSE's click here. These numbers speak for themselves.

Remember, if your going for the MCSE, be ready to actually have to earn it.


Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)

Windows Server 2003 - 127,610

Windows 2000 - 290,359

Windows NT 4.0 - 395,798

MCITP - Enterprise Support Technician (EST)

I wanted to mention the upcoming major change for a certification that was just getting it's legs and really starting to become popular. The MCDST is being discontinued and is changing to the MCITP - Enterprise Support Technician (MCITP-EST).

Basically what's happening is Microsoft is restructuring many / almost all of their IT certifications to be part of the MCITP series. So MCSA and MCSE are becoming MCITP Server Administrator and MCITP Enterprise Administrator respectively. The MCDST is becoming the MCITP-EST. These changes are all taking place because of the shift in focus to the Vista operating system.

I understand the change in material, sure, its time to upgrade and support the new product, etc. I don't understand the change in name of the certification.

Microsoft is a leader of the IT industry and has been seen throughout time as a truly great marketing company. The MCDST is a cert that Microsoft tried to push for years to provide the industry with a more entry level systems administration certification that was purely Microsoft based. Well, for the last year or so the MCDST has finally formed into a well known and respected certification. I think the MCITP-EST name recognition will eventually catch up to where the MCDST's name recognition is now, but there is going to be at least a one year set back (if not longer) because of this.

The IT industry, as we all know, relies heavily on certifications. Certifications never come out and immediately have great strength. It always take time to grow popularity and respect for a cert. Also, certs are great money makers for vendors too, so Microsoft is likely to lose some money on this change over.

Needless to say I dont like the name change. MS should have stuck with the MCDST name and maybe gone with MCDST-V (V for Vista).

CEH is Pretty Cool

OK, so apparently the CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) is pretty darn cool. Obviously the buzz about it has been out for some time, but now, more people are getting the cert than ever. I guess many people are being shoved in that direction because of the DoD Directive 8570, but this area of IT is really catching wind.

The CEH class (when taught by an EC Council Authorized ATC) is a hands on experience that takes you through the processes of network intrusion and penetration testing. Hack into a box, hack into the next and then hack into the next (all live in the classroom) and then hit your destination from that virtually undetectable route. Awesome. A major drawback for me though, was having to realize how vulnerable info really is.

So CEH is the starting point for network intrusion vulnerability detection and prevention. CHFI hits the next level. Cool stuff, keep your eye on it, since it's probably the most fun you can have in a classroom, it will keep growing into more things. Watch this one...