MCSA/MCSE Now, or MCTS/MCITP/... Later?

With the brand new certifications rolling out of Microsoft, how's an IT professional supposed to choose?

Published March 24, 2006
By Ed Tittel

Whenever Microsoft introduces new certification credentials and makes it clear that a transition from an old series to a new series is in the offing, I'm usually inundated with questions from IT professionals that boil down to something like this: "Should I get my MCSA or MCSE now, or wait and get my MCTS or MCITP later?" The answer depends on a number of factors, some of them personal, others technical, and still others historical. Let's tackle these in reverse order, starting with a bit of Windows version history.

Windows History: Migrating from Version X to Version X+1

I've been following the Windows marketplace closely for over 10 years now, and have watched the NT 4 to 2000 and the 2000 to 2003/XP transitions closely and attentively. What I've observed is that while certain groups--mostly Microsoft itself, Microsoft-oriented software and hardware developers, Microsoft technology partners, IT technology companies, and a diehard crew of "early adopters"--move aggressively to migrate to new MS OSes within 6 months of their delivery, the vast majority of companies and organizations of all sizes usually wait at least 18 and sometimes as long as 36 months following a major new platform release before jumping on that bandwagon. The usual 50% crossover point--when half of all relevant server or desktop OSes ordered are for the new platform--normally occurs between 24 and 30 months following an initial release date.

Why am I telling you this? To give you some idea about how much time you have to get yourself ready, certification-wise, for the new credentials. Thus, only if you work for an early adopter do you need to be thinking about MCTS or MCITP credentials for Vista. Most of the rest of you won't need to get serious until about a year before your company or organization starts to make its move. And if history is any guide, that's somewhere between 2 and three years from now, given that because Vista Desktop has just been delayed until January, 2007, it's unlikely that Vista Server will see the light of day before late 2007 or early 2008.

Technical Certification Considerations

One of the reasons why so many companies and organizations follow behind the leading edge of migration is to give new technology time to shake itself out, demonstrate its usability and usefulness, and for the good ideas worth using to separate themselves from the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" ideas worth skipping (anybody remember "Bob", the "paperclip" in Office, or older unattended install utilities?). Likewise, you'll want to focus your cert activities around the tools, technologies, and platforms most likely to find a place themselves where you work, and do only the bare minimum to get by on questions related to other, less important stuff.

Also, a little time goes a long way for aftermarket support--namely, in waiting for self-study materials including full-blown study guides, short focused Exam Crams, practice tests, and other helpful cert prep materials. By waiting 6 or more months after an exam is released to the public before starting to prepare, you'll have access to a broad range of supporting information as well as to a fair amount of collective wisdom about what's on the exam, what topics are difficult and demand extra study or practice, and so forth.

Personal Cert Goals and Factors

When it comes to getting certified, it's also nice to have some sense of what's worth pursuing and what's not. By watching cert surveys and salary reports you can get a sense of how other IT professionals regard certain credentials, as well as what kinds of compensation and other rewards they're likely to bring along with them. You can also get a sense of how many exams are involved, how much they will cost, and what kind of time and money you'll need to get past them. This enables you to do your own personal return on investment analysis to see if an MCTS or MCITP (or some combination of multiple such credentials, as seems both likely and inevitable within Microsoft's emerging new certification programs) is worthwhile in helping you advance your career and earnings potential.

One things', for sure: If you're itching to get an MS certification sooner rather than later, MCSA and MCSE make much more sense in the short run. And because MS is usually pretty good about making it less costly and labor-intensive for those already certified to upgrade to new platforms, getting certified on Windows 2003 might make sense now for several reasons. But unless you're very close to finishing Windows 2000 credentials, there's really no reason to stay on that path (but if you are, you can do a double upgrade: first to 2003, then to MCTS and MCITP on Vista, over the next 2-3 years).

Ed Tittel is a full-time freelance writer based in Austin, TX who specializes in PC networking, security, and markup languages and on related operating systems and IT certifications. Contact Ed at etittel@spamarrest.com.