News
Windows .NET Server Exams: Spring or Summer 2003?
The release date for the exams is "more an issue of semantics than hard deadlines"
says Microsoft; exam releases will be dictated by the software's ship date.
MCPMag.com recently reported that the release schedule of the .NET exams
would be slated for spring 2003, according to Judith Morel, Strategic Certifications
Programs, Training and Certification group at Microsoft (see, "
Windows
.NET Server Exams Slated for Spring 2003," by Becky Nagel, May 9, in
the News archive). Our report seemed to contradict a story in
eWeek two
weeks later, in which Dan Truax, Group Manager of Microsoft Certification Strategies,
pegs the date closer to summer 2003 (see "
Certs,
Exams for .NET Server Due Next Summer," by Lisa Vaas, May 21). So,
who's right?
Truax confirmed that both stories are fairly accurate, considering the state
of Windows .NET Server, explaining that "the discrepancy is more an issue
of semantics than hard deadlines." If Windows .NET Server's has an earlier
than expected launch, it's conceivable that the certification group would step
up beta efforts sooner than spring. However, with the current state of Windows
.NET Server, Dan says the schedule so far looks like this:
- Spring: Beta process begins.
- Summer: MCSA exams for Windows .NET Server released
- Fall: MCSE exams for Windows .NET Server released
The release of the Windows .NET Server exams for the MCSA/MCSE tracks has some
impact on the certification efforts of some MCSE for Windows 2000 candidates,
such as Deb Carroll, IT technician/system specialist with SAP America's Field
Support Group.
"If it were being released sooner, I would skip the Windows 2000 track,"
say Carroll. Even if the exams were released next spring, she says it should
give her her enough time to pursue Windows 2000 MCSE.
Eli Blank, president of Streamline Consulting Group in Los Angeles, who's already
an MCSE on Windows 2000, reacted to the news with a touch of pragmatism: "The
actual release of the exams has no real bearing on my certification efforts...I
believe in keeping my skills as up to date as possible."
About the Author
Michael Domingo has held several positions at 1105 Media, and is currently the editor in chief of Visual Studio Magazine.