News
MCDST Exams, Courses Discounted
Microsoft promoting MCDST title with exam discount available at worldwide CTECs, testing centers; courses also discounted in U.S.
For a limited time, Microsoft is offering a 20-percent discount on the MCDST
exams worldwide, available at participating Prometric and Pearson Vue testing
centers worldwide. The company is also promoting a discount on MCDST-related
training, available only within the U.S. at participating training providers.
The MCDST exams—70-271: Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Windows
XP Operating System and 70-272: Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop
Applications on a Windows XP Operating System—each retail for $125 in the
U.S.. During the promotion, however, Microsoft is discounting the exams to $100.
(Regional, non-U.S. pricing will reflect a similar 20-percent discount.) Candidates
must complete exams by August 31, 2004.
John Lewis, an IT special projects coordinator with ESCO Corp. in Portland,
Oregon, says he's "pursuing the MCDST because it is a better fit for my day-to-day
work as a support technician." Having already passed 70-271 before the promotion
went into effect, he's taking advantage of the discount for the second exam.
But Lewis thinks the difficulty of these exams should dictate pricing and would
suggest that Microsoft lower the retail price below its suggested retail. "The
271 exam was fairly easy, compared to the 'full-blown' 70-270 Windows XP exam,"
he says, adding "$125 is just really too expensive for an exam of this type."
Despite his opinion, he's happy to take advantage of the promotion. "I'm paying
for the exams myself, so cost is a consideration."
Charles Blaszczyk, a network technician with CBData Networking Solutions in
Pennsylvania, achieved charter membership without the discount, too late to
take the company up on the offer. He believes Microsoft is moving in the right
direction to help its burgeoning MCSDT community: "It shows that [Microsoft]
wants people who are new to the IT field and are starting their careers, that
they are looking out for them."
For candidates who need training, Microsoft is also extending the 20-percent
discount to its Microsoft Official Curriculum courses; the promotion applies
only to courses taken at participating U.S. training providers:
- Course 2261: Supporting Users Running the Microsoft Windows XP Operating
System (three-day, instructor-led course)
- Course 2262: Supporting Users Running Applications on a Microsoft Windows
XP Operating System (two days, instructor-led)
Courses must be completed by June 28, 2004. Microsoft states on its Web site
that the training course/exam package typically retails for $1,800 at most U.S.
CTECs.
Microsoft was unable to comment on this promotion as of this writing. For more
details on the promotion, click here;
for the exam-only promotion and code, click
here. For official MCDST track requirements, click
here.
About the Author
Michael Domingo has held several positions at 1105 Media, and is currently the editor in chief of Visual Studio Magazine.