Earlier this year (or last fiscal year :-), I participated in a grueling three-week training and passed four exams (one of them a lab exam) to become one of just a dozen Microsoft Certified Masters on SQL Server 2008 worldwide.

This was certainly the most demanding IT certification I ever attempted and a great learning experience. Even more important, I met a few remarkable people in the process, both instructors and fellow padawans.

Read the blog post announcing the new batch of SQL MCMs at http://blogs.technet.com/themasterblog/archive/2009/07/11/meet-the-new-batch-of-sql-server-microsoft-certified-masters.aspx

While at it, you can check my updated transcript at  http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/transcripts, using 655468 as the Transcript ID and josebarreto as the Access Code.

To learn more about the program, check  http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/master.aspx#tab2 or http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/D/6/4D655C6F-76A6-4173-B5AA-5D199555758F/Certified_Master_SQL_datasheet.pdf