The MCSE is dead, its time to move on.
It really is time for people to learn and accept the fact that the MCSE is not coming back. A couple of years ago we went to the MCITP model to show the actual differentiation in tracks of certification. Look, I get it: I’m attached to my MCSE too, I’ve held that certification since 1998. But I’ve moved on, and you guys should too. We’ve earned our new MCITP Enterprise Administrator, and the more we proclaim it, the more recognition it will receive. You should be proud of attaining that certification. This is another case of history repeating, when the MCSE first came out few knew what that was all about either, but we talked about it and those outside our IT circles came to know what we knew, that the MCSE was the person who made the magic of IT happen. The MCITP Enterprise Administrator is the new certification to show who is the one who has the magic of IT, but that does not change the fact that there is no MCSE for Windows Server 2008 and there never will be.
Now that the harsh truth is out there, and yes I got voted the one to give the harsh truth, there is an alternative. The MCSE 2003 is a nice beginning for the MCITP Enterprise Administrator, it is the upgrade that you are looking for. It covers the things that an MCSE used to. Total of 5 exams if you are not already an MCSE and if you are already an MCSE there’s an Upgrade Path.
So you might ask yourself, why is Bill telling us stuff we have already heard, the answer is that it seems that many people out there have either not heard it or just don’t want to listen. In the past couple of weeks I have answered this question at least 5 times, “where is the MCSE 2008?” And I told them the same thing that I am telling you, there is none. So here we are with the “new” certification, it’s not really new as anyone who did SQL Server in 2005 can tell you, but how do identify to others the lofty achievement I have attained? I tell them I am an Enterprise Administrator on Microsoft Windows Server 2008. That is usually sufficient to most people; I know it worked with my parents. If not then I go into further details of what the MCITP is and how the program works.
The next question that comes up is what do I do if I am partly through the MCSE 2003, should I finish? Of course you should, Windows Server 2003 is not going to go away any time soon and there is plenty of work out there, there are still people running on both Microsoft Windows Server 2000 (nearly 10 years old at this point) and Microsoft Windows Server NT 4.0 (well over a decade old). I of course would tell those people to upgrade to an operating system built in this millennium but that is another discussion. So I don’t see those MCSE for 2003 suddenly gathering dust in the corner somewhere, so finish what you started. And then do the upgrade to MCITP Enterprise Administrator and have multiple servers that you are certified to work on, thus expanding your job opportunities. And in this economy anything that expands your job opportunities is a good thing.
So in closing today the only thing I have to say is,
The MCSE is Dead, Long live the Enterprise Administrator.
