Category: Certs
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Microsoft Certified Career Day!
Our industry moves fast! There was a time when if you learned a system you e set for a long time. Now Microsoft is releasing operating systems every three years (client AND server), and the management tools are constantly evolving. A carpenter who takes a year off work may be out of practice, but will…
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Want to be an MCT? Start Here!
I had a conversation this week with someone who was asking me about becoming an MCT. I know I am a good presenter, and I know my stuff… what do I need to do to become a Microsoft Certified Trainer? Becoming a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) was, for me, a turning point in my career. …
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Clarity: MCSA vs. MCSE: the what and why
This article was originally published in June, 2012. Due to the relevance and current interest in certifications I decided to republish. -MDG When I found out that Microsoft Learning was (again!) revamping the certification stack, I thought to myself that after all these years it might be time to stop chasing certifications. After all, when…
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Getting Certified: Things have really changed!
This article was originally published to The Canadian IT Pro Connection.Boy has it been an exciting year… Microsoft’s busiest release year ever! On the IT Pro side we have System Center 2012 (a single product now, but truly seven distinct products for managing your environment!), Windows Server 2012, Windows 8… we have Windows Azure (which…
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What’s this new Cert? MCSA: Windows 7!
This post was originally written for the Canadian IT Pro Connection blog, and can be seen there at http://blogs.technet.com/b/canitpro/archive/2012/09/12/what-s-this-new-cert-mcsa-windows-7.aspx. In April of this year Microsoft Learning announced its new generation of certifications. Many of us who had previously earned certain MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) credentials were automatically ported into a new certification category, the…
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MCSE Private Cloud… Not easy, but valuable!
This morning before I started teaching I came into the training centre early to sit an exam. It is not the ideal way to take exams – I showed up at 7:30, knowing I had to start teaching at 9:00 – but sometimes it is the only way that you can make it work, and…
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Can you convince your boss to let you get certified? UCA!
One of the benefits I get from conferences like Microsoft TechEd is reconnecting with friends and colleagues that I only see at these shows. David and I have been friends for a couple of years, and when we discovered that we were both staying over an extra night we decided to splurge and drive a…
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Wanna be an MCT? Read on!
I cannot count how many people have come to me and asked how they could become a Microsoft Certified Trainer(MCT). I have said many times that I consider it among my most valuable credentials, and well worth the yearly fee. If you are one of those who would like to become one, then read on……
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70-659 Vouchers Giveaway!
Hey folks my friends at TekSource Corporate Learning (www.teksource.ca) in Toronto have told me that they have just received nine (9) more vouchers for the 70-659 exam (TS: Microsoft Windows Server 2008: Server Virtualization). Knowing that so many of you were disappointed when Ruth (Technology Advisor, Microsoft Canada) announced that she was out of them,…
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Congratulations on Your Microsoft Certification!
I received the following e-mail earlier in the week: Congratulations on earning your Windows Server® 2008 Core certification! We hope you enjoy the benefits of your certification and of membership in the Microsoft Certified Professional community. WHAT IS NEXT? Visit the MCP member site (www.microsoft.com/mcp) to download your new logo, certificate, view and share your…
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Microsoft Renews the Certification Plan
I remember the day that I earned my first senior certification, the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) on Microsoft Windows 2000. It was a proud day for me, May 27, 2005. I would later earn my MCSA on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (June 30, 2006), and I was thrilled beyond belief. Interestingly, although my original…
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My Certification History, and the Importance of Multi-Vendor Certifications
In 2001 I had an intern working for me at IGS Security whose name I cannot recall, but she was a student at LaSalle College, and was working toward earning her Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification. She and I did not get along very well, and she left early with a bad attitude… although…
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Wow that certification exam was TOUGH!
I was so excited in 2003 when I passed my first certification exam and became a Microsoft Certified Professional. I immediately went out and printed new business cards with my new MCP logo, quit my (reasonably low-paying) job, and decided to make my own way as an independent computer consultant. It was, up to that…
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A response to a recent blog response
Yesterday a gentleman named Cameron wrote a very insightful response to an article I write back in July (Certifications Alone do not Make the Pro, July 20, 2011). He points out that as he has been in IT for 26 years, he actually pre-dates most certifications. Please read his comment, but this is my response. …
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Skills Measured: Improving your chances of passing certification exams
I have a friend who has been using Hyper-V since it was released with Windows Server 2008. I know that because at the time I did some consulting for his company, and was given a tour of his environment. That is why I was a bit surprised to hear that he recently failed his certification…
The World According to Mitch 