For MCSE Veterans
MCSEs (or MCPs who passed Exam 70-067: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0; Exam 70-068: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 in the Enterprise; and Exam 70-073: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0) are eligible for an alternative Win2K certification track. Microsoft is offering Exam 70-240: Microsoft Windows 2000 Accelerated Exam for MCPs Certified on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, until December 31, 2001. This exam takes the place of the four required core exams. If you fail Exam 70-240, you can't take it again; you need to start at the beginning of the track and take all four required core exams. The MOC also offers courses to prepare candidates for the accelerated exam. Course 1560: Updating Support Skills from Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 to Microsoft Windows 2000 is an accelerated overview of Win2K, AD, and guidelines for building network infrastructure. Course 2154 can also be helpful for candidates with limited Win2K experience.
In addition to passing the accelerated exam, candidates on the fast track must pass a design exam and pass (or have passed) two current elective exams. Electives that a candidate took for the NT 4.0 track could qualify as current if Microsoft hasn't slated the exams for retirement. MCSEs must replace any exam they have passed that Microsoft has retired, within a year of the exam's retirement. For more information about retired exams and exam options for MCSEs certified on the NT 4.0 track, see Robert McIntosh, "Don't Lose Your Certification," page 51.
Selecting an Education Provider
After you choose your certification and education paths, you face the challenge of selecting a training provider. (If you attempt self-study, you face greater challenges. In addition to the discipline required to complete a self-study approach, you need six or more PCs to complete certain course objectives.) With the advent of Win2K and the transformation of the certification process, Microsoft also revamped the CTEC program and requires education centers to adhere to more rigorous quality-assurance standards.
Choose a CTEC in your area that also provides consulting services. Ask whether the facility uses contract trainers and full-time instructors who only teach or whether the center uses its employees to teach as well as consult. Instructors who have real-world experience bring it with them into the classroom, to the students' benefit. Also, seek a classroom environment with a small enough maximum class size to allow for individualized instruction. You can often locate these CTECs by their reputations for customer service. For more information about choosing a CTEC, see Kalen Delaney, "Instructor-Led Training," page 45.
Microsoft is restructuring the Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) program in addition to the MCSE exams. As of January 1, 2001, MCTs need to be a certified MCSE, MCSD, or Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA). MCTs also need to comply with new quality-assurance standards that govern continuing education and course preparation and delivery. MCTs need to earn 15 continuing education credits each year, including credits for trainer skills courses, to keep their MCT certifications valid. They also need to log at least 10 days per year as course instructors.
Tools for the Trek
Study guides and test-preparation software can be an invaluable supplement to experience and training, whether inside the classroom or out. MOC courses teach you the technology, but self-study materials can help you focus on what you need to know to pass the exam.
The most helpful self-study technique can be question analysis. Familiarizing yourself with question types and understanding what makes one answer correct and the others incorrect will undoubtedly improve your exam scores.
Microsoft Press's MCSE Training Kit series offers official study guides for specific exams. The Coriolis Group publishes the Exam Cram series, which is popular with MCSE candidates because the books are an inexpensive way to get your hands on sample questions, answer explanations, and study sheets. As an MCT, I also hear many of my students praise Transcender's software for the software's exam simulations' likeness to the real exams. Transcender also offers a money-back guarantee. Another popular test-preparation software provider is Self Test Software. Because test-preparation materials abound, and because the material for the Win2K certification track is still in its infancy, students might have trouble identifying helpful self-study material. I advise you to ask around and use what has worked for others.
Ultimately, however, hands-on training is the key to certification success. An MCSE who is certified on the Win2K track demonstrates quantifiable knowledge not only of theoretical concepts but also of practical application of these concepts. Only experience will secure your MCSE certification.