Here’s how to exercise this offer for yourself (and as far as I can tell,  the SecondShot promo does NOT apply, but at $25, who cares?):

1. Log into www.prometric.com/microsoft
2. If you don’t already have an account, register to create one
3. Sign up for the MCP exam of your choice
4. Include the promotion code MCPBACK as you work through the payment process

If you’re within the first 4,000 folks to do this, you’ll be able to take an exam for only $25. Between this and the $35 collection for Installing and Configuring Vista available through the Microsoft “SecondShot” program I’m shooting for an MCTS on Vista in late May, 2009, for a whopping $60. Anybody with the luck and/or hustle to qualify for these programs (act fast!!!) can do likewise.

As the old saying goes: “This is too good a deal to pass up.” I’ve already said, “Act fast!” but I’ll say it again just so you don’t forget. See you in the testing center soon!

• Cisco’s progressing on the roll-out of its new expert level cert program, the Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE) which complements the wildly successful CCIE program. In August, the company will start to offer the hands-on/lab exam portion for this credential at its Chicago, London, and Hong Kong testing centers. Registration for this $1400 exam (same  price as the CCIE hands-on exam) is now open, and if CCIE sign-up is any guide, you’d best sign up early to get a slot if you want to pursue this credential (visit the CCDE Website for registration and sign-up details). As with CCIE, candidates must first pass a written exam before they can register for the hands-on/lab exam.
• Microsoft has now rolled out its slate of Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) exams for Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5. See the MCPD: Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Web page for details. Tracks are now available for Windows Developer 3.5, ASP.NET Developer 3.5, and Enterprise Applications Developer 3.5 credentials under the Visual Studio 2008 umbrella, and upgrade exams from Visual Studio 2005 to 2008 MCPD (exams 70-566, 70-567, 70-568, and 70-569) went public between March 10 and 26, 2009, to completely fill out these tracks. Those interested in the Microsoft take on “cert games” should check out the company’s online “Are You Certifiable?” game.
• CompTIA is sponsoring a laudable and interesting program to raise money to help miltary veterans and their spouses retool for careers in IT. The organization is accepting equipment donations for auction to raise money and interested vets and family members can learn more about available programs and support at the CompTIA Educational Foundation page.
• Interested in solid state storage? Check out the white papers and other materials that fall under the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA’s) Solid State Storage Initiative. Cool stuff, perhaps coming in a SNIA cert soon.

That’s it for this month! But if you’ve got a cert program, or cert news you’d like to share with my readers, put me in your mailing list for future updates, please [mailto:edtittel@techtarget.com]. I’ll repeat this procedure in about 30 days (mid-May, in other words).

–Ed–

With those caveats in mind, here are some numbers to chew on:

Certification AvgSalary
MCTS: SQL Server $88,110
MCTS: .NET Web $86,846
MCTS: .NET Windows $91,438
MCTS: .NET Dist Apps $84,567
MCTS: BizTalk 2006 $87,467
MCTS: MOSS 2007 $78,033
MCTS: Exch07 Config $84,157
MCTS: SharePoint (all) $92,585
MCTS: Vista Config $77,071
MCTS: Vista/Offc desk $82,840
MCTS: SharePoint 3.0 $92,071
MCTS: WinServ08 App $87,849
MCTS: WinServ08 AD $88,274
MCTS: WinServ08 NW $89,143

MCITP: Ent Admin $86,825
MCITP: Ent Msg Admin $79,727
MCITP: DB Developer $84,714
MCITP: Cnsmr Support $97,608
MCITP: Ent Support $72,649

MCPD: Ent App Dev $94,333
MDPD: .NET Windows $91,438
MCPD: .NET Enterprise $94,333

Let me expand the preceding initialisms, so those who may not already know them can understand the hierarchy. MCTS represents the entry-level MS certs, and stands for Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist. MCITP is the admin/application mid-level tier and stands for Microsoft Certified Information Technology (IT) Professional. MCPD is the developer mid-level tier and stands for Microsoft Certified Professional Developer. There’s even a Master tier above the MCPD on the development side and the MCITP on the admin/application side, but it’s still being rolled out (it hasn’t even earned a slot in the chart of MS certifications on their own site yet).

What does this single collection of salary numbers have to tell us? I’m not sure anything I say next should be considered Gospel, but I feel safe making the following claims anyway:

1. The new Microsoft certs are clearly on the radar. They’ve been out for almost three years now and are starting to build momentum, attain name recognition, and are acquiring definite value in the marketplace.
2. Old-line MS topics related to network and server administration, and even Exchange, appear to be taking a back seat to newer applications and technologies, especially SharePoint. I have to think that some of this reflects a way to acquire expertise in new areas quickly and directly, and guess that this balance will change over time.
3. Demand for Windows Server 2003/2008 and new-line technologies must be very strong and pretty new, or I don’t think we’d see the MCTS credentials matching (and in some cases, exceeding) MCITP and MCPD credentials in pay. I’m guessing that this balance will shift over the next couple of years as more companies and organizations jump onto the Server 2008 bandwagon, and more IT professionals draw on more experience in these areas to advance from MCTS to MCITP status.

No matter what your take on these numbers and what they mean might be, you have to admit that something interesting is going on here. I hope this helps give some impetus to read, and some interest in reading, my upcoming series of blogs on the MCTS, MCITP, and MCPD certifications that will follow soon.

–Ed–