Microsoft Certification Reston VA

To be a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) you will have had to take and pass one of the Microsoft Certification exams currently being offered. The certification exams serve as a measuring device as to what you know about a particular Microsoft product or technology. It’s simply not enough anymore to claim you have experience in a certain computer or IT application. By being certified, your boss or potential boss as the case may be, knows what you know.

If you look at the classified job ads in the IT sector in any given city or on any given career search website, you are going to see ad after ad requiring Microsoft certification. If you put on your resume that you can type 60 words a minute, you had better be prepared to prove it – and fast! It’s relatively easy to slap the job hunter into a chair in front of a computer and administer a typing test.

It’s not as easy or as quick, however to assess advanced computer skills. The person interviewing you for the position may not even know what you are talking about with the IT jargon you throw around. However, by taking and passing a certification exam, with just a few call letters, you are telling the company and the world what you know.

Regardless of the education you already have, possessing Microsoft Certification credentials can only enhance your resume and your skills portfolio. Even in jobs for which the certification is not a requirement, it is a prestigious enough endorsement of your skills to tip the hiring scales in your favor.

There are several different Microsoft Certifications offered. Your present job or your future career plans will dictate which one or ones you should pursue. You may notice a friend or colleague having a Microsoft Certification that is no longer offered. As new technologies are introduced some of the certifications are retired and new ones emerge.

We will list and briefly describe each Microsoft Certification currently offered here. As there is not room in this article to offer detailed information about each Certification the reader is encouraged to contact Microsoft for further information.

MCTS – Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

MCITP – Microsoft Certified IT Professional

MCPD – Microsoft Certified Professional Developer

MCDST – Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician

MCLC – Microsoft Certified Learning Consultant

MCSA – Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator

MCSE – Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers

MCDBA – Microsoft Certified Database Administrators

MCT – Microsoft Certified Trainers

MCAD – Microsoft Certified Application Developers

MCSD – Microsoft Certified Solution Developers

In addition to these Certifications, there is the Microsoft Certified Architect Program, which is a brand new program that started accepting applications in July 2006. These Certifications will recognize top IT experts.

In addition, the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification (MOS) recognizes experts using Microsoft Office software. There are different levels of Certification for the MOS, core and expert. With this certification, you take the exams one program at a time, such as Word or Excel certification exams. You don’t have to take all or any of them. If you just want to be certified as a MOS in Word that is perfectly fine.

Once you are an MCP, it works like any other professional certification in that you have to stay up to date by taking refresher courses.

That may or may not be readily answered. If you are working with desktop applications in Microsoft Office regularly, then the MOS, Microsoft Office Specialist certification would be right up your alley. That one is pretty easy to figure out. If you are already working in IT, you probably won’t have any trouble deciding which certification is the right one for you. However, if you’re planning on a future career in IT, the solution may not be as clear.

The Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) targets certain technologies such as Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Earning this certification marks one as a specialist in this particular technology. From there, the specialist can choose or may have already chosen a career in database administration, developer, systems administrator or other similar career paths.

Altogether, there are five MCTS certifications. One would choose the one that most closely relates to the career path he has chosen. Sometimes the MCTS certification is the first step in obtaining other, more concise certification. For example, suppose your goal is to be a web developer. First, you obtain the MCTS certification which recognizes you as an expert at .NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications. From here, though you want to go further and obtain the Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) credential.

This credential emphasizes your expertise in the job role you have chosen whereas the previous certification, although necessary, recognizes your expertise in the technology.

You can see how these certifications can complement a degree in information technology or computer science. Sometimes, the certification is enough for an entry level position or in some cases, with previous experience an even higher position. To be sure, though, alone or accompanying a college degree, the Microsoft Certification credentials can make a huge impact on the direction your career takes.