Announcement: Changes to Microsoft’s certification programme

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Robert Chapman is CEO and co-founder of Firebrand Training. The fastest way to learn since 2001.

Microsoft has announced a fundamental change to its certification program, heralding a ‘return’ for the MCSE, MCSA and MCSD certifications.

New certifications

Microsoft has introduced a set of ‘new’ certifications, to meet the growing skills gap in the technology industry. There will be no more MCITP, MCTS and MCPD certs released in the future – but they remain current and relevant in the meantime. These will be replaced with MCSE, MCSA and MCSD certifications. These familiar acronyms are back, but now have a slightly different meaning:

 

What it meant before

What it means now

MCSE

Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert

MCSA

Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate

MCSD

Microsoft Certified Solution Developer

Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer

All future Microsoft exams will be technology- and version-specific, and will lead to the new certifications. The new certs are version-neutral, but they will expire - at least every three years.