MCSE Classes Fill Up As Deadline Nears On Nt 4-0 Certification |
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With the Dec. 31 deadline looming for completing certification on Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) for Windows NT 4.0 before it is retired by Microsoft, trainers have seen increased enrollments for those certification-track courses over the past few months, leading in some cases to added classes. While the exams for NT 4.0 certification will expire, the designation will be officially recognized by Microsoft through the end of 2001. Those who complete the courses for NT 4.0 and earn their certification before the end of the year will be further along toward MCSE for Windows 2000 status. They are then eligible to take a four-tests-in-one upgrade exam to complete a majority of the seven-exam Windows 2000 certification requirement. Kelly Keefer, product marketing manager for DigitalThink (San Francisco), said the company's enrollments for NT 4.0 courses have held steady at 65% of its overall Microsoft enrollments, even as the number of those offerings has increased with new Windows 2000 courses. "We see people that are trying to finish up NT before they take Windows 2000," Keefer said. "They'd rather take four courses for 2000 certification than seven. If they don't have to start over, it's to their benefit." "For the past three or four months, and through the end of the year, we've definitely seen a big increase for NT 4.0 certification courses, as opposed to the beginning of the year," said Kevin Murray, product manager for Microsoft training at Global Knowledge Network (Burlington, MA). A two-week boot camp for MCSE is especially popular, Murray said, and is filled up through Dec. 31. Even though IT professionals can take the accelerated track for Windows 2000 certification if they have completed their NT 4.0 requirements, Murray said, "the four-hour (combined exam) is probably the most difficult in all of (IT) certification. It's not that much easier a track." An advantage, he said, is earning an NT 4.0 certificate that will still be valid through next year. "There are still a lot of places that will use 4.0 for the next several years, even though Microsoft will not recognize it. It will still be valuable in the industry." Joseph Puleo, Microsoft technical programs manager for New Horizons Computer Learning Centers (Santa Ana, CA), said in the last month, he has heard of increased demand for MCSE for NT 4.0 from New Horizons centers around the world. "Of the ones I spoke to at our international conference last month, all said their NT 4.0 courses were quite full, and some had actually added extra classes to meet the demand," Puleo said. James Tincher, technical products manager for ExecuTrain (Alpharetta, GA), said the company is putting out a "last call" for those wanting to finish their NT 4.0 certification before Microsoft retires it. "Most centers started their last NT track last month," Tincher said. "We'll see that segment of the market disappear. You'd have to be pretty aggressive to start now and get the four tests done by the end of the year." | ||||||
| Last Updated ( Sunday, 08 March 2009 ) | ||||||
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