Microsoft certification – where to start?

 

I'm starting with this article, a series of articles concerning Percebí that Microsoft certifications. many professionals mainly beginners, has many doubts regarding the path should follow and what to do to move forward in their careers. one of these paths is the specialization in technologies that chose to act and the main way of proving this specialization is through certification.

The first step is to decide which branch you want to act, whether in infrastructure, database, development, etc… and once chosen this "branch", we need to decide what "inside" of each we specialize. Example: assuming you chose infrastructure, covering below we do it.this (Exchange. OCS, etc.), security (firewalls, etc), platform (operating system, etc.), hardware, connectivity, directory services, etc…

Just opting for a specific product or area and often by a personal inclination or even accidentally (through some activity imposed at work or project, etc).

Choice made, the next step is to map the way forward for specialization in technology concerned; We can get this study finding out what is the maximum level of specialization in product and/or technology that can be obtained, then we should start hitting their prerequisites!

Regards certifications, we must remember that it serves as a kind of proof that the manufacturer of its specialization in some product or technology; no certification or course (official or not) replaces the experience in real situations. However experience without technique also is not indicated, because if "harvesting" much to perform procedures and often creating "Addictions" not knowing the best practices and concepts for the tools. therefore, we must seek a balance between the study and practice!

As a Microsoft trainer, I am always asked for which the student must follow path for certification …. What proof should I do first? I specialize in client or server? I have to take the certification of your old product and migrate to certification of new or already begin at new? … The answers to such questions may vary according to the profile and or the day to day professional. If a professional working in a company where has the same has a career plan and the company has an old product deployed in large scale in the environment, I believe that the best immediate career and need professional is currently specialise in the product you are working and then migrate to the new. Already for a professional consultancy believe to be more interesting to invest in new products, since consultants often are searched based on their knowledge in the novelties of the market there are professionals who want to specialize in support, so we specialize in systems customers … others want to be network administrators then specialize in server systems … etc.

I have an article on the Microsoft careers might help:

http://zambonis.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/provas-necessarias-para-cada-certificacao-microsoft/

Any doubt, sit in the provision for help! I think would be more cool post doubt shaped comment, because your questions may also be questions from other people.

I hope it is useful!