NT certification is dead. Long live Linux? |
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By Ed Tittel
09 Feb 2001 | SearchWinIT |
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Since Microsoft announced its intent to revamp the MCSE program for
Windows 2000 in early 1999, many MCSEs who certified on various
versions of Windows NT have decided to let their certifications lapse
rather than upgrade. Some of these current or former MCSEs are pretty
angry about the situation. Others are merely resigned or fed up. Many
are jumping from Microsoft to Linux.
Without a doubt, a certain amount of anti-Microsoft sentiment is
fueling this situation. And, as the poster child of the ABM ('anybody
but Microsoft') movement, the Linux operating system seems to be a
favored destination for those who are abandoning their Microsoft
certifications and opting for an OS whose source code is published
openly and freely.
Of the roughly 1,100 e-mails I've received since March of 1999 from
MCSEs or MCPs indicating that they intend to let their certifications
lapse, more than one-third of them (roughly 400) have gone on to
mention plans to get certified in Linux. Because of the timing, more
than half of these individuals indicated an interest in RHCE, with the
remaining forty or so percent split evenly between the Linux
Professional Institute and Sair Linux Level 1 certifications and
higher.
Lately this trend has shifted towards the more vendor-neutral LPI
and Sair certifications. The split passed fifty-fifty in August of
2000, meaning more than half of my e-mail correspondents who indicated
an interest in Linux certification mentioned Sair or LPI rather than
the vendor-specific Red Hat certification.
Linux isn't the only destination for disaffected MSCEs either. Other
paths lead to Cisco for advanced certifications like CCNP, CCDP, and
CCIE as well as toward security-related certifications like CISSP and
SANS GIAC, ERP certifications like those for SAP and JD Edwards and so
forth.
Richard Johnson, a practicing senior software architect at a Fortune
100 firm, said his decision to walk away from his MCSE was made years
ago. "My MCSE number was under 500, but [I] have long since let it
expire," Johnson said. "I also held a Compaq ASE and many other certs
as well. Unfortunately, none of the vendors offer training very
relevant to architecture. Had I not found a good mentor, I would
[still] be stuck in the operations career track."
What this tells me is that there is more to this issue than
marketplace politics and philosophy. Rather, veteran IT professionals
view hands-on oriented certifications like the MCSE as less appealing
because they provide no way to "grow up" into more senior, responsible
positions within a larger Microsoft certification framework. Although
the Elective Core exams (70-219, 220, 221, and 226) open the door to
designing topics, they represent only one small step in the direction
of a higher-level planner/architect specialization.
That's not all. Based on the many communications that I've received
or read, here's a listing of the top 10 reasons (in reverse order)
MCSEs are giving for walking away from the Win2k upgrade program:
- Just finished the NT 4.0 MCSE, don't have
time/money/interest in upgrading again so soon.
- My company won't be upgrading to Windows 2000 until 2002 or later,
so I'm not going to rush out and learn something I can't use on the
job.
- Microsoft gave Windows NT 3.51 certified individuals four years
after the release of the next version to upgrade, but is giving NT
4.0-certified individuals less than half that time.
- Microsoft's unwillingness to maintain dual MCSE tracks--one for NT
4.0, the other for Windows 2000--is inherently unfair since most
industry studies indicate that NT 4.0 will continue to be used until
2004 or later.
- The only reason Microsoft is forcing MCSEs to upgrade is to force
that community to adopt Windows 2000 technology before it's ready for
prime time.
- The phenomenon of "paper MCSEs" (those who have no experience and
get certified simply by studying brain dumps and exam crams) does not
relieve employers of the need to interview employees carefully. The
issue of the devalued MCSE is bogus.
- Microsoft is playing games with its certification program to
provide the illusion of progress and innovation when it is only now
adding services (e.g. Kerberos) that have been part of other operating
systems like Unix for years.
- Microsoft treats certification and MCSEs like cash cows and has
decided to milk that community with a new set of time-consuming and
expensive requirements.
- The MCSE is basically irrelevant; it's just a resume filler item.
Why bother with an upgrade to a meaningless credential?
- The notion of protecting exam integrity is a joke; how does an
individual obtain the requisite year of hands-on experience with
Windows 2000 if his company has no plan to upgrade until later?
For some truly fascinating public reading on this dialog,
Certification Insider Press (publisher of Exam Cram) posted an open
letter to Bill Gates on the subject of the MCSE upgrade requirements in
an Open Forum. The letter prompted an official reply from Donna
Senko, Microsoft's director of certification and skills assessment and
comments from more than 3,000 users. If you're still curious, it's
worth a peek at Microsoft's response.
To me, the notion that Microsoft can appear arbitrary, high-handed,
or indifferent to its certified professionals is not news. But it is
interesting that so many professionals with an existing investment to
protect have decided to seek new credentials elsewhere, or let their
MCSEs lapse, rather than play Microsoft's latest certification game.
Ed Tittel is a principal at a small content development company
based in Austin, Texas, and the creator of the Exam Cram series.
He has worked on more than 30 certification-related books on Microsoft,
Novell and Sun-related topics. You can contact Ed searchWin2000.com's
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