Pass a no-cost Microsoft beta cert exam and get another one free!

To stimulate interest in and understanding of the new Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional (MCITP, usually identified as PRO in Microsoft's exam titles and descriptions) credential, Microsoft is providing promotional codes for anyone who's interested in taking a beta exam. With the promo, it's free. There's an added incentive: Microsoft will provide a voucher for an additional free exam (not a beta this time, because betas are always free or at least lower-cost) to those who sign up for the promotion and then pass the exam they take.

Better still, Microsoft gives away an exam voucher for each such exam you take and pass. Previous promotions limited the number of free exam vouchers to one, but this one-for-one offer applies to as many as four beta exams. You can sign up for the offer at either Thomson Prometric or Pearson VUE, through special Web links. The list of exams with associated promo codes appears in Table 1.

Table 1: Free Beta Exams and Promo Codes

Exam ID	Title	Promo Code
71-442	Designing and Optimizing Data Access by Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005	442SQL
71-547	Designing and Developing Web-based Applications by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework	PRO547
71-548	Designing and Developing Windows-based Applications by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework	BTA548
71-549	Designing and Developing Enterprise Applications by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework	549BTA

Note: The exam titles confirm that these beta exams all target budding or practicing Microsoft developers. And, as the old saying goes, seating is limited, so sign up soon!

Ed Tittel is a long-time follower of the IT certification market, who usually keeps at least one eye on what Microsoft is doing. Among other things, Ed created (and edited) the Exam Cram cert prep book series from 1997 through 2005; he's also a contributing editor for Certification Magazine. E-mail Ed at etittel@techtarget.com.

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