Upgrades to VS2005

Last week we had a Live Meeting for MCAD/MCSDs about the new VS2005 certifications. Here's the recording. It was great, mostly because we got so many good questions that had obviously not been well answered before (sorry about that...!).

These are the questions you asked most... they are in the PowerPoint deck from the meeting - it is being posted to the upgrade info page as we speak... https://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/upgrade.

If I upgrade to MCPD do I lose my MCAD or MCSD? Do I have to upgrade? No, you will keep both your current credential and your new credential. You do not have to upgrade. Your MCAD and MCSD certifications will continue to be recognized and supported by Microsoft—and valued in the marketplace—for as long as Microsoft supports Visual Studio .NET 2003.

Is Howard old enough to drive? Yes. More information here. Watch the LM recording to know what we're talking about.

In the MCPD path, is there anything similar to 70-300 (design and analysis skills)? There is no 1:1 match for 70-300 in the VS2005 certification exams. The new certifications cover design, but do not cover analysis because there is no longer one “standard” Microsoft methodology (i.e. MSF). Look down the road for specific methodology exams as they related to Visual Studio Team System.

How long will the upgrade exams be available to take? The upgrade exams will be offered for as long as the associated direct exams (i.e. MCTS and MCPD exams for Visual Studio 2005) are available. We do not have a scheduled retire date for these exams.

Is there an upgrade path from the old MCSD VB6 to VS2005 certifications? No.

Is MCPD: Enterprise Application Developer a “higher level” certification than MCPD: Web or MCPD: Windows? It is not a different “tier” of certification; it is still within the professional series credentials of MCPD. So, in the case of the partner program, for example, it is not worth additional “points” than the other two MCPD certifications. However, it does cover a larger set of skills and requires additional exams; we anticipate that employers and the marketplace will value the certification accordingly.

If I upgrade from MCSD to MCPD: Enterprise Apps with 553 and 554, do I also earn MCPD: Web and MCPD: Windows? No. By upgrading from MCSD .NET to MCPD: Enterprise Applications, you DO earn all three MCTS certifications (Web, Windows, and Distributed Applications), but you do NOT earn MCPD: Web or MCPD: Windows. After upgrading with 553 and 554, you need to take 547 and 548 to earn the other two MCPD certifications.

How do I earn all three MCTS and all three MCPD certifications?

As an MCAD, you can earn all six by passing 551, 552, 529, and 549. As an MCSD, you have two options: you can pass 551, 552, 529 and 549 (the same path followed by MCAD). Or, you can take 553 and 554 plus 547 and 548.