Expand your knowledge and experience beyond the traditional curriculum
The initials MCSE aren't enough anymore to sell your skills. How do you make MCSE certification count? You need to supplement your training courses with hands-on experience and include a specialized area of study. Good preparation and a careful approach to training will help you gain a competitive edge and separate you from the weak pool of MCSEs.
Core Requirements
To earn MCSE certification, you must pass six exams: four core exams and two electives. (You can get a complete list of MCSE exam requirements from Microsoft's Web site at http://www.microsoft.com. For an overview of the MCSE certification process, see Jordan Ayala, "Training the Microsoft Way," page 122.) You can follow one of two tracks for certification: the Windows NT 3.51 track or the Windows NT 4.0 track. I'll focus on the NT 4.0 track because the NT 3.51 track is quickly becoming obsolete.
An MCSE is a strong credential, and to obtain it, you must demonstrate knowledge of networking fundamentals. Exam 70-058: Networking Essentials is re- quired, regardless of the track you decide to pursue. Microsoft waives this exam for people with Novell and Banyan certification because these people have a comparable network foundation. However, I recommend that all MCSEs take the Microsoft exam because it deals exclusively with Microsoft's networking products and philosophy of networking.
In addition to Networking Essentials, Microsoft requires three other exams in the NT 4.0 track core requirement. You can take the exams in any order.
I recommend that you take one of the client exams--exams 70-030, 70-048, 70-063, 70-064, or 70-073--first. Don't take these exams lightly. Many people--including me--find that the exam they choose for this core requirement is the most difficult one of the series. I found 70-063: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows 95 somewhat difficult. I had worked with Windows 95 only as a client to NT Server or a personal workstation. A lot of the NetWare-oriented services confused me because I was used to working exclusively with the Novell Client32 NetWare solution rather than the inherent Microsoft solutions. If you choose Win95 as your target client exam, look into the availability of the recently revised Win95 exam: 70-064. This exam includes many updates to the operating system that have occurred in the past year; this exam is scheduled to be available this spring.
I recommend that you don't take the Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.11 exam. Microsoft is planning to retire these exams in September 1998. The other option, and the one I recommend for an NT professional, is 70-073: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0. If you plan to support and work with both NT 3.51 and 4.0, consider taking both exams. However, only one of these exams can count toward your core requirements.
The remaining two exams--70-067: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 and 70-068: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 in the Enterprise--are the meat of the core requirements and reflect the NT 4.0 exam track. The three NT exams are related. If you plan to take one, prepare for all three because elements of all three topics appear on each exam. For exams 70-067 and 70-068, you must know all the inherent features of the operating system, the operating system's interoperability, and its enterprise features.
Dual NT Tracks
Although NT 4.0 is popular, a strong install base of NT 3.5x still exists. If you possess an MCSE under the NT 4.0 track, you might have to support NT 3.51. If you can pass the NT 4.0 exams easily, you won't have too much trouble with the two exams for NT 3.51: 70-042: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51 and 70-043: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51. Passing these exams is not extremely important, but it can help you strengthen your NT credentials.
When Microsoft developed the curriculum track for NT 4.0, it split what was formerly one exam for NT Server 3.51 into two exams for NT Server 4.0. People who took the NT 4.0 exams before the 3.51 exam tell me they found exam 70-043 a breeze after passing the two exams for NT 4.0. In contrast, only one-fourth of the NT Server 4.0 exam is new material beyond the NT Server 3.51 exam.
The Unofficial Core Requirement
Anybody who plans to work with networks, regardless of the network operating system, will have to deal with TCP/IP. The protocol is the recommended default protocol in NT and is the backbone of the Internet. The two elective TCP/IP exams--70-059: Internetworking with Microsoft TCP/IP on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 and the older 70-053: Internetworking Microsoft TCP/IP on Microsoft Windows NT (3.5-3.51)--are not mandatory for MCSE certification. But I think one of them should be. With the popularity of the Internet and the rise of complex heterogeneous intra-networks, employers will be looking for people with a strong TCP/IP background. The NT version track you choose will determine which of the two exams you want to take. I recommend you choose this exam as one of your electives. That choice leaves you with only one elective exam. But why stop there? Why not increase your marketability?
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