MCSE 2000 for Not Yet Techies

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The old MCSE documented someone's skill with Windows NT 4.0. Microsoft introduced Windows 2000 in 1999. They have announced that as of 12-31-2000 they no longer test for the older MCSE exams. They are changing to "MCSE 2000." MCSE 2000s will be tested for and expected to know Windows 2000.

Current MCSEs will still be in demand by the many companies which have not yet converted to Windows 2000.

Tonight I went to a local training school to attend one of their career night type seminars. However, it turns out that since attendance is so poor, they don't do a mass meeting. So I got to talk one on one with one of the admissions counselors.

I have to admit that he was pretty forthright with me. He did not try to make me think that getting an MCSE 2000 certification was the hot ticket to the moon and at least $60,000 starting salary. He said that the school has an 81% success rate in placing graduates with jobs. However, those jobs are Help Desk jobs. He did not tell me to expect a straight assistant network administrator job or anything like that, to start with. Help Desk.

He also told me that how long I stayed on the Help Desk would be up to me. Some people get promoted with a very short time. Some didn't. And of course 19% hadn't been placed even on a Help Desk, though he said that many of those had not yet passed all their certification exams. They had technically graduated from the MCSE classes, but had not yet attained the real certification.

I had expected a lot of hype about the 400,000 empty jobs that nobody can get hired for. He was of course basically optimistic about the field, and that's to be expected. And maybe St. Louis has better opportunities for MCSEs than other places, especially since foreign immigration for high tech jobs is low here.

If you are used to thinking of the MCSE as an entry level credential for career changers, this will shock you. Here is what Microsoft says about who should get an MCSE 2000:

"The Windows 2000 track of the MCSE credential is designed for IT professionals working in the typically complex computing environment of medium to large organizations."

Notice that they used the present tense. That is, IT professionals "working" etc, not wannabe IT professionals who hope etc.

There's more:

"An MCSE 2000 candidate should have at least one year of experience implementing and administering a network operating system in environments with the following characteristics:"

I won't quote more, but the characteristics are NOT "a test site's computer laboratory."

They go on to say a Microsoft MCSE 2000 candidate should have at least 1 year of experience with working with various aspects of networking.

Mmmm, I guess the schools have never read that part. And since the schools are accredited by Microsoft, who surely knows what the schools are doing, I guess Microsoft must not really be serious about enforcing that.

MCSE 2000 - Page 2