MCITP DBA numbers

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MCITP DBA numbers - so few

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NULLgarity

Posted Friday, April 18, 2008 11:25 AM

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Just a conversation starter, perhaps...

I'm nearing completion of the MCITP: DBA for 2005 and recently came across the number of folks how have gotten this certification.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/certified.mspx

I'm surprised at how few have gotten certified, even at the lower level. I have a theory as to why that is (less people trying to break in to this field via the cert route, and those already in the field don't see any value).

Anyone else have theories as to why more aren't seeking this certification? Do the lower numbers make the certification more or less prestigious? I kind of think it might be less.

Personally, I enjoy the certification process and persue it even though I don't necessarily expect it to pay off in any financial sense (no plans to leave my current position). I like preparing for the exams as it exposes me to topics or knowledge that I might not have picked up in my normal day-to-day routine, allows me to work with the newer versions of the software even if my shop has yet to implement them, and I enjoy getting that screen at the end of the exam that says "congratulations, you passed".

I'd like to see higher numbers of folks getting the same certification, so it would be better known and more likely to be sought by employers, but not too many that it meant everyone had it.

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Post #487381

ahenderson

Posted Friday, April 18, 2008 2:33 PM

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This is good, because it means you went the extra mile while most others didn't. If everyone had it, it would be less of a distinguishing factor.

Post #487490

Michael Valentine Jones

Posted Friday, April 18, 2008 3:07 PM

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People put the time and effort into things they think will be of value. If not that many people are getting it, then they must not think it is worth the cost in time and money.

It’s not like going to medical or law school where they limit the number of candidates that are accepted. If someone wants it and they are reasonably intelligent, they can get it.

Post #487510

Andy Binning

Posted Tuesday, May 13, 2008 3:39 AM

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I'm just starting the certification track toward MCITP DB Developer. I've been certified previously, but it lapsed a couple of years back.

What materials would you suggest?

TIA,
andy

Post #499409

Katrina Illidge

Posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:41 AM

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I'd be interested to know how many companies are using SQL 2005 compared to SQL 2000. I’d guess more companies have their main applications and databases on SQL 2000 still.

Post #500204

NULLgarity

Posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008 6:18 AM

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Andy Binning (5/13/2008)

I'm just starting the certification track toward MCITP DB Developer. I've been certified previously, but it lapsed a couple of years back.

What materials would you suggest?

TIA,
andy

Personally, I have used the Microsoft Press series of Self-Paced Training Kits (along with BOL, of course) and have been quite happy with them. I think it's a pretty good deal, for the cost of the book you also get sample exams and a discount on the exam itself. The books have been pretty well written and are organized much like the official Preparation Guides, which is nice.

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Post #500374

WILLIAM MITCHELL

Posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008 7:06 AM

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Something that might have initially discouraged people from the new certs:

"In our initial communications about the Professional Series certifications, we announced that a "refresh" or recertification of the MCITP and MCPD credentials would be required within three years. This policy has changed. To address the needs of our worldwide customer base, the updated policy is to retire a certification when mainstream support for the related technology retires, as described at the top of this page. There is no action required from you if you earned a Professional Series certification before the policy change; the updated policy applies to your certification, which will be valid until mainstream support for the related technology retires."

Another big change was in the developer tracks. I have an MCSD in VB6, I started studying for the MCSD.NET and took the first exam but then MS introduced the MCPD which left me with FUD about which track to pursue.

I've been studying for the MCTS 431 exam in my spare time for a couple of years now Smile

I'll bet there are many thousands more people who have studied for these certs but never sat for the exam.

Post #500427

Kevin-458339

Posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008 7:35 AM

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I have been through the process of hiring staff and this is what we found:

* Staff with certifications without experience mostly did not pass our entry test
* Candiadates with experience - approx 3 months day-to-day faired better than those without experience

So in the "real world" there is generally a shortage of SQL skills that are at a level that can either:

* Support a medium/large production environment SQL Server Admin
* Have SQL / TSQL skills with experience to do software / app support using SQL

If a person knows that the job market is not very strict on candidates having the certification paper - then the incentive to get certified is not really there.

Once there are more people entering this market after realizing there is a shortage of skills - things may change.

In a year or two SQL 2005 may be the standard and more potential candidates will be in the job market and for the recruitment agencies or companies they may impose screening to job postings by making use of the certification.

My take on this is - get certified - even if it is a few years down the line after having your experience - it is ultimately better for your carear if you are in the Microsoft SQL Server field.

Thanks
Kevin

Post #500467

Feeg

Posted Thursday, May 15, 2008 1:28 AM

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1st AKA Virgin post :D
I attained my MCTS SQL 2005 last year December and well it helped a lot ...
My company implemented MS SQL 20005 and attaining the cert helped with the implementation and getting familiar with new features methods in 2005. Mainly the best practices in the course material and tips are well worth it as google-ing answers to questions is trouble some especially concerning SSIS's ...
I'm currently getting ready to write the 1st of the MCITP DBA exams and it goes further in depth than the MCTS exam material which helps paint a clearer picture when implementing and configuring in MS SQL 2005!
Experience + CERTS and you can't go wrong!!! (IMO)

MCITP: Database Administrator 2005
soon: MCTS DBA 2008

Post #501059

Andy sql

Posted Friday, May 16, 2008 4:53 AM

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Like you, I am very surprised at the numbers. In particular, there are:

150,000 Database Administrators (MCDBA) for SQL Server 2000
4,400 Database Administrators (MCITP) for SQL Server 2005

Considering there is a straightforward upgrade path from MCDBA to MCITP, that shows a huge number of people who haven't bothered (yet).

Still at least it is slightly more popular than developing with Microsoft Virtual Earth (18 people certified!).

Post #501898

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