In the past few years, many people - myself included - have expressed a desire to see the quality of the Microsoft certification program improved.  Even though there have been some positive changes in the MCP program during the past few years, it still lacks the repute (and frankly, market value) many of us hope for.  On that topic, I was interested to read in Greg Low's blog earlier this week that there is a new Microsoft Certified Master certification program for SQL Server 2008.

According to Greg's post and the information on the official website, this track is a rigorous 3-week program (that's three straight calendar weeks, not three work weeks) that blends instruction, labs, and exams to provide a comprehensive evaluation of candidates for the Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008 certification. 

This program is not for the faint of heart or wallet – long days and the extended schedule make a brutal learning schedule, and the $18,500 price tag (plus travel, lodging, etc) set this certification apart for only a select few.  There is a formal application process, and candidates must meet a number of criteria to qualify; a minimum of 5 years experience along with the MCITP admin and developer certifications are the most notable prerequisites.  The application fee alone is $125 and is, of course, nonrefundable.

We asked for a better, more thorough certification process.  Is the Microsoft Certified Master certification the answer?  No, at least not by itself.

Let me first say that this new certification is a great idea.  Those who need or desire to set themselves apart as the top 1% of the top 1% will be well served.  I can think of a few people I know whose knowledge, experience, and occupation would be well suited to justify this kind of investment, but I can count those people on one hand.  Most people can convince their employers, or can justify spending from their own pockets, a few hundred, perhaps even a thousand dollars every few years to maintain current certifications.  However, many employers have to be given the hard sell to send their staff to one week of training at $2-4k per week, never mind the $18k plus expenses (along with three weeks away from work) for this new offering from Redmond.  There are probably a few independent contractors who could cost justify this, but for the other 99.9% of us, it would be impossible to amortize such an investment of time and money, especially considering that we’ll see a new product every three years.

There is still a large underserved population within the SQL Server community who want for more than the off-the-shelf MCTS/MCITP certification offers, but are unable to rationalize spending the kind of time and money required for the new Master certification.  I would like to see something in between these two extremes:  a certification process requiring an application process and certain experience benchmarks, along with more practical examinations and at least one personal interview.  In my mind, this is a process that could be completed in three or four days, administered regionally rather than solely in Redmond, and farmed out if necessary – at least partially – to existing test providers.

I know this would take some time to implement, and even cutting-edge companies such as Microsoft take some time to change direction like this.  The answer may come from a party other than Microsoft – perhaps even PASS as Andy Warren suggested recently.

Comments for or against are welcome…. Let me know what you think.

Call me odd, but I enjoy taking certification tests.  It may be that I've always tested well, or perhaps it's that I enjoy a challenge, but for whatever reason I have always looked forward to sitting for exams.  So when the opportunity arose to take a beta exam for the SQL Server 2008 business intelligence components, I signed up as soon as I could.

I admit that I took the exam cold, only having worked with SQL Server 2008 beta a dozen times or so.  I've been studying for the SQL Server 2005 BI exams, and my thought was that a free pass at the 2008 beta test would be a good study tool for me.  I spent almost 2 hours in front of the terminal, using what information I knew from experience (mostly on SQL Server 2005) and making educated guesses for the rest.  All went well until I reached the end of the exam - you know, the point at which your pulse races just a bit as you wait for the "You Passed" or "You Failed" message.  Imagine my surprise when neither of these was shown, but rather I received a "Thanks For Playing, We'll Get Back To You" message.  Specifically, the message indicated that the results of the beta exam would be delivered to me via mail in 90 days or so.  Yes, that's mail as in paper and envelopes and stamps, right here in the midst of the digital age [Suggestion to Microsoft: Save some cash - post the results on my MCP record and send me an e-mail when it's ready].

I've never taken a Microsoft beta exam before, so I don't know if this is status quo for these types of tests.  Even though certifications have gotten a bad rap lately, I still believe that, when properly administered, certification programs can still offer some measure of a person's willingness and ability to succeed on a particular software component or career track.  And as one who intends to continue to pursue certifications pertinent to my skillset, I have a vested interest in helping to make the SQL Server certification track as relevant as possible, so I am glad that I participated in this trial.  However, I have to admit - and yes, it's probably a little selfish - that I'm not sure I would have been so eager to participate if I'd known that I would have to wait months for any kind of hint as to how I performed on the exam.

So here are my questions.  First of all, is the delayed response common to all Microsoft exams, and second, is this a deterrent to other potential beta exam test-takers?

After putting it off for six months, I finally took - and passed - 70-431 yesterday. I know, I'm probably one of the last ones on board, but I'm kind of a geek and I don't want to sit for an exam until I'm really ready. I've failed two MS exams and after each failure I was bummed out for a while. In fact, when I failed 70-228 (the SQL 2000 admin/maint exam), I waited for an entire year before I retook it. But enough about my hangups...

I can't disclose much for fear of violating the NDA, but I can say that 70-431 was unlike any other cert exam I've taken. There was a section of standard Q&A format, and there were some really tough questions - two of which I answered with what can only be called an educated guess. The second part was a simulation of several tasks in a GUI simulator. This to me was the toughest part, because I didn't (and still don't) know how exactly these are scored. The simulator is intimidating in that the possible answers aren't laid out for you; it's up to you to work through the problems presented and find the solution yourself.

For those who would consider this exam, I can tell you what worked for me. The SQL Server 2005 Implementation and Maintenace book by Microsoft Press was the primary text I used to prepare for this exam. It takes you on a broad (but not deep) trip through SQL Server 2005 and its core features, and for me this was very useful in preparing for the Q&A portion of this test. As good as the book was, the electronic test simulator included was of little help; the questions and answers were badly worded, often misspelled, and even more ambiguous than what you would expect from standardized tests. As far as the simulations, the best thing to do to prepare is to get to know the GUI of the product. Don't just learn the T-SQL to accomplish all of your tasks - although this is helpful and necessary, you should also be prepared to demonstrate your knowledge about using the interface. For the simulations, a recent certification prep course from Chris Ford, a local (Dallas area) SQL Server consultant and trainer, helped to expose me to some of the functions of SQL Server with which I had little experience.

Professional certifications have taken a hit lately as a relevant measure of experience and knowledge, and with good reason. Old fashioned Q&A tests simply measure one's ability to answer questions when all of the possible answers are presented to you; these tests do not measure one's problem solving skills, and they allow for unscrupulous test takers to simply memorize questions and answers ahead of time. I like what Microsoft in adding simulations to the exams, which require the test taker to have at least some knowledge and problem solving ability with the product. I think this change increases the difficulty - and therefore the value - of the certification.

A few weeks ago I was engaged in a useful discussion about the merits of getting certified on Microsoft SQL Server.  A number of people I've talked with about the MCDBA certification share my opinion that these tests were too easy and therefore held limited value to one's career.  After all, what does it matter if you have a mess of alphabet soup beside your title if everyone else in the field has the same thing?

For that reason, I have been hoping for a tougher set of certifications - and at first glance it appears that I won't be disappointed.  The talk among those who have taken the various SQL Server cert exams is that the exams are passable but are tough as nails.  In fact, I have been working with SQL Server 2005 since its final CTP, and I failed the first few online assessments I took on the Microsoft training site.  Even though it gave me a little sense of defeat to read "You Failed!", I am encouraged that the exams actually test the level of knowledge and experience with the product rather than testing one's ability to memorize a lot of facts.  Even the guys at Microsoft say that the new SQL Server exams are some of the toughest that they've taken.

In addition to the difficulty of the exams, Microsoft has dictated that this new family of certifications will expire three years after issue.  This is a marked difference in the "once certified, always certified" model that Microsoft has used in the past. While I don't enjoy the thought of having to spend time and money to recertify every three years, this requirement can only drive up the market value of being certified.

Microsoft can't set the market value for their certifications - only the marketplace can do that.  However, by implementing more difficult exams and expiring certifications, they have given us as SQL Server professionals a higher standard of excellence.  As I pursue my MCTS and later the MCITP, I will be interested to see how these new certs are regarded by prospective employers and clients.