Comment Articles

The MCSE Blues

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols AnchorDesk

Published: 07 Apr 2000 13:57 BST

Since I reported that story, I've had dozens of letters. Some deride the people complaining about the tests as crybabies who can't cut W2K, while others protest that they don't want to be pushed into W2K until they are good and ready. Robert Kile, executive director of the National Association of Communications Systems Engineers, sums up the anti-change MCSE viewpoint nicely when he says, "It's like buying a new BMW, paying for it and then having BMW take it back."

Others, however, deride recent MCSEs as being little more than Minesweeper Consultant/Solitaire Experts. They are eager, even gleeful, about a new test that, according to them, "will weed out the weak."

Meanwhile, Donna Senko, Microsoft director of certification and skills assessment, defends Microsoft's position. But she also makes me wonder about the real value of MCSE certification when she says that in the future, when there is no MCSE-NT, "many IT professionals will have the skill set to continue to support Windows NT 4." Then why do we need MCSE certification now? Practically speaking, I think Microsoft should just offer an MCSE-W2K and a MCSE-NT. It won't push W2K as hard -- ultimately all certification is about pushing product--but it will make all the MCSEs happy. Except the ones who are looking forward to an MCSE bloodbath.

Still, I'm none too fond of the old-style MCSE, or the harder, new W2K one to come.

I don't respect any certification without experience. Take me, for example. I test well; I haven't found one yet, that I couldn't ace. And, while I've been to grad school and I know NT pretty darn well, the only thing I know about the law is a lot of lawyer jokes. That's why I respect anyone with a Cisco certification. If you're a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE), not only can you pass a test, you also can work the network.

What I'd like Microsoft to do is create certification tests that prove you know how to solve real problems in the field. I want an MCSE who can restore a destroyed registry. I want somebody who can pull a dead Primary Domain Controller and replace it with a Backup Domain Controller. I want a gal who can update a server with the most recent security patches 20 minutes before a denial-of-service attack hits and then trace the attacker back to his lair.

Someone with a certification like that is someone I can respect -- and someone everyone would pay big money to have.

If you want to respond to this piece, talk to the author, voice an opinion or just tell us how we can improve AnchorDesk UK, come to our TalkBack forums and have your say ...