Microsoft kills broad entry-level IT certifications, replaces them with all-Microsoft curriculum
- Reference: 1613631476
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/02/18/microsoft_kills_technology_associate_certifications/
- Source link:
Aspirants for the MTA certs will be able to buy the right to sit exams until June 30, 2021 and take those exams between then and the same date the following year. Applicants who don’t pass the tests by June 30, 2022, won’t be awarded an MTA certification. Those who hold the MTA certification will see it remain in the active section of Microsoft’s certification transcript portal for two years, until 2024. And that's that for those certs.
[1]
A dozen exams will die as a result of this move, which Microsoft tried to [2]justify in an FAQ by saying, “We’ve evolved our certifications to focus on job roles that align with industry and hiring trends.”
Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh away: Certification renewals to be free ... but annual [3]READ MORE
[4]
MTA lacks an Azure exam though it does include tests for proficiency in very-much-in-demand Python, Java, and security skills.
Microsoft has already created a new entry-level certification, named [5]Fundamentals covering Azure, Dynamics, AI, the Microsoft Power Platform, and Microsoft 365. One general security exam remains, but the curriculum for it is based on Microsoft products and services.
Microsoft won’t let those who’ve already paid for an MTA exam transfer that credit to another test.
“We are providing sufficient notice of retirement to customers to help ensure enough time to use your voucher,” the FAQ stated.
So totally not putting IT pros on a certification treadmill at all. And totally not moving away from general skills to a Microsoft-centric education.
The twelve exams to be retired are:
[6]
Database Administration Fundamentals
HTML5 Application Development Fundamentals
Introduction to Programming Using HTML and CSS
Introduction to Programming Using Java
Introduction to Programming Using JavaScript
Introduction to Programming Using Python
Mobility and Devices Fundamentals
Networking Fundamentals
Security Fundamentals
Software Development Fundamentals
Windows Operating System Fundamentals
And Windows Server Administration Fundamentals. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_personal_tech/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YC5IyiJben3CLsDwU8uGfQAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/mta-retirement-faqs?WT.mc_id=techcom_learn-blog-wwl
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/17/microsoft_certification/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_personal_tech/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YC5IyiJben3CLsDwU8uGfQAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/browse/?type=fundamentals
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_personal_tech/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YC5IyiJben3CLsDwU8uGfQAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Microsoft have shot themselves in the foot...Again...
All these certifications were and are meant to support the sales of current products. So really nothing new....
Re: Microsoft have shot themselves in the foot...Again...
Sad.
Funny how it's as if Active Directory and Windows Server no longer seem to exist, even though they make the world go round. Azure this, Azure that... I don't give a crap, and neither do my customers.
I've got my MCSE pipe and slippers.
I'm not an expert but
studying for a specific Microsoft product exam, without some fundamentals, seems like learning to tune the twin carburettor of a Ford Cortina 1600e without doing any engineering. It's useful life may be somewhat limted.
Re: I'm not an expert but
Microsoft's ultimate sales pitch, refined to its purest form, is tending towards, "you don't need engineers. You just need Azure."
So glad I'm retiring soon
Year after year the rules keep changing, the goals moved and the needed effort made harder. This used to be called "cheating" but that's not a fashionable attitude these days.
Sod all of it.
Getting closer to time to retire?
I have no interest in becoming a salesdroid for a dead-end product like Windows 10 or Office365. Perhaps I have been in IT too long.
Lets see...
Mortgage - paid
house - needs some work
Bank balance - with a little juggling they could be level or in good credit
Car - time to get rid of the gas guzzler and get an electric one
pension(s) - workplace one good - private one OK - state one need a couple more years before I get that one
Let's wait until this pandemic is out of the way (spring 2022 or 2023?) and GTF out.
Re: Getting closer to time to retire?
Very much the same thoughts I had this time 5 years ago.
Your checklist mirrored 90% of mine.
I looked at W10, Server 2016 and where MS was going with Azure and decided it was time to GTF out which I did the following September.
Never regretted retiring at 63.
I got my Electric Car in 2019. Still brings a smile to my face when I put my foot down. Instant power.
Microsoft have shot themselves in the foot...Again...
I'm just away to renew my MCT (15+ years) and am now having serious doubts about it.
Almost all their certifications are "cloud" and training and certification for the on-prem systems seems almost non-existent (current versions of Exchange, SharePoint and even Server 2019 gone, SQL Server hanging on, but only just...). Even Desktop OSes seem to have merged into "Microsoft 365". And of course older products are "no longer relevant" and certs and training courses are dropped too.
Maybe the market share is diminishing, but how much work does it take to update exams and courses to the new version, or even to keep older versions alive on the grounds they are still largely relevant?