June 18, 2008 at 3:16 pm
BEACHDBA (5/30/2008)
Add 1 to the MCITP DBA count. I passed 70-444 in April and 70-443 today (the last day of the second-shot offer). 70-443 was tough. I will never again drink a tumbler of coffee within 6 hours of sitting down for an exam.
Can we give 70-444 before clear 70-443....?
June 18, 2008 at 5:10 pm
You can take 443, 444 in either order. Neither is a pre-req for the other. I believe this to be true for all MS exams (but wouldn't be surprised if I'm corrected on this.)
andy
June 19, 2008 at 1:51 am
The majority of Microsoft exams can be taken by anyone, in any order. Probably the only exceptions are the upgrade exams, where you must have first passed the relevant exams on the older version of the software (eg. Exam 70-447: UPGRADE: MCDBA Skills to MCITP Database Administrator).
June 19, 2008 at 2:00 am
Dugi (6/4/2008)
interesting info, but how about SQL Server MVPs, how many of them!?
The latest number is 209, see here for all the names etc.
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/communities/mvp.aspx?product=1&competency=SQL
[font="Verdana"]Markus Bohse[/font]
June 19, 2008 at 2:13 pm
As for why to get certified, I find it intersting that the discussion tends to concern whether having a certification can get you a job. The consensus seems to be that it can't. However, a certification gets you other things.
Having certifications on your resume probably makes a difference before you are ever called to interview. It gets you a second look. You may get an interview opportunity that you otherwise wouldn't have had. The certification doesn't help you past that--your experience and interpersonal skills will get you through the interview.
If your employer does software development work on contract, your certifications are a selling point to the employer's customers. Your employer sends resumes of employees to potential customers as evidence of their ability to do the contracted work. Thus, you are a more valuable employee for having those certifications.
Also, a certification can allow you to recycle outdated experience and point you in a new direction. This is why I pursued certification. I took years off for child-rearing and had to convince employers that my experience in products like PowerBuilder 6 and SQL Server 6.5 was still applicable today. I channeled that experience into C#.NET and SQL Server 2005 and got those certifications, fairly easily because I understood the concepts already. After I got certified, I was able to get work using those technologies and now I have up-to-date experience.
Before you get a certification, also ask yourself honestly about your test-taking ability. Are you one of those people who in school did all the homework perfectly then failed the test? If so, don't bother. I'm sorry to say this, but it's true. Test-taking ability has little to do with real-world competency, but it is absolutely required for certficiations. If you don't have that, it's going to be very difficult for you and probably not worth your efforts.
June 19, 2008 at 2:17 pm
There are about 150 SQL Server MVPs, about 1500 or so across all products. The number depends on funding and each MVP is evaluated against others in the quarter they are up for renewal. So they are compared against peers and might or might not be renewed.
June 19, 2008 at 2:17 pm
There are about 150 SQL Server MVPs, about 1500 or so across all products. The number depends on funding and each MVP is evaluated against others in the quarter they are up for renewal. So they are compared against peers and might or might not be renewed.
June 20, 2008 at 6:02 am
If you see a lot of job postings, they don't ask for MCITP DBA. Even some of them just said it would be nice to have but not required.
The job market for DBA and database developers is pretty hot so people just don't care to get the cert. At lease I get phone call everyday from recruiters all over the place. The resume may look more attractive if you have the cert but it does not mean the company will hire you based on the cert. Certainly the job salary is not based on the cert.
I think people find out more and more the cert is nice to have but not the ticket to get a better job or better pay.
Just my 2 cents.
June 21, 2008 at 8:19 am
Very interesting comments everyone. I am preparing to take the first of the exams after working with SQL server for more than a couple of years. So far I am glad that I am doing it as there were quite a few things that I learnt which I had either forgotten or missed when I learnt SQL server initially. Thanks all!
June 23, 2008 at 7:46 am
Passed my 70-443 Exam 2day 😎
Going to takkle the 70-444 a little bit later on this year 😛
MCITP: Database Administrator 2005
MCTS SQL Server 2008
MCP SQL 2012/2014
MCSA SQL Server 2012/2014
MCSE Data Management and Analytics
June 25, 2008 at 9:57 am
2cams (6/23/2008)
Passed my 70-443 Exam 2day 😎Going to takkle the 70-444 a little bit later on this year 😛
Congrats 🙂 i am doing the 70-443 exam in 2 weeks to complete my MCITP, revision isnt going well though
July 2, 2008 at 11:35 am
Yeah me! I passed 70-444 on 6/30/2008, the last day before 2nd shot. The first time around I used the Microsoft book and Transender. The 2nd time I used the Isakov, Miller-White, Jones, Warren book and Transender. I also set up a test environment at home.
The Microsoft book is not deep enough. The Isakov book has numerous minor mistakes and typos but is much better as an exam prep. The Transender questions are actually harder than most on the exam.
I am now a certified DBA on the product.
The hardest exam was 70-443. The only way I could finish it in time was to read each question first and scan the case study to find the information needed to answer the question. It was a bear!
I'm taking a break now from studying and focusing on other pursuits.
The entire process took about 18 months to complete.
When the snows fall and the white winds blow,The lone wolf dies but the pack survives.
Once you've accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.
July 3, 2008 at 4:51 am
The hardest exam was 70-443. The only way I could finish it in time was to read each question first and scan the case study to find the information needed to answer the question. It was a bear!
Hmm, a few people have said that. I think i will do the same on Monday, make a mental note of what the questions are then look for the relevant section in the case study.
Not looking forward to it at all, looking forward to it being completed though 🙂
July 7, 2008 at 6:47 am
I passed!!! Cant believe it, and i got a score of 850, i'm still in shock. 70-443 is a very tough exam, and takes all the allocated time (3 hours). I completely agree that having a quick look at the questions first help, especially for the case studies where there are only 4 or 5 questions (you get about 20 minutes on these and the case study alone took me 15 mins to read). the 14/15 question case studies you got 40 mins which i found a lot easier as you could read the case study properly.
A new member to the MCITP club - so proud 🙂
July 7, 2008 at 6:56 am
And rather depressingly, I see that the SQL Server 2008 certification details are up on line now..... argh!
However, the good news is that to upgrade from SQL2005 MCITP DBA to SQL2008 MCITP DBA it just takes one exam. Phew!
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcitp/sql/2008/default.mspx
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