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Certified or Certifiable?

As a senior technology professional, I interview a lot of candidates. I also maintain solid relationships with other folks in the community. Frequently, the topic of certifications arises: A good investment? Valuable? A clear measurement of skill? Consensus appears to draw the line related to one's seniority. If you're (for example) just out of school and looking for an instant creditability boost, by all means pursue a certification. Likely, this credential will assist you in overcoming the "junior" tag and likely land you more interviews and client roles. (Note: I'm going to use the terms senior and junior here...no offense to either. Can't think of a better one word description. I was a junior once too.) In stark contrast, the value of certifications drops off the table around the 2-3 year mark. Some in my circles even perceive certifications as a negative for the senior professional. They think, "If this guy is so solid, why is he wasting valuable...

Microsoft MCPD Certification Preparation

While I likely won't pursue it (probably not the best use of my time...), I'm starting to point some of my folks down the .Net 2.0 certification route and I wanted to clear up some confusion as well as share some of what I've learned. There are three MS Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) "tracks" one can pursue: windows, web, and enterprise applications (EA). Due to the exam matrix (below), I would recommend developers pursue the EA because it's a combination of web and windows requiring only 5 exams. In contrast, pursuing the web and windows tracks individually requires 7 exams. WEB 70-536 70-547 70-528 WIN 70-536 70-526 70-548 EA 70-536 70-526 70-528 70-529 70-549 Finally, while few materials are available, these are the self-study books I'm aware of (most not yet published): MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation (Not yet published...) 70-536 Exam Prep...