.NET Certifications Advice Please

[Steven Nagy]

Hi all,

I am interested in getting certified and want advice about what would
be best.
We have not fully switched to VS2005 at my work yet, still running 2003
for almost everything. I have heard that the new certification is much
different; even has a different name! So I guess my first question is,
from a self-marketability stand point, should I aim for MCAD/MCSD
around 1.1 or the new certs around 2.0 ?

Second question is, which books are best study guidelines? Should I
stick with the Microsoft Press books which are the study guides, or go
for something 3rd party?
Any suggestions here would be great.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Vipul Patel]

It would be advisable to go for the new generation of certification
MCPD/MCTS. They will be more comples and more job oriented.

Unfortunately, there are no books currently in market for them.

 

[Guest]

In my experience over 8 years of Microsoft certifications, the Microsoft
Press books have never been much good for certification on their own. But
then, without some experience and understanding, perhaps no book is.

In the C# for .Net 1.1 arena, the Que books by Kalani are very well rated.
I used them as study guides for two out of the three tests for my MCAD.
Since no one has books out for the new tests, it's hard to say who will have
the best yet.

But for your other question, I would definitely concenetrate on the new
tests. I think that the new certifications would imply at least functional
ability in .Net 1.1 so looking forward instead of backwards would be my
suggestion.

Of course, lastly, I would suggest the certification news groups rather than
the C# newsgroup. You'll probably find more useful information there.

HTH