Patrick’s Bytes

According to the website, 

The new Microsoft Certified Master series offers advanced technical training and certifications on Microsoft technologies that go beyond any product training offered outside of Microsoft today. IT professionals who successfully complete the training program and certification testing validate their skills as product experts who successfully design and implement solutions that meet the most complex business requirements.

Mind you, this is not a certificate you can get by studying brain dump, candidates are required to attend a 3 weeks training at MIcrosoft’s Redmond campus, passes 3 written exams and one lab exam. Like Cisco Certified Master, I think the hardest test to pass is the lab exam where actual production issues are simulated and candidates are required to solve it in the given timeframe.

How much is the cost? Since it’s the master cert, and you got to go to Redmond to learn from the gurus, the whole cost training + exams will cost you USD18,500. The 3-weeks training is valuable regardless whether you pass the exams or not because it is taught by people (or master I should say) who really know their stuff.

Below are technologies offered in the MSM program

1. Exchange 2007
2. SQL Server 2008
3. Active Directory
4. SharePoint Server 2007
5. Office Communications Server 2007

So you think this is very ‘geng’? MCM can go for the new Microsoft Certified Architect (Technology focus) program here after they got the cert. Its different from existing MCA (Solutions/ Infra) programs which are technology agnostic.