New certificate level from Microsoft lets you be the ‘Master’ of your own domain (or SQL or Exchange)

At the TechEd conference last month Microsoft announced that they would be adding a new certificate level to their existing list. I posted a blog a couple of weeks ago, ‘No more MCSE’ that described the different levels of Microsoft certifications that are currently available.

As a quick review, the Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS) level of certificates normally requires one or two exams and shows knowledge in implementation, building and troubleshooting on a specific Microsoft product. The Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) requires the exams from one or more of the TS levels along with one or two additional exams. The MCITP credential points out that the person has the required skills to do all aspects of a particular IT job; the design, implementation, monitoring and maintenance. The Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) requires a rigorous peer review process and is the pinnacle of all the Microsoft certificates.

The new certificate level, the ‘Master’ level, is designed to be a stepping off point between the IT Professional and the Architect levels and demonstrates that the holder of the certificate has advanced knowledge about a specific Microsoft product line (currently Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Exchange server 2007).

As with the Architect certification, there are prerequisites that have to be met before you are even a candidate to attempt the certification process, including having the IT Professional certificates for the track that you are attempting, plus extensive experience with the technology or previous versions of the technology ( see: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/master/products/default.mspx#EKF for all of the details).
Once you meet the requirements to begin you quest for the Master certificate you will have to complete the following steps:

The projected cost for the package about is currently running at around $18,500. The price alone is going to keep the master certificates a pretty exclusive club. For people like me that are MCTs, the chances of our company footing the bill for something like this is pretty slim, although we routinely send some of our trainers to Cisco Certified Systems Instructor training as it is a requirement for us to be a Cisco Sponsored Organization (CSO). So maybe someday I will get to pursue this certificate.

For all of you that are chomping at the bit to give this a shot, registration is scheduled to start in July with the first classes beginning sometime in the 3rd quarter of the year.