A Guide to Microsoft Certifications: Types, Impact and Paths

Deciding on a career is only part of the journey. Once you choose to pursue a particular career path, you will need to acquire the necessary skills for that profession. Degrees or certifications can bring you closer to getting the job you want. In this article, we discuss available Microsoft certifications and explain why expanding your knowledge in certain areas of Microsoft can benefit your career.

What is a Microsoft certification?

A Microsoft certification is a credential that shows your knowledge of one of Microsoft’s types of software or programs. Depending on your career path and experience, Microsoft offers a variety of certifications that could be beneficial for you. Many certifications have different levels of expertise, and you may need to earn them in sequential order. Most of these certifications require renewal every few years to ensure you maintain current knowledge of the product. 

Related: The New Graduate’s Guide to Job Search

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Types of Microsoft certifications

Here are the types of Microsoft certifications you can earn:

Microsoft Office Specialist

These global certifications show you have professional-level skills in Microsoft Office suite. There are three levels of certifications within the Microsoft Office Specialist:

• Microsoft Office Specialist: The certifications within this category are the foundation level certifications for the most popular of Microsoft Office, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access and Office365.

• Microsoft Office Specialist Expert: The certification covers the middle tier of certifications in Word and Excel. 

• Microsoft Office Specialist Master: This certification shows that you have overall expertise across the Microsoft Office System. To earn this certification, you are required to pass four exams: MOS: Microsoft Office Word 2010 Expert; MOS: Microsoft Office Excel 2010 Expert; MOS: Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2010; and MOS: Outlook 2010, Access 2010, SharePoint 2010 or OneNote 2010.

Microsoft Technology Associate

These certifications demonstrate entry-level skills in the IT field. Some of the certifications you can earn within the Microsoft Technology Associate area include:

• MTA: Database: This certification is for those who want to enter fields like database administration or business intelligence. 

• MTA: Developer: This certification is for those who want to enter roles like software engineer, computer programmer, or web and application developer.

• MTA: IT Infrastructure: This certification is for those thinking about a career in networking, cybersecurity, IT infrastructure management or cloud computing.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate

These certifications are the core of the new generation of cloud-optimized credentials. Some of the different certifications you can earn in the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate are as follows.

• MCSA: Windows 10: This certification demonstrates you can install, manage, and support Windows 10 desktops and mobile devices at the highest level. 

• MCSA: Windows Server 2016: This certification demonstrates you have the expertise to use the Windows server platform to improve performance and increase IT return on investment. 

• MCSA: Office 365: This certification demonstrates you know how to manage and migrate to cloud-based Office 365. 

Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert

These certifications give IT professionals the skills to design, create, and manage technology solutions using Microsoft products. Some of the certifications you can earn in the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert include:

• MCSE: Server Infrastructure: This certification shows you have the modern expertise to run a modern data center. 

• MCSE: Private Cloud: This certification shows you can manage cloud computing setups using Microsoft System Center and Windows Server.

• MCSE: Business Intelligence: This certification shows you can design, create and optimize business intelligence solutions. 

Microsoft Solutions Developer

• MCSD: App Builder: The prerequisites for this certification include earning the MCSA certifications in both web applications and universal windows platform. You must also pass one of the following exams:
  1. Exam 70-534: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions
  2. Exam 70-355: Universal Windows Platform—App Data, Services and Coding Patterns
  3. Exam 70-532: Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions
  4. Exam 70-487: Developing Microsoft Azure and Web Services
  5. Exam 70-488: Developing Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Core Solutions
  6. Exam 70-489: Developing Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Advanced Solutions
  7. Exam 70-354: Universal Windows Platform—App Data, Services and Coding Patterns
  8. Exam 70-496: Administering Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server
  9. Exam 70-497: Software Testing with Visual Studio
  10. Exam 70-498: Delivering Continuous Value with Visual Studio Application Lifestyle Management

Related: 10 Six-Month Certificate Programs That Pay Well

How to get a Microsoft certification

Follow these basic steps to earn a Microsoft certification:

1. Determine the certification you need. There are many certifications available in varying degrees, so you’ll need to determine which one is most beneficial for your career. Consider asking your manager if there’s a specific certification they prefer you obtain. If you’re searching for a job, review job postings to determine which certification most employers seek. 

2. Study or complete training courses. While training is not required, it is a good idea to find a trainer who can help you prepare. If a trainer is not in your budget, you can use an at-home test lab. Practice the labs in the books you have purchased or received from your trainer. You will want to design your own solution to these labs.

3. Take a practice exam. A low score on this practice exam is fine and will motivate you to study. It is normal to score low, especially when the material is new.

4. Renew your certification. Once you earn your certification, you may need to renew it every year. Make sure you know if and when you need to renew your certification so you can continue to list it on your resume.

Related: Guide: How to Choose a Career

Jobs that typically require a Microsoft certification

These jobs either require or prefer those who have earned Microsoft certifications:

• IT specialist
• Technical support specialist
• Software developer
• Web developer
• Software tester
• Software engineer
• System administrator
• Azure cloud architect

Goodbye: MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA Certifications are Retiring

 

In the continuation of the move towards all role-based certifications, Microsoft has announced that they are officially retiring all of the MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA certifications; as well as their associated exams. This means there are a total of 15 certifications, and 42 exams being retired on January 31, 2021. Wow!

Now, we’ve known for awhile now that this would be coming. Back in September 2018, Microsoft first announced the new role-based certification paths with the initial role-based Microsoft Azure certification paths. And, they’ve been slowly adding more role-based paths to the new certification lineup since then. Now that they’ve created role-based certifications for all the most popular certification paths, they are looking to finally retire the old “technology-based” certification paths.

UPDATE: Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Microsoft has extended the retirement of the MCSA, MCSD, and MCSE certifications to January 31, 2021 instead of the original June 30, 2020 date that was announced.

MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA are being retired January 31, 2021

As Microsoft looks to close one certification chapter, and begin a new, they are going to be retiring the Microsoft Certified Solution Expert (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD), and Microsoft Certified Solution Associate (MCSA) certifications on January 31, 2021.

Perhaps there’s a song that could be written here…

Here’s a list of the MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA certifications that will be retired:

• MCSA: BI Reporting
• MCSA: Dynamics 365 for Operations
• MCSA: SQL 2016 BI Development
• MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Admin
• MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Dev
• MCSA: SQL Server 2012/2014
• MCSA: Universal Windows Platform
• MCSA: Web Applications
• MCSA: Windows Server 2012
• MCSA: Windows Server 2016
• MCSD: App Builder
• MCSE: Business Applications
• MCSE: Core Infrastructure
• MCSE: Data Management & Analytics
• MCSE: Productivity

If you on your path to earning these certifications, then you have until January 31, 2021 to pass the required exams to earn the certifications. After that date they will no longer be available to be earned. Once retired, these certifications will remain on your official Microsoft certification transcript. In fact, they will remain on your transcript for 2 years from the January 31, 2021 date; after which they will be moved to the “inactive” section of your transcript. With the new role-based exams being active for a period of 2 years once earned, this change makes sense for the MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA certifications to be in line with that two year expiration / renewal cycle.

The MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA certifications will remain on your transcript for 2 years from the January 31, 2021 date; after which they will be moved to the “inactive” section of your transcript

Wait? Does this mean there will no longer be a Windows Server, SQL Server, or C# / .NET developer certifications? Yes, that’s exactly what this certification retirements means. To make this more confusing, Microsoft has stated that you will learn enough Windows Server and SQL Server from the cloud-based certifications offered, and they don’t need to create new role-based certifications for these “on-premises focused” technologies. This is odd angle to all this certification expiration news, and hopefully we’ll hear more information from Microsoft to clarify this soon. However, unless they change their stance and direction, you only have until January 31, 2021 to earn a technology-based certification in Windows Server, SQL Server, and C# / .NET development. Sorry, not sorry, to those who need these certifications for their resumes and to meet employer requirements.

Lots of exams retired too…

With these MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA certifications being retired, the necessary exams needed to earn these certifications will also be retired on January 31, 2021. I know it’s a lot of exams, and you may be worried about your own certification journey, but there are more details for you below.

Here is the list of exams being retired:

• 70-333: Deploying Enterprise Voice with Skype for Business 2015
• 70-334: Core Solutions for Microsoft Skype for Business 2015
• 70-339: Managing Microsoft SharePoint Server 2016
• 70-345: Designing and Deploying Microsoft Exchange Server 2016
• 70-457: Developing Mobile Apps
• 70-410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012
• 70-411: Administering Windows Server 2012
• 70-412: Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services
• 70-413: Designing and Implementing a Server Infrastructure
• 70-414: Implementing an Advanced Server Infrastructure
• 70-417: Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012
• 70-461: Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014
• 70-462: Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014 Databases
• 70-463: Implementing a Data Warehouse with Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014
• 70-464: Developing Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014 Databases
• 70-465: Designing Database Solutions for Microsoft SQL Server
• 70-466: Implementing Data Models and Reports with Microsoft SQL Server
• 70-467: Designing Business Intelligence Solutions with Microsoft SQL Server
• 70-480: Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3
• 70-483: Programming in C#
• 70-486: Developing ASP.NET MVC Web Applications
• 70-487: Developing Microsoft Azure and Web Services
• 70-537: Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack
• 70-705: Designing and Providing Microsoft Licensing Solutions to Large Organizations
• 70-740: Installation, Storage, and Compute with Windows Server 2016
• 70-741: Networking with Windows Server 2016
• 70-742: Identity with Windows Server 2016
• 70-743: Upgrading Your skills to MCSA: Windows Server 2016
• 70-744: Securing Windows Server 2016
• 70-745: Implementing a Software-Defined Datacenter
• 70-761: Querying Data with Transact-SQL
• 70-762: Developing SQL Databases
• 70-764: Administering a SQL Database Infrastructure
• 70-765: Provisioning SQL Databases
• 70-767: Implementing a Data Warehouse using SQL
• 70-768: Developing SQL Data Models
• 70-777: Implementing Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Solutions
• 70-778: Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Microsoft Power BI
• 70-779: Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Microsoft Excel
• MB2-716: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customization and Configuration
• MB6-894: Development, Extensions and Deployment for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance
• MB6-897: Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Retail
• MB6-898: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Human Resources

If you are currently studying for one of these exams, then you’ll want to take them and earn your desired certification before January 31, 2021. After that date, the exams will be retired and no longer available to sit.

Transitional Paths towards Role-based Microsoft Certifications

There are a lot of certifications being retired, in fact, I believe this is the largest certification and exam retirement Microsoft has ever done in a single cycle. These are big changes, and they have laid out a recommended path for those on the old MCSE and MCSD paths to move towards the new role-based certifications. While there aren’t full equivalents for all the certifications yet, I’m sure Microsoft will be working in the near future (or at least in the next couple years) to fill in blanks as peoples certifications go “inactive” and they are looking to renew again.

Recommended Path to Microsoft Role-based Certification Options – Credit: Microsoft

The current migration path that Microsoft recommends for moving from the MCSE and MCSD certifications to the existing role-based certification paths are as follows:

• MCSE: Core Infrastructure
  • Start with any of these…
    • Azure Administrator Associate
    • Azure Solutions Architect Expert
    • Azure Security Engineer Associate
• MCSE: Productivity
  • Start with any of these…
    • Teams Administrator Associate
    • Messaging Administrator Associate
    • Security Administrator Associate
  • Then take…
    • Enterprise Administrator Expert
• MCSE: Data Management and Analytics
  • Start with any of these…
    • Azure Database Administrator (coming soon)
    • Data Analyst Associate (coming soon)
    • Azure Data Engineer Associate
    • Azure AI Engineer Associate
    • Azure Data Scientist Associate
• MCSD: App Builder
  • Start with…
    • Azure Developer Associate
• MCSE: Business Applications
  • Start with any of these…
    • Dynamics 365 Finance Functional Consultant Associate
    • Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Manufacturing Functional Consultant Associate
    • Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management Functional Consultant Associate
    • Dynamics 365 Customer Service Functional Consultant Associate
    • Dynamics 365 Field Service Functional Consultant Associate
    • Dynamics 365 Marketing Functional Consultant Associate
    • Dynamics 365 Sales Functional Consultant Associate

I know this list looks to be a bit short in filling the full breadth of what the MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA certifications covered. For example with this change there is no longer a path for someone to get certified with .NET Core / ASP.NET. Keep in mind that Microsoft is continually working on improving the certification paths they offer. So, I would imagine within the next year or so we will likely see more information about new certifications that will be coming to fill in these holes left by retiring the MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA certifications.

Keep in mind that Microsoft is continually working on improving the certification paths they offer. So, I would imagine within the next year or so we will likely see more information about new certifications that will be coming to fill in these holes left by retiring the MCSE, MCSD, and MCSA certifications.

Additionally, for answering your other questions about this change, please refer to the original announcement from Microsoft for more “frequently asked questions”. I’m sure many of you have questions, so hopefully that link helps. If not, maybe we’ll see more information and clarification on these changes in the coming months leading up to January 31, 2021.

Yes, I know it seems Microsoft keeps making changes to their certification programs every couple years. This is true. However, the new role-based direction is one that is better aligned with real world job roles, and are better serving people to help them in their careers. At least that’s my opinion and observation of all the changes towards this role-based set of certification paths. As technology keeps changing, and you need to keep updating your skills to stay relevant in this industry; so do the certifications necessary to test and verify those skills.

Happy studying, and I hope you achieve your certification goals