03-18-2020, 09:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-19-2020, 12:08 AM by xicovu.
Edit Reason: Grammar, formatting and minor regarding certs + Big 3 options
)
I promise I know what I'm talking about. We can bicker about these little details or I can give some feedback from how an manager and your teammates are going to look at degrees and certifications.
"Active/inactive" doesn't mean "expired", it is still a valid cert and would be as long as that particular Microsoft product is supported. Even before the last phase of retirement, if you received an MCSA Server/SQL 2016, to keep active you would take an additional exam not another MCSA 2016 exam. Moving forward, if you had an MCSA Server/SQL 2016 and need to stay "active", you'll take one of the new role based certs and it will be the same thing. Active is better described as keeping active with Microsoft technologies then 1 particular cert. The role based certs that have replaced the previous MCSA's work in a similar fashion, but you'll need to do learning outside of it to be really useful. Taking additional electives every year or two will keep you "active" and build your certification badges and that may be a better way long term. Microsoft certification aren't going anywhere, and MCSA retiring isn't a new idea. Forcing Azure/Office365 cloud-only certs is Microsoft way to teach-force engineers to going onprem to give them that sweet, sweet recurring cloud revenue. It goes back to certs truly aren't going to make you proficient and you'll need to learn some skills on your own, with roles at least relating on on-premise roles.
If a job asks for an MCSA Server/SQL 2016 a year after the cert isn't an "active" cert, your MCSA Server/SQL 2016 will still be valid and employers will probably consider 2008/2012 valid unless they are Microsoft partners. Cisco on the other hand will expire. A three year old CCNA is no longer considered valid and you'd need to take the whole exam over if it expired. Retiring these Microsoft certs is pissing a lot of people off, and I'm pretty surprised myself there isn't any on-prem replacements for role-based certs. Office 365 Enterprise Administrator, O365 Desktop Admin, Azure Admin Associate, Azure DBA/Data Analyst/Engineer, etc will probably cover enough people showing they can do some sort of role similar to what they do now. Cisco did the same thing shaking up certs, the old CCNA is retired and replaced with a entry-level cert Network+ Cisco clone that isn't that decent for aspiring network engineers. A CCNP now equals an old CCNA. How is WGU going to cover that as it seems to me they use two separate classes to get the two parts for the CCNA exam of the old cert?
This is another big reason I wouldn't recommend WGU, certs based education locks you in and the program can change abruptly and you don't get decent background theory. Study.com is a much better educational option content wise then almost all of the WGU certs and is something that is applicable in more places. Having too many certs, especially low-class ones like CompTIA or CIW will get you laughed out of "big boy" jobs (or girl). Pick your main area of interest and keep up on keeping it active. AWS, Azure, GCP, SSCP/CISSP IS/2, CEH, Cisco, VMware taken to professional and expert levels are going to make you look focused and a subject matter expert. Back it up with broad theory.
Why shouldn't I give this advice from someone who has been on both sides of the interview table? Others I've PM'd directly seem to find it useful. People searching these forms might find it useful. If it doesn't apply to you and WGU is working for you, go for it. It'll get you there. Your husband probably needs to have the latest and greatest certs to show off to customers and clients. For operations and engineering folks, my experience and observation from being on both sides of the interview table is a good perspective. Having an industry perspective for people "degree" hacking is worthwhile before people commit to something. TESU or COSC using study.com is the best option for most people in my opinion, especially for a BA Computer Science is the most valuable by far. In the end getting a degree to get you where you want to be is whats most important, no matter if it's COSC, TESU, or WGU.
"Active/inactive" doesn't mean "expired", it is still a valid cert and would be as long as that particular Microsoft product is supported. Even before the last phase of retirement, if you received an MCSA Server/SQL 2016, to keep active you would take an additional exam not another MCSA 2016 exam. Moving forward, if you had an MCSA Server/SQL 2016 and need to stay "active", you'll take one of the new role based certs and it will be the same thing. Active is better described as keeping active with Microsoft technologies then 1 particular cert. The role based certs that have replaced the previous MCSA's work in a similar fashion, but you'll need to do learning outside of it to be really useful. Taking additional electives every year or two will keep you "active" and build your certification badges and that may be a better way long term. Microsoft certification aren't going anywhere, and MCSA retiring isn't a new idea. Forcing Azure/Office365 cloud-only certs is Microsoft way to teach-force engineers to going onprem to give them that sweet, sweet recurring cloud revenue. It goes back to certs truly aren't going to make you proficient and you'll need to learn some skills on your own, with roles at least relating on on-premise roles.
If a job asks for an MCSA Server/SQL 2016 a year after the cert isn't an "active" cert, your MCSA Server/SQL 2016 will still be valid and employers will probably consider 2008/2012 valid unless they are Microsoft partners. Cisco on the other hand will expire. A three year old CCNA is no longer considered valid and you'd need to take the whole exam over if it expired. Retiring these Microsoft certs is pissing a lot of people off, and I'm pretty surprised myself there isn't any on-prem replacements for role-based certs. Office 365 Enterprise Administrator, O365 Desktop Admin, Azure Admin Associate, Azure DBA/Data Analyst/Engineer, etc will probably cover enough people showing they can do some sort of role similar to what they do now. Cisco did the same thing shaking up certs, the old CCNA is retired and replaced with a entry-level cert Network+ Cisco clone that isn't that decent for aspiring network engineers. A CCNP now equals an old CCNA. How is WGU going to cover that as it seems to me they use two separate classes to get the two parts for the CCNA exam of the old cert?
This is another big reason I wouldn't recommend WGU, certs based education locks you in and the program can change abruptly and you don't get decent background theory. Study.com is a much better educational option content wise then almost all of the WGU certs and is something that is applicable in more places. Having too many certs, especially low-class ones like CompTIA or CIW will get you laughed out of "big boy" jobs (or girl). Pick your main area of interest and keep up on keeping it active. AWS, Azure, GCP, SSCP/CISSP IS/2, CEH, Cisco, VMware taken to professional and expert levels are going to make you look focused and a subject matter expert. Back it up with broad theory.
Why shouldn't I give this advice from someone who has been on both sides of the interview table? Others I've PM'd directly seem to find it useful. People searching these forms might find it useful. If it doesn't apply to you and WGU is working for you, go for it. It'll get you there. Your husband probably needs to have the latest and greatest certs to show off to customers and clients. For operations and engineering folks, my experience and observation from being on both sides of the interview table is a good perspective. Having an industry perspective for people "degree" hacking is worthwhile before people commit to something. TESU or COSC using study.com is the best option for most people in my opinion, especially for a BA Computer Science is the most valuable by far. In the end getting a degree to get you where you want to be is whats most important, no matter if it's COSC, TESU, or WGU.
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