Microsoft Certifications: How do I upgrade my MCAD or MCSD?
Sorry for the long time between posts but work just keeps getting in the way. Along with moonlighting and University. Oh well, moonlighting is pretty much over and my final has been written. Woohoo, more free time. Yeah right!
At any rate, to the question at hand.
When we made the switch over to the new generation of certifications, that left the MCAD and MCSD monikers sitting as older designations, or what we refer to as "Classic certifications". These certifications also proved proficiency in earlier versions of developer technologies such as Visual C++ 6, VB 6 and .NET 1.0/1.1.
The new generation of certifications concentrate more on specific technologies and are getting more and more focused. Where MCAD and MCSD required multiple exams to achieve the credential, the new generation require fewer exams. They also allow hiring managers to more closely gauge your fit for their needs.
Because there is such a change in technologies, coupled with the new generation of certifications, we have provide only one upgrade path. That is from MCAD or MCSD to MCTS or MCPD in .NET 2.0. There will be NO direct upgrade path from MCAD or MCSD to .NET 3.5.
Initially, we had a path from MCAD to MCPD Web or MCPD Windows, but we found that the fail rate was rather high. A part of that reason revolves around what I think, in that the MCAD is not qualified to be an MCPD yet. We are restructuring the exam story and recommending a different upgrade path depending on whether you are an MCAD or and MCPD. Although not mandatory, here is my recommendation for the most success.
If you are an MCAD already;
You can take the upgrade path to MCTS Web or Windows 2.0. These exams will be released shortly and will be numbered 70-558 for upgrading MCAD skills to MCTS: .NET 2.0 Web Developer and 70-559 upgrading MCAD skills to MCTS: .NET 2.0 Windows applications.
It is recommended that you do not take the current exams 70-551 and 70-552 to upgrade from MCAD to MCPD based on the current failure rates. Once again, we are not enforcing this, but recommending it.
If you are not ready for MCPD yet, then taking the upgrade path to MCTS 2.0 is a good choice if want to remain current on 2.0. Again, there is no direct upgrade path to 3.5 and the MCTS exams will require passing 70-536 for both 2.0 and 3.5, as well as the requisite MCTS exam.
If you are an MCSD already;
It is my intention to leave 70-551 and 70-552 in market for upgrading MCSD to MCPD. The reason I want to to do this is simple. I mentioned earlier that there is no direct upgrade path to 3.5 for MCAD or MCSD, but this path allows you an indirect upgrade.
So, I am sure this is likely still somewhat confusing and if so I apologize but to summarize:
Upgrading your MCSD to MCPD 2.0 is the quickest way to gain the MCPD credential. It also allows you to take one upgrade exam, when available, to the MCPD 3.5. Upgrading your MCAD to MCPD 2.0 will also afford you the same but again, I point out that is not recommended.
Closing
On a closing note, there will be an announcement next month surrounding the retirement of exams and certifications in the MCAD/MCSD space so if you don't currently have either of these, now is not a good time to start unless you don't plan on using .NET 2.0 or later.
Gerry
Comments
Anonymous
February 25, 2008
Sorry for the long time between posts but work just keeps getting in the way.  Along with moonlightingAnonymous
February 25, 2008
Did you see this post at blogs.msdn.comAnonymous
February 25, 2008
Hi Gerry, So will there be an upgrade route from MCPD 2.0 to 3.5? If so, how many exams do you expect it to be? Cheers, RobAnonymous
February 26, 2008
Hi Rob. You will have to wait for that post in this series. :-) GerryAnonymous
February 26, 2008
Hello Gerry, Thanks for the nice post explaining upgrading from MCAD/MCSD. In my situation (MCAD), I am thinking about taking the new 70-558 and to get the "MCTS: .NET 2.0 Web Developer". However, I didn't understand how it will work if I want to get additional MCTS certifications. If I got the "MCTS: .NET 2.0 Web Developer" (MCAD + 70-558), and my next step is to get "MCTS: .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications", then do I sill need to pass on both 70-536 and 70-529, or only pass on 70-529? If I am still required to take 70-536, then I don't see any advantage in taking the upgrade exam 70-558 and I rather start from the scratch. Thank you, LuisAnonymous
February 26, 2008
Hi Luis. The upgrade exams are supposed to give you credit for 70-536, which means that you would only need to take 70-529. GerryAnonymous
February 26, 2008
Thanks for the quick response, Gerry. I am looking forward for the new upgrade exams. Thanks, LuisAnonymous
March 06, 2008
Hello Gerry, I have MCAD and I want to upgarde it to MCTS and MCPD . what should i do? thanks, RatneshAnonymous
March 06, 2008
Hi Ratnesh. The post that you responded to answers your question in great detail. GerryAnonymous
March 12, 2008
Do you know when will this 70-558 exams be released as I enquired at Thompson (Prometric) and they had no idea whatsoever. I was planning to give the 70-551 but after reading your article I think its sensible to wait and give the upgrade from MCAD to MCTS by giving 70-558. Please let me know if you any timescales.Anonymous
March 13, 2008
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March 13, 2008
Hi Shaleen. I was hoping to have it released already but a few issues arose around the exams in the meantime that needed to be clarified first. It should be released in April. GerryAnonymous
March 13, 2008
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March 13, 2008
Thanks Gerry, That helped me a lot. I think 70-551 is right for me. I was trying to prepare for 70-300 which i failed before (upgrade to mcsd) and then take up MCTS. ( :) total mess). I think this certificate planner (MCP Site) is totally confusing. Thanks SatishAnonymous
April 03, 2008
Right now i have finished MCAD. I want to do upgrade. what should i do? Whether MCPD (70-551 Upgrade) is ok ? or shall i do MCTS?.Anonymous
April 04, 2008
Ananthu, that depends on where you want to go with your certification. You cannot upgrade to MCPD on .NET 3.5 from MCAD so you may want to look at upgrading to MCTS 3.5 if that is the platform you want to work on. If you are planning on continuing your certification on 2.0, then you can upgrade to the MCTS by taking exams 70-558 or 70-559. These will be available shortly. You might also want to look at 70-551 or 70-552 for upgrade from MCAD to MCPD although it is no longer a recommended path for those who only hold MCAD. We now recommend that only MCSDs upgrade to MCPD and that MCADs upgrade to MCTS. GerryAnonymous
June 17, 2008
Yesterday I clear 70-551 paper with score of 760 :) feeling great!!!!!!!!!!Anonymous
August 09, 2008
Can you upgrade from mcsd to mcpd web developer using exam 70-551?Anonymous
August 11, 2008
Hi Gert, The initial post for this thread, outlines all the upgrade possibilities for MCSD to MCPD Web developer. 70-551 is the upgrade exam you want to take. It will be available until March 2009. GerryAnonymous
September 01, 2008
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September 03, 2008
Hi tvtran, I'm sorry that you find the certification paths confusing. To be honest, there are a lot of choices and it's not an easy topic to present in a simplified manner. Trying to balance increasing technology skill sets with certification paths is a challenge. With the legacy certifications such as MCSD, hiring managers or anyone for that matter, had no idea what you were certified on. The only way to know was to look at your transcript. With the new certifications, the technology is in the title which makes it far easier to see what the candidate is certified on. The web sites are undergoing some changes and we are working with marketing to better message the new generation of certifications to everyone involved. GerryAnonymous
September 21, 2008
Hi Gerry I have an MCSD (VB6, SQL2000). Is there a direct upgrade path to MCPD in .NET 2?Anonymous
September 22, 2008
Hi Norty, Unfortunately, you can't upgrade directly to and MCPD in .NET 2.0 from VB6. The reason is due to the considerable change in technology and language features. You will need to upgrade to MCSD or MCAD on .NET 1.1 first. The time is running out on the MCSD and MCAD as well. They will expire in March of 2009 so if you are considering the upgrade, you should look at doing it sooner rather than later. GerryAnonymous
October 14, 2008
Gerry, I am an MCAD. I want to achieve MCPD: Enterprise Applications Developer 3.5. What are my options ? The webpages focussed on the technologies are so confused that I am trying hard to find out what exams I need to appear. Thanks AchintyaAnonymous
October 16, 2008
Hi Achintya, You need to move to .NET 2.0 first. There isn't a direct upgrade path from MCAD to any certification on 3.5. My recommendation is to take exam 70-551 and 70-552 to upgrade yourself to MCPD .NET 2.0 on Windows and Web. Take the Enterprise .NET 2.0 exam 70-549 and exam 70-529 MCTS Distributed exam. Once you have completed that, you can look at the upgrade path for MCDP 3.5. Sound like a lot of exams? It is. You can start from scratch on 3.5 if you want. That will require you take pass 6 exams as well. 70-536 70-503 70-505 70-562 70-561 70-565 I hope that helps to clear it up a bit. GerryAnonymous
October 17, 2008
Hello Gerry, Got a quick question. It's kind of a follow up to Achintya uestion. I have a MCAD and I examined the possible path towards MCPD: ASP.NET Developer 3.5. The upgrade path (without 70-551) if i'm not mistaken requires 70-559, 70-547 and 70-567. The from scratch path is 70-564, 70-562 and 70-536. The number of exams are the same. But in terms of availability of prep material, effort, difficulty (considering my background), which one would be better? I also notice that the upgrade path contains 70-547 which is a subsection in 70-551 and also the section that most people had failed on. Regards, JonathanAnonymous
October 17, 2008
Hi Jonathan, The upgrade path requires one exam, 70-551 or 70-552 depending on Web or Windows. Even though they cover content from three exams. This one exam will provide you with MCPD on 2.0. Once you pass that, you can upgrade to 3.5 using the appropriate upgrade exam for your chosen technology of Web or Windows. Enterprise will require more than one exam. GerryAnonymous
October 17, 2008
Hello Gerry, I know 70-551 covers the entire upgrade path. However, you mention in your post that it is not recommended to do 70-551 and instead we go with 70-559. So if our final objective is MCPD: ASP.NET Developer 3.5, that means 70-559, 70-547 and 70-567. Which is 3 exams compared to doing it from scratch with is also 3 exams 70-564, 70-562 and 70-536. So among these, which one is better cover in terms of study material, etc etc?Anonymous
October 19, 2008
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November 06, 2008
First, thank you very much for all help you provide to community... I have a MCAD and will take the exam 79-559 to upgrade to MCTS web. I am studying the Self Training books for 70-228 and 70-536 and the exams that the books provide. Is it enought to pass the upgrade exam ? I am not sure if this is enought if the focus on this exam is on the NEW things on 2.0 Theses books do not focus only on that... what do you think about this ? More reading ? Some suggests ? Thank you again !!! MichelAnonymous
November 07, 2008
Hi Michel, You are welcome. I try to keep the community up to date on what is taking place in the developer and SQL Server certification areas. To answer your question, 70-536 is one exam that you should be studying for to pass the 559 upgrade exam. However, 70-228 is a SQL Server exam and will not prepare you for the upgrade exam. You will need to get prep materials for exam 70-528 instead, which is the web developer exam for 2.0. Studying these two training kits will help prepare you for exam 70-559. GerryAnonymous
November 07, 2008
Hi Gerry thank you for your answer. Sorry, my mistake.... I wanted to write 70-528, not 70-228.... :(( My point was about the content of theses training kits versus the 70-559 exam. Theses kits do not focus only on new stuff of .Net 2.0. But does the exam do this (focusing questions on new stuff), I ask my self if theses kits are enought... Does I have to read more books ? Thank you again... MichelAnonymous
November 09, 2008
Hi again Michel, Now, that makes more sense. :-) The content on the 559 is exactly the same as on the two individual exams it covers. The questions are taken from the same place. So, those training kits will help you study for that exam. GerryAnonymous
December 21, 2008
Gerry, Great post especially your responses to the comments. My self and friend both did our MCAD in c# a few years back for a previous employer. We now are actively coding 3.5 and from your posts I understand that I should do exam 70-551 (with the extra effort) as the first stage of the upgrade path. Can yon confirm that this exam expires in March 09? Also when looking for exam prep questions etc which alternative exams should we look into for material. Thanks. P.S Its a shame there isn't an active site which formally outlines the exam expiry periods etc on the MS Certification site.Anonymous
December 22, 2008
Hi Anthony, thank you. Exam 70-551 will not retire in March of 2009. The exams that will retire are those that are required to achieve the MCAD or MCSD certifications. We want you to upgrade so exams 70-551, 70-552, 70-558, and 70-559 will remain in market for those who hold MCAD or MCSD certifications to upgrade with. You can alwyas find out the latest exam retirement announcements here, http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcpexams/status/examstoretire.mspx. It is a shame that we don't have that link off the main certification page so I will see about getting it added. The exams that make this particular upgrade exam are as follows; 70-536 - http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exams/70-536.aspx 70-528 - http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exams/70-528.mspx 70-547 - http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exams/70-547.mspx Hope that helps you get prepared and best of luck in your upgrade path. GerryAnonymous
January 05, 2009
I'm grateful for your patience in answering all these similar questions. In my case, I have an MCAD in Visual Basic.NET and I'm thinking of going for the MCSD via the 70-305 and 70-300 exams before they retire at the end of March. Then I would need only one exam to upgrade to the new cert. Have I got this straight or am I planning a waste of time?Anonymous
January 05, 2009
Hi Elliot, If you currently have an MCAD certification, you can already upgrade to MCTS or MCPD for .NET 2.0. Unless you "want" to achieve MCSD before the exams retire, you don't need to. I will caution you that the upgrade to MCPD is not an easy path and the exam is difficult unless you have sufficient experience in .NET 2.0. 70-551 or 70-552 will take you to the MCPD for 2.0 or you can earn the MCTS by taking either 70-558 or 70-559. The only differences in the above exams would be you desire to do Windows Forms or Web development focus. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. GerryAnonymous
January 14, 2009
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January 15, 2009
Hi Martin, If you elect to take 559 to upgrade to MCTS, that will provide you with an MCTS for Web apps on 2.0. Once you complete that exam, you will need to get to MCPD Web Developer on 2.0 first, and then upgrade to 3.5. You can do so by taking the following exams.
- 70-547 MCPD Web on 2.0
- 70-567 MCPD ASP.NET on 3.5 This is once you complete your 559 upgrade exam to MCTS. Hope that makes sense. Gerry
Anonymous
January 15, 2009
Hi Gerry, That makes perfect sense, thank you. MartinAnonymous
January 22, 2009
Hi Gerry, You mentioned in a previous post that you can upgrade an MCSD on VB6, SQL2000 to an MCSD on .NET 1.1. What exam(s) are required for this upgrade? Thanks! Gerald DunnAnonymous
January 22, 2009
Hi Gerald, The window for upgrading VB6 to MCAD on .NET 1.1 has been closed for some time now. There currently are no options for upgrading these older certifications. Your best choice is to look at starting your .NET certifications from scratch. Note that the exams required to earn an MCSD or MCAD will retire in March of 2009 and you will no longer be able to acquire those certifications. I recommend you look at the .NET 3.5 track as a starting point into the new generation of MCTS and MCPD exams. GerryAnonymous
February 04, 2009
i am also MCAD and how i can upgrade mcad to MCPD.Anonymous
February 05, 2009
Hi Rohit, Did you read the above post? it clearly outlines the options available to you including links for where to go for more information. Please read the post and related comments first and if you still have questions, then provide me with more specific information as to which certification you are seeking. MCPD is too generic as there are various versions available. GerryAnonymous
February 12, 2009
Hi Gerry, Currently I'm holding MCSD .NET and willing to upgrade it to MCPD 3.5 (EAD). Since there is no direct upgrade path, should I take 70-553 and 70-554 to get MCPD 2.0 (EAD) credentials first and later upgrade again to MCPD 3.5 (EAD)? Roughly, when will those two exams (70-553 and 70-554) retire? Your reply would be much appreciated. Regards, ThureinAnonymous
February 13, 2009
Hi Thurein, Yes, you can use these two exams to upgrade to MCPD Enterprise 2.0, then upgrade to 3.5 as appropriate. 553 and 554 will be around for a few more years yet. We announce retirements one year prior to the actual retirement date. GerryAnonymous
April 02, 2009
what if you not either a MCAD or MCSD and want to get certified in Windows Application Development what would the right certification to go?Anonymous
April 03, 2009
Hi Nick, Take a look at this page. http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcts/vstudio/2008/default.mspx GerryAnonymous
April 07, 2009
Hi very usefull information and can you please tell when the Exam 70-547 will expire? Thank you!!!!!Anonymous
April 08, 2009
Hi Karthikeyan, I can't give you an exact date or year as the exam will retire when Microsoft retires mainstream support for the technology. We will announce the retirement one year prior to its actual retirment date. GerryAnonymous
April 19, 2009
Hi Gerry!!! I am planning to give 70-528. This is the first time i am going for Microsoft certification. I am working on .net 2.0. Can u pls tell me that how many years this 70-528 certification will be valid? and to become MCTS what other exams i have to give?? also what is the time period to expire any Microsoft certification?? Please do reply. I need help.Anonymous
April 20, 2009
Hi Priya, Exam 70-528 will continue to exist as long as Microsoft continues to provide support for Visual Studio 2005 and version 2.0 of the .NET Framework. This also applies to your certification. As for what other exams, you will also need to pass 70-536 before you can acquire an MCTS certification. GerryAnonymous
April 24, 2009
Hello Gerry First, congratulations for this great post. I have a couple of questions. I would like to know the path from MCAD to MCPD 3.5 (Web). I'm planning to take the 70-551 exam to get the 2.0 upgrade. But I'm not quite sure what would be next from there. My other question is related to the difference between MCPD and MCTS. Thanks in advance RegardsAnonymous
April 24, 2009
Thanks Mark, The answer to question 1 is that once you have acheived the MCPD on .NET 2.0, you can look here, http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcpd/vstudio/2008/default.mspx#ELE for information on which exam to choose next based on your needs. As for the difference between MCPD and MCTS, the best way I can explain it is this; MCTS is the "how to" exam that test on your knowledge and skills of how to program using Web or Windows using .NET. MCPD is the "When would I use x, why would I use x over y, where would I use x?" concepts. Think of a lead dev or team lead that needs to review a spec and decide what will be used to create the application. Hope that helps. GerryAnonymous
July 08, 2009
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July 08, 2009
Hi Rajdeep, That is correct. You can take that path to achieve the MCPD. GerryAnonymous
March 08, 2010
Hi Gerry, I am not an MCAD Certified Professional, but now I want to get certified. Can you please let me know, can I directly take Exam 70-559 as Upgrade to MCAD or I will need to give three exams (70-315, 70-320 & 70-229 ,which are already expired) as per requirement for MCAD ? Waiting for your reply. Thanking you. Warm regards, MitulAnonymous
March 09, 2010
mitul, Your post says you are NOT and MCAD. If you are not certified as an MCAD, then you cannot take the upgrade exam. You cannot take any exam to acquire the MCAD at this time either because they have been retired. This simply means that you cannot acquire an MCAD certification anymore. You will need to start with one of the MCTS certifications and then move to MCPD. Gerry