PASS, Microsoft, and Certification

Steve Jones’ (@way0utwest) recent SQLServerCentral editorial, The Missing Certification, has spawned a vigorous debate about what the missing certification should be, not whether or not there is a one missing.  Sure, there has been some discussion about the value, or lack thereof, of current Microsoft SQL Server certifications, but, if you can sift through the clutter and get to the main discussion, there is agreement that the current exams fall a bit short and that the MCM program is a bit too much for the vast majority of people.

So where does PASS come in? 

I think that PASS should be the organization that promotes and provides this middle tier certification.  I know that this has been discussed in the past, but I have not seen any public mention of an initiative in this area by PASS recently. 

What about Microsoft? 

One issue with the current certifications is that they are published by Microsoft and many people see them as just another revenue stream for Microsoft, not as valid tests of skills.  This alone taints any additional certifications that Microsoft may offer.

So what is the solution? 

First I think we need to change the perception about what gaining a Microsoft certification means.  To me, it isn’t really a measure of actual skills, but more a way to measure and guide professional development.  For example, if I were to see a resume where a person was certified on SQL Server 7, but never moved forward to certify with a later version, I would be inclined to ask why they did not seek another certification and what they were doing for professional development.  But, if another candidate comes in with certification from 7.0 to 2005 I would be clued in that they have an interest in their own professional development.

I think that a great path forward for PASS would be to develop guidelines for continuing education for SQL Server professionals.  Similar to what most states have in place for maintaining a teaching credential, where you are required to have a certain number of professional development hours in different areas.  Currently PASS doesn’t have the power to require it for work, but could make it part of becoming a “Professional SQL Server DBA/Developer/BI Developer”.

I know I don’t have the complete answer, but I really think professional development guidelines are a great place to start.

Here's another perspective:

Jason Brimhall (@sqlrnnr) - Stepping Stone Cert

What do you think?

More Thoughts on Certification

After a great response to my last post on Certification, I need to post my thoughts on 70-450 PRO: Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database Administrative Solution Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

I scheduled the test for exactly 2 weeks after taking and passing 70-432 TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Installation and Maintenance.  This might have been a little aggressive, but Jeremiah Peschka (@peschkaj) had a voucher for the exam if I could take it in 2 weeks, so I had nothing to lose.

Preparing

With the short time frame and the fact that there is not a Prep Kit like there is for 70-432, it was a bit more difficult to prepare for the exam.  I did 3 thing to prepare:

1. I went through the Learning Plan which really wasn’t that helpful.
2. I printed out the skills measured and read Books On Line for the areas I was least confident in.
3. I asked some questions on Twitter using the #sqlhelp tag.

As I said, the first one wasn’t that helpful as it really just gave an overview of new features.  If I were taking the test just after the product release it would have been more helpful.

Number 2 was very helpful, except that there is so much information that COULD be on the test and, in my limited time frame, there was no way to study ALL the areas I wanted to study.

Number 3 is always helpful especially if you know what question(s) to ask.  There are many high level SQL Server people on twitter like Paul Randal (@PaulRandal), Jonathan Kehayias (@SQLSarg), and Gail Shaw (@SQLintheWild), just to a name a few. 

Testing

As in my first certification post, I arrived about 30 minutes ahead of the scheduled test time and it took about 10 minutes to get into the test.  The format of the test was the same, but in this instance I took all but about 10 minutes of the allotted time.  There were six more questions on this test than on 70-432 and the questions definitely dealt with more enterprise-level topics than 70-432.  There were at least 3 questions that  I guessed on.  I had narrowed them down to 2 possible answers and just had to pick one based on experience and common sense.  Having said that I did pass the test and with a higher score than the easier 70-432.

Final Thoughts

This test was what I thought 70-432 would be.  There are many thoughts on what certification should be, see this SQLServerCentral thread for few opinions.  I think Microsoft, and other technology companies, are in a tough spot.  In order to show that you can really do the job, you need to be presented with some problems and then solve them.  I’m not sure how you do this, in an automated way without more resources, which will drive up the cost.  From what I understand of the MCDBA certification tests, I never took one, there was a lot of syntax and configuration setting memorization required, things that most practicing DBA’s look up.  I think Microsoft has addressed these issues by making the tests more practical and based on problem-solving than memorization.

So now I’m an MCITP: Database Administration and plan on taking the SQL developer tests sometime later this year.

Thoughts on SQL Server Certification

This is probably part 1 of a series, but no guarantees.

Why Certify?

I've been working with SQL Server for 10 years and for most of that time I've thought certification was unnecessary.  When I first started out my boss was not a fan of MS certifications, so I wasn't interested either.  Once I had some experience, I thought that my experience was enough.  So what changed my mind?  I moved and got to know people who, in my opinion, know a lot more about SQL Server than I do, so I was challenged to "up my game" and one way to do that is through certification.  The certification requires that I study about areas of SQL Server that I have not had the opportunity to work with or needed to know about, areas like clustering, log-shipping, online restores, to name just a few. 

Another reason is that I enjoy presenting (teaching) and I think I'd like to continue to do that and maybe make some money doing it.  So, I decided that one way to do that is to become and MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer) and in order to do that you need to be an MCITP.

Finally, after having already decided to go down the certification path, I read this article in ComputerWorld, Opinion: Certifications are no longer Optional.  I don't know how accurate that might be, but I also think that certifications can't hurt me.

So What Have I Done?

I recently took (and passed) 70-432: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Implementation and Maintenance. 

Preparation

I prepared for the test by going through Buck Woody's (@BuckWoody) blog series on his preparation for this test.  I also purchased the MCTS Self-Pace Training Kit (Exam 70-432): Microsoft SQL Server 2008-Implementation and Maintenance.  I purchased the book because it comes with practice test software which I thought would be valuable. The training kit was helpful, but a little shallow, I really expected it to be delve deeper into the subjects.  The case study presented at the end of each chapter was the most helpful part of the book as it really caused me to think about what I thought was the best way to solve the problem(s) presented.  I actually had a harder time doing the practice test(s) than I did with the real test.  I don't think I passed the real test because of this book, but it did help augment my experience and the other resources.

The Test

Having never taken a certification test before and this being about 15 years after the last test I took that actually meant anything, I was a bit concerned about being able to pass.  This concern was based on the fact that I had NOT passed a practice test.  I'll share that I have always been a good test taker, especially when the test is multiple choice, which the certification test is.  I got to the test center about 30 minutes before the test was scheduled (as recommended) and was registered and at the test station about 20 minutes later.  Now, the recommendation is to allow 2 hours and 45 minutes for the test so I expected a long test.  Well, I was leaving the test center 40 minutes after I sat down at the test station.  During that time I did the practice test, as it was my first time, did the pre-test MS survey, took the test, reviewed every question on the test, took the post-test MS survey, and the post-test Prometric survey.   You can decide how hard the test was.

Test Value

The test definitely covered all the areas it said it would cover, but I thought it should have been twice as long as there was not enough depth to the questions.  I am pretty sure I could have passed without studying.  I definitely could have passed without studying as much as I did.  Would I expect someone who passed this test to be able to sit down and set up a cluster or replication?  No.  I would expect to be able to give them a scenario and have them give me an basic solution that would be meet business requirements around availability and recovery.  So it has some value, but could be better.

What's Next?

I've scheduled 70-450: PRO: Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database Server Infrastructure using Microsoft SQL Server 2008.  I'll have another post about this test when I get there.