The New Microsoft Certifications Replacing MCSA, MCSE and MCSD
We’re all used to certifications changing their names from time to time. For example, take the O-Level. The GCSE qualification replaced this in 1987.
You can usually tell how old someone is by whether they say that they took O-Levels or GCSEs at secondary school!
A few years ago, Microsoft announced that their certifications weren’t just changing names, but the whole infrastructure around the qualifications they provided would be changing too.
Qualifications like the Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSA), Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) officially retired in January 2021.
If you already have one of these certifications, you may be wondering; is it still valid? Will I have to retake it? Can I still use it on my CV?
In this article, we’ll be looking at the changes and how they will benefit delegates like yourself moving forward.
Microsoft certifications – what has changed?
Essentially, Microsoft has moved from product-based certifications to role-based ones. There are now nine certification paths for prospective delegates to take.
The nine certification paths available now are:
- Administrator – for those who implement, monitor and maintain IT business solutions
- AI engineer – for those who use machine learning to identify the solutions to problems
- Data engineer – for those who manage, monitor and secure data
- Data scientist – for those who apply machine learning to help solve problems that businesses may have
- Developer – for those who design, build, test and maintain solutions to problems
- Dev ops engineer – for those who develop and deliver products and services that meet user needs and objectives
- Functional consultant – for those who need to anticipate and plan for customer needs
- Solutions architect – for those who design applications and services within a business
- Security engineer – for those involved in developing technology security systems
The nine different paths are each organised into three different levels – fundamentals (beginners), associate (intermediate) and expert (advanced).
Different certifications are available depending on which level of qualification you want to pursue – more on that later.
Find out more about the new certifications on the Microsoft website
Why has Microsoft made these changes?
If you have already worked your way towards achieving a certification like MCSA, you may be wondering why Microsoft has chosen to shake-up the qualifications they provide. There are a couple of reasons behind the changes.
Firstly, Microsoft wanted to make a move away from product-based certifications as the people who take the qualifications may work with a variety of different systems. The new certifications are more product-agnostic, making them more valuable to the people who take them as they can apply the concepts to other systems.
Secondly, the changes also make it easier to determine which certification is the right choice for your requirements.
Just choose your career learning path, the level you are currently at, and Microsoft will recommend the right course (or courses) for you to take.
Finally, the changes also mean there is a lot more variety available. This means you can choose a certification more bespoke to your needs, which will provide a lot more value to your chosen career path.
Take the MCSE qualification. Under the new role-based certification, this qualification can now be split into four distinct learning paths:
- Core infrastructure
- Productivity
- Data management and analytics
- Business applications
This gives you a lot more flexibility and helps you learn even more than before.
What happens if I already have one of these certifications?
If you already have one of these certifications, they will remain on your Microsoft certification transcript up until 31 January 2023 (a retirement date of 31 January 2021, with a two-year grace period). After this time, they will be marked on your transcript as ‘inactive’.
This means your qualifications will still show on your transcript, but they will be marked as being no longer achievable. Don’t be afraid to showcase these older qualifications on your CV moving forward… you still achieved them!
The retirement date was initially meant to be 30 June 2020, but Microsoft extended this because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What qualifications can I take instead?
If you already have an MCSA, MCSE or MCSD certification, you may be wondering what certification you can take in its place. Here are some of our recommendations.
As you can see, there are a lot more options available than before.
MCSA
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Modern Desktop Administrator Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Messaging Administrator Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Teamwork Administrator Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Security Administrator Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Developer Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate
MCSE
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
- Microsoft Certified: Azure DevOps Engineer Expert
- Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 + Power Platform Solution Architect Expert
- Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Solution Architect Expert
MCSD
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Developer Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
The diagram below shows courses recommended by Microsoft:
Help! I’m not sure which certification is the right one for me!
If you’re still not sure which course is the right one for you to take, don’t worry. Here at IT Online Learning, we have a lot of experience in providing Microsoft qualifications to satisfied customers.
We’ll help you determine which certification is the best one for your chosen career path and how best you can achieve it.
All of the qualifications we provide can be completed online, meaning you can fit your learning alongside work and other commitments. We also offer 0% finance, meaning that you can start learning straight away, spreading the cost of your studies between six months and three years.
Contact us today to find out which Microsoft certification is the right choice for you.
Call us on 01795 436969 or email [email protected].
Find out more about the Microsoft certifications we provide.