One of the key steps when developing a psychometrically sound, valid, and reliable exam is the beta process. We rely on candidates who have skills and experience that map to the target audience to sit the first version of the exam. As these candidates take the exam, they leave a footprint that I'm able follow to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of each item. Is the item too easy? Too hard? Or, as Goldilocks would say "just right?" Does the item differentiate between high and low performers? Is it technically accurate? Is it keyed correctly? These are but a few of the questions I'm able to answer based on the data we obtain through the beta process. Because this data drives the final decisions about which items meet Microsoft's psychometric criteria, candidates who take the exam during this phase do not receive a score immediately; they must wait until the data have been analyzed and evaluated, the item pool finalized, and exams are rescored (only the items that are retained in the final item pool are scored).

However, there has been a lot of confusion about how and when candidates will receive their scores. Over the past few months, we've worked with Prometric to clarify the beta exam communications you receive at the end of the exam and better set expectations related to how quickly Prometric can apply the rescore process, upload your results into their and Microsoft's transcript, and mail printed score reports. The communications that you receive at the end of a beta exam have been updated to reflect these clarifications.

When can you expect your beta results?

Results for beta exams should be visible on your Microsoft transcript (if you've received a passing score) and on the Prometric site within two weeks after the exam's live publication date. You should receive your printed score report by mail within eight weeks after the exam's live publication date. This date can be found on the Exam Details page for that exam on www.microsoft.com/learning.

Whom do you contact if you have questions concerning beta exam results?

If you do not receive your printed score report within eight weeks of the exam's live publication date, contact Prometric (https://www.prometric.com/en-us/contact-us/Pages/default.aspx) for more information on when your results will be processed. If you have questions about your transcript, contact your Microsoft Regional Service Center (http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/help.aspx).

We also have an "Ask a Certification Expert" video on this topic. Check it out here!

Missed the live broadcast of Microsoft Certified Career Day 2013? Want to revisit the sessions? You're in luck! You can now watch the following recorded webcasts on your own time at aka.ms/mccd2013: 

• IT Industry Panel Discussion. A must-see interactive panel discussion with IT industry experts on how the Cloud is redefining IT recruitment.
• Exclusive Interview with Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich, by Wes Miller, discussing key capabilities organizations will need when migrating workloads to the cloud. 
• Windows Server 2012 Product Session. Senior Technical Evangelists Rick Claus and Joey Snow discuss how to get th training you need to transform your IT operations and deliver a whole new level of business value with Windows Server 2012. 
• SQL Server 2012 Product Session. Senior Product Managers Dandy Weyn and Jennifer Moser discuss the Business Intelligence scenarios that SQL Server 102 delivers to organizations, and what training you need now to help enable this capability.
• Certification and Career Success Story. Hear about the role certification has played in Cynthia Wang's IT career success. 
• Plus, go behind the scenes at Certified Career Day 2013!

Take the next step: join the 90-day to MCSA challenge

Microsoft Certified Career Day 2013 spotlighted the opportunities for advancing your IT career through skills development, training and certification.To help you take the next step, we created a free program to get you get cloud-certified in just three months. 90 Days to MCSA gives you a clear roadmap, tools and community support to help you earn MCSA certification for  Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012. Visit www.90daystoMCSA.com and sign up for bi-weekly emails that walk you through the program--you'll be entered to win an Acer tablet just for signing up!

We’re headin’ out to select cities and venues across North America and quite possibly some of Europe too. Yup – we had such a great time during our online event we’ve decided to take it out on the road over the next couple of months.

Why? It’s two fold. 

First: we’re out to dispel a lot of myths and misconceptions about Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 by having frank conversations and answering your questions. Yes – listening and answering what you want to know about Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.

• What problems do they solve for you
• Why you should implement them
• How to integrate into your environments.

Secondly: we’re very interested in gathering your feedback about how we’re doing, what you like and don’t like about Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 and what you’d like to tell the product teams to help improve these products. We’ll be taking notes and documenting them along the way in order to share them with the product teams and program teams back at HQ.

So what are the details? We’re partnering up with various training organizations and Microsoft Learning Partners in order to be on hand to lead a discussion targeted at experienced IT Pros who want to ask technical questions regarding Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8. This exclusive session features Joey Snow and me (Rick Claus) engaging in dialog, debate and demos shaped by a global audience of esteemed IT Pros. These are FREE events but capacity is limited and registration is required.

Are we hitting a city / location near you? Register to reserve your spot. Links will become active as dates and locations are confirmed. As our seats are filled – we’ll close off the links and update the list.

• Dallas – March 14th, 9AM-12PM
• Kansas City – March 19th, 9AM-12PM
• San Antonio – April 23rd, 9AM-12PM
• Austin – April 25th, 1PM-4PM
• San Francisco – week of April 29th (TBD)
• Chicago – May 7th (TBD)
• Madison, Wisconsin – May 9th (TBD)
• Toronto – May 14th (TBD)
• Montreal – May 16th (TBD)
• Boise – May 21st (TBD)
• UK / Europe – Week of June 17th (TBD)

Don’t see your city listed? These ones were selected in partnership with Microsoft Certified Trainer community and Learning Partners we had pre-existing relationships with. We hope to extend the tour to more cities near you based on the interest generated in this round. Tell your fellow IT Pros about what we’re up to and encourage them to sign up!

Remember: We’re only a group of TWO taking this on in partnership with Microsoft Learning and we can only hit so many cities unless we get approved for the “space-time-continuum-manipulation” device we asked for.  

What’s your learning style?

Are you a meticulous note taker (lots of scribbles in the margin)? Do you like to load up on caffeine and pull an all-night study or lab session? Do you need to interact with peers to keep you motivated and help with retention? Regardless of your personal learning style, we hope you’ll find (and contribute) great resources in the new Microsoft Certification Study Groups on Born to Learn.

What’s your certification path?

The study groups are arranged by technology pillar (Client, Database, Developer, and Server), so you’ll easily locate content specific to your certification path by technology. For example, if you are interested in Windows Server certifications you can visit the Server Certification Study Group and select the resources for the exams that are relevant to you based on where you are on your path.

What’s in it for you?

As you can see, there are discussion forums and exam prep wikis for each exam. You can ask questions in the forums and get answers from your peers or the moderators (Microsoft Certified Trainers or subject matter experts selected from the community).

The exam prep wikis will provide you with a list of general prep materials, as well as specific resources mapped to the exam objectives that other MCP community members have found relevant and helpful. New content is being added on an ongoing basis, so you may want to subscribe to these pages for updates.

What do you do next?

This exciting new space has been built for you and your success. You can help us and the MCP community make it even better! How?

• Participate in the forums.
  Ask lots of questions, and answer questions from others, too.
  Note: We do have some moderator positions still open, so if you have any interest in becoming a moderator for a specific exam or series of exams, click on the ‘Moderator Position Open’ links within the forums and wikis.
  
  

• Add helpful resources to the wiki pages.
  While we are constantly updating and adding new content that we think may be helpful for you, if you have resources that you found particularly awesome and useful, don’t be shy - share them with your peers.
• Tell your friends.
  If you have friends and colleagues who are working on obtaining a certification from Microsoft, or if you think they should be, let them know about these study groups and maybe even challenge each other with the 90 Days to MCSA Challenge.
• Send us your feedback.
  This space is for you and the MCP community, and we all strive to make it great. If you have suggestions, requests, comments, or kudos, send them our way.

Check out the new study groups today!

Contributed by: Leann Turpin - Site Manager for the Microsoft Training and Certification community site, Born to Learn. Stay tuned for more exciting content and updates from your Born to Learn team!

Have you been paying attention to Born to Learn lately? If you have, you may have noticed that we just launched a few very cool additions to the blog related to exam development. First, we now have an ACE Team Blog (for those of you knew to Microsoft Certifications, 'ACE' is Microsoft Learning's exam development team...ACE--one the many acronyms at Microsoft--stands for 'Assessments and Certification Exams'), that you can find here

Second, most of you know me as the face of ACE--occasionally, you see other people from my team posting to Born to Learn, but mostly it's me. I love connecting with you, hearing what's on your mind, etc. As Microsoft's Psychometrician, I'm the expert on all things exam at Microsoft, so if you have questions, I've got answers--I can't always tell you those answers, but I'll always do what I can. Now, I want to introduce you to someone who will be actively joining me in the blogosphere--Briana Roberts. If you go to the ACE Team blog, you will see two posts from her that I want to highlight just in case you're not hooked into the aggregate RSS feed from Born to Learn (I have to admit that I wasn't and totally missed these posts!), which brings me to another addition to Born to Learn--the First Look Forum. Rather than repeat all the details in this post, I'll let Briana do the talking. We kicked the forum off with a bang--we have posted examples of several new question types that we are planning to pilot over the next few months. Let us know what you think! We'd love to hear your feedback.

Finally, a look ahead... Briana also posted about a project that we're working on together: ACE Chronicles. You want to pay attention to this one. We are having a blast planning this twist on the Ask a Certification Expert (ACE) Video Series that was so popular last year. This is another great opportunity to get answers to your questions, so let us know what you wondering about... Take a minute to 'meet' Briana, and stay tuned for the first edition of ACE Chronicles. I can hardly wait... will it whet your appetite to know that superheroes might be involved!?!

In case you can't access the embedded links in this post, here they are:

• ACE Team Blog: http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/certification/b/ace_team_blog/default.aspx#fbid=ktLv8AXKdkS
• First Look Forum: http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/certification/f/544.aspx#fbid=ktLv8AXKdkS
• Briana's post on the forum: http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/certification/b/ace_team_blog/archive/2013/02/28/coming-soon-new-question-flavors-on-certification-exams.aspx#fbid=ktLv8AXKdkS
• Meet Briana and ACE Chronicles: http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/certification/b/ace_team_blog/archive/2013/02/12/introducing-the-ace-chronicles.aspx#fbid=ktLv8AXKdkS

In my last post, I talked about how the ITCC and I explored the nature of cheating, and why people cheat on IT certification exams. One of the reasons may be that some people don’t realize that what they do constitutes “cheating”—or to put it more accurately, is a violation of the exam agreement (also known as the “Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)”) that candidates consent to before they can take an exam. Seemly innocuous activities may be just that though: violations, which is why you should always know a test sponsor’s do’s and don’ts before you test. (Read our exam policy here.)

Over the next few blogs, let’s discuss some of the ways one can unintentionally violate Microsoft’s Non-Disclosure Agreement, both inside a testing environment and out. Here are some examples.

Example #1: Discussing Exam Answers

One of the ways that candidates violate our exam agreement without intending to is to discuss the contents of an exam with others. It’s easy to do; you just came from a grueling 2-hour (or more) test, and you’re either excited or apprehensive about your performance. It’s completely natural to want to talk about the questions with your fellow colleagues—after all, you’ve just been through the shared experience of learning, preparing, and studying for the exam. You’re dying to know what everyone else got on question #10, as are they dying to know about your answers.

But when sharing your exam experiences crosses that line into revealing what is on the exam, you have violated Microsoft’s Non-Disclosure Agreement. While it’s tempting to talk about your exam answers, doing so is actually a disservice to yourself (you’ve potentially made it easier for your friend to pass) and your fellow test-takers (they didn’t have to learn the skills to pass the exam). Knowing what is on the test before they take it devalues the experience for everyone.

I know all too well how easy this is to do. Last summer, I took two, two-hour exams for my own personal professional certificate (no, they weren’t Microsoft exams). In between exams, I found myself in the lobby with my fellow classmates, and we eagerly started chatted amongst ourselves about the questions (they were HARD). I found myself opening my mouth to answer when I caught myself. I was about to do exactly what we don’t want our test takers to do with our Microsoft exams! It was so easy to forget the rules when caught up in the excitement of the testing experience.

Another point about that: by design, the questions that you see are unlikely to be the same ones that your buddy saw, so talking about the specific content of the questions is an even greater disservice to your buddy.

Best Practice: Don’t discuss the exam particulars, even with fellow classmates/study groups/ co-workers/friends/family/people on the street. Remember that all Microsoft Certification exams, including the content and wording of exam questions, constitute confidential Microsoft information this is copyrighted, meaning that it is protected by intellectual property laws.

Next month: Test center do’s and don’ts.

90 Days to MCSA: Windows Server 2012 Edition

Following the launch of Windows Server 2012 and the announcement of updated Microsoft certifications, a large number of IT pros around the world have set new goals for earning or upgrading their certifications in 2013. During our team's conversations with MCPs online and in person, we heard the community’s desire for more on-demand exam prep resources and a place to find peer support. After consulting with several Microsoft Certified Trainers, we have created a new package of resources just for you. Modeled after the success of last year’s “60 Days to MCSE for Private Cloud,” we’re thrilled to introduce “90 Days to MCSA: Windows Server 2012 Edition.”

All the information and links can be found at 90daystoMCSA.com. Here’s a brief walk-through of what you’ll find on the page after clicking through:

Sign up for “90 Days to MCSA” emails:

This is your first step toward making that commitment to yourself to earn MCSA: Windows Server 2012. By signing up, you’ll receive bi-weekly emails from March to June 2013. These emails will contain new tools, resources, advice from Microsoft Certified Trainers, special offers on books, and much more. You’ll also be eligible to win prizes and be featured as a certification success story on our website.

Exam Prep Videos:

If you’ve attended a technical conference where Microsoft exams are offered onsite (such as TechEd), you know what these exam prep sessions are: 60- to 75-minute reviews of exam objectives and tips, led by a Microsoft Certified Trainer, meant for brushing-up just before you take exams. Now we’re bringing these exam prep sessions to you online so you can watch them as often as you need, when it’s convenient for you. (Please note: these videos are not a substitute for training, studying or hands-on experience.)

Study Group:

There are two main components to each Microsoft Certified Study Group (MCSG): discussion forums and resource wikis. Each of these are exam focused, meaning there is a forum and a wiki for each Windows Server 2012 exam, conveniently labeled with exam numbers. The forums are led and moderated by Microsoft Certified Trainers. The wikis are populated and moderated by Microsoft Learning and MCP community members.

MCSA Exam Bundle Offers:

One tip for certification success that we’ve learned from many MCPs and MCTs: set a deadline for yourself by scheduling your exam while studying. To help you commit to achieving your MCSA goal, we’re offering a 15% discount on the MCSA Windows Server 2012 exam bundle (exams 410, 411 and 412), plus a free Second Shot. (Must purchase by May 31, 2013 to get the free Second Shot. See this page for more details.)

Bonus just for the MCSA: Windows Server 2012 track:

MCT and MVP Michael Bender is issuing a #90days2MCSA challenge. He will be blogging bi-weekly about the study plan and progress report, beginning on March 5, 2013. Want to take him up on it? Watch for his posts on the front page of Born to Learn.

Meet the Trainers:

This “90 Days to MCSA” plan has been built for you and your success. We could not have brought this to you without the valuable time, advice and contribution of these Microsoft Certified Trainers. Please join us in thanking them.

MCTs featured in exam prep videos:

• Cynthia Wang – Blog | Twitter @CyntheSys
• Ed Liberman – Blog | Twitter @TrainSignal_Ed

MCTs featured in study group blog and forums:

• Michael Bender – Blog | Twitter @MichaelBender
• Enrique Lima – Blog | Twitter @enriquelima

*MCP moderator for the wiki: Guido van Brakel – Blog | Twitter @guidovbrakel

This is for everyone! Spread the word!

If you’re new to this certification path or are upgrading, welcome, and let us know in a comment below that you’re participating. If you are already certified in Windows Server 2012, please share this with your peers and encourage them to do the same. Your input is also welcome in the study group. Now let’s get started!

Want to tweet about this or find others who are participating? Use hashtags #90days2MCSA and #WinServ.

Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification exams have used performance-based testing technology for years. With well over a million exams taken every year, MOS has led the IT industry in performance-based testing. And I’m happy to announce the new MOS 2013 exams have stepped it up another notch! Beginning this week, individuals around the world can take the new Microsoft Office Specialist 2013 exams for Word and Excel. Our new 2013 exams improve the testing experience by enabling even more real-world functionality and project-based outcome testing.

So what does this mean exactly for the test experience? In previous exams individuals would be presented with a series of specific tasks they would be asked to perform in the application. These tasks have been randomly generated mapped to the exam objectives, and unrelated to each other. With the new MOS 2013 exams, individuals are presented with a project to build. It might be a Word report, an Excel spreadsheet, or a PowerPoint presentation. Having taken one of the initial exams, I can attest it is both challenging and a better gauge of a candidate’s skills in using Microsoft Office applications. That isn’t all that is changing. Did I mention that along with a fresh testing experience, MOS 2013 is adopting a new logo? The new logo is now better aligned with the overall Microsoft branding style.

 Check out the listing of and exam objectives for all the coming MOS 2013 exams here, which will roll out over the next six months. Ready to take the exam? Click here to find a test center via our MOS exam provider, Certiport.

 Happy testing!

90 Days to MCSA: SQL Server 2012 Edition

At the start of 2013, many database pros in the global Microsoft Certified Professional community reviewed 2012 accomplishments and set new goals for earning or upgrading certifications in the new year. In my conversations with MCPs on various forums and social networks, I heard many questions about exam prep resources and saw several requests for support from peers. Our team then took these points and discussed with several Microsoft Certified Trainers, and together, we have assembled a new package of resources just for you. Modeled after the success of last year’s “60 Days to MCSE for Private Cloud,” please meet “90 Days to MCSA: SQL Server 2012 Edition.”

All the information and links can be found at 90daystoMCSA.com. Here’s a brief walk-through of what you’ll find on the page after clicking through:

Sign up for “90 Days to MCSA” emails:

This is your first step toward making that commitment to yourself to earn MCSA: SQL Server 2012. By signing up, you’ll receive bi-weekly emails from March to June 2013. These emails will contain new tools, resources, advice from Microsoft Certified Trainers, special offers on books, and much more. You’ll also be eligible to win prizes and get featured as a certification success story on our website.

Watch exam prep videos:

If you’ve attended a technical conference where Microsoft exams are offered onsite, you know what these exam prep sessions are: 60- to 75-minute reviews of exam objectives and tips, led by a Microsoft Certified Trainer, meant for brushing-up just before you take exams. Now we’re bringing these exam prep sessions to you online so you can watch them as often as you need, when it’s convenient for you. (Please note that these videos are not a substitute for training, studying or hands-on experience.)

Join the study group:

There are two main components to each Microsoft Certified Study Group (MCSG): discussion forums and resource wikis. Each of these are exam focused, meaning there is a forum and a wiki for each SQL Server 2012 exam, conveniently labeled with exam numbers. The forums are led and moderated by Microsoft Certified Trainers. The wikis are populated and moderated by Microsoft Learning and MCP community members.

Take the MCSA exam bundle offer:

One tip for certification success that we’ve learned from many MCPs and MCTs: set a deadline for yourself by scheduling your exam while studying. To help you commit to achieving your MCSA goal, we’re offering a 15% discount on the MCSA SQL Server 2012 exam bundle (exams 461, 462 and 463), plus a free Second Shot. (Must purchase by May 31, 2013 to get the free Second Shot. See this page for more details.)

Meet the Trainers:

This “90 Days to MCSA” plan has been built for you and your success. We could not have brought this to you without the valuable time, advice and contribution of these Microsoft Certified Trainers, and we wish to thank them:

MCTs featured in exam prep videos:

• Susan Ibach – Blog | Twitter @HockeyGeekGirl
• Christopher Harrison – Blog | Twitter @GeekTrainer

MCTs featured in study group forums:

• Jeff Wharton – Blog | Twitter @Mr_Wharty
• Mike Corkery – Blog | Twitter @mjcorkery

This is for everyone! Spread the word!

If you’re new to this certification path or are upgrading, welcome, and let us know in a comment below that you’re participating. If you are already certified in SQL Server 2012, please share this with your peers and encourage them to do the same. Your input is also welcome in the study group. Now let’s get started!

Want to tweet about this or find others who are participating? Use hashtags #90days2MCSA and #SQLServer.

Join Microsoft for a free live, interactive webcast on the growing need and opportunities for cloud-trained  IT professionals—March 12, 2013 starting at 8:30am PST

Where do you want your career to go? It's a question that many of us ask ourselves as we chart our career path, whether we're just starting out or years on the job. One response to that question: Go where the jobs are. 

A new study by market intelligence firm IDC reveals global businesses are adopting cloud computing at an escalating rate, with fewer “cloud ready” IT professionals available to administer cloud computing services. One in four IT positions worldwide is currently unfilled and 28% of those are cloud computing related--that's more than 1.7 million open positions. In 2015, an estimated 7 million job computing jobs will be vacant.

Why vacant? Hiring managers can't find "cloud-skilled" IT candidates, citing a lack of training, certification and experience as the top reasons cloud computing positions are not filled. To bridge this IT cloud skills gap, employers need professionals—just like you—with the right set of skills that will help business move forward.

It feels like an opportunity, doesn't it?

Take the first steps to transform your career: Join us for Certified Career Day--March 12, 2013

Certified Career Day is an interactive, LIVE panel discussion with IT industry experts who will be your Cloud career counselors for the day, providing you with guidance to help advance your career to the Cloud. We've scheduled a full day of events featuring leading experts in the IT and cloud computing industry (all times are Pacific Standard Time):

• 8:30am  Virtual Doors Open. Get behind-the-scenes commentary.
• 9:00-10:15  Live Industry Panel Broadcast. An live panel discussion with IT industry experts who will be your Cloud career counselors for the day, providing you with guidance to help advance your career to the Cloud.
• 10:15-10:30  Special Guest Interview with Mark Russinovich, Microsoft Technical Fellow. In this exclusive interview with Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich, Wes Miller, VP of Research at Directions on Microsoft, will bring this discussion to the technology level as they explore the challenges organizations will encounter when migrating workloads to the cloud and the key capabilities IT professionals and organizations will need as they make this transition.
• 10:30-11:30  Windows Server Live Product Session. Join Microsoft Product Specialists Rick Claus and Joey Snow for a special session to help you better understand how to the get the training you need to transform your IT operations and deliver a whole new level of business value. 
• 11:35–12:35  SQL Server 2012 Live Product Session. Join Microsoft Product Specialists Dandy Weyn and Jennifer Moser for a deep dive into this data platform and explore mission critical evidence, breakthrough insights and cloud on your terms. You will gain an understanding of the Business Intelligence scenarios SQL Server 2012 delivers to organizations and what training you need now, to help enable this capability.

Check out the full agenda at certifiedcareerday.com --space is limited, so register today!

Interested in a career in data platform administration or business intelligence, but not sure of your next steps? Check out our visual guide to SQL Server training and certification, the second in our series of infographics designed to help plan your career path. 

Like the visual guide to Windows Server, the image below links to a full-size image with clickable links that point you to additional resources. We encourage you to save or bookmark the guide to help you chart each milestone along the way, and feel free to share the visual on your blog or favorite social network.  

Click the image below to get started!

With the announcement of new Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) credentials, many developers are working on getting current or upgrading their certifications. We admire your enthusiasm around developer certifications and want to help you succeed.

One of the most important questions from you is about the retirement dates for Visual Studio 2010 exams. We have heard you and re-evaluated the schedule. The following Visual Studio 2010 exams that were previously slated to retire on July 31, 2013 will now remain available for all candidates until further notice. No new retirement date has been set. We will announce it when there is an update so you have plenty of time to complete your current VS2010 certification path.

• 70-511: TS: Windows Applications Development with Microsoft  .NET Framework 4
• 70-513: TS: Windows Communication Foundation Development with Microsoft .NET Framework 4
• 70-515: TS: Web Applications Development with Microsoft .NET Framework 4
• 70-516: TS: Accessing Data with Microsoft .NET Framework 4
• 70-518: Pro: Designing and Developing Windows Applications Using Microsoft .NET Framework 4
• 70-519: Pro: Designing and Developing Web Applications Using Microsoft .NET Framework 4

We are in the process of updating these exam detail pages on our website, but wanted to post this clarification here now so you can confidently schedule and prepare for your next VS2010 exam.

Ready to move forward to Visual Studio 2012 certifications? See the MCSD page on our website for more information.

Questions? Please let us know in a comment below. Thanks!

TechEd, Microsoft's premier event for IT professionals and enterprise developers, will take place in New Orleans and Madrid in June 2013. Registration is set to open on February 12. Registration is now open for both events! See links below. See the event website for updates. http://www.msteched.com/ 

The Microsoft Learning team looks forward to seeing our Microsoft Certified Professionals (#MCP) and Trainers (#MCT) at both events. If you're going, let us know on Twitter @MSLearning.

TechEd North America

• Dates: June 3-6
• Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
• Register: http://aka.ms/TENARegistration 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teched
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TechEd_NA  Official hashtag #msTechEd

TechEd Europe

• Dates: June 25-28
• Location: Madrid, Spain
• Register: http://aka.ms/TEERegistration 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TechEdEurope
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/teched_europe  Official hashtag #TEE13

To that point, why do people choose to use the materials (legitimate or otherwise) that they do? There are many reasons, of course, and getting to the heart of those reasons is one facet of managing an anti-piracy program. To combat cheating I need to understand the motivations behind cheating.

Understanding our test-takers is one step. Last year, I collaborated on a white paper with the IT Certifications Council (ITCC) on “Securing Certifications” (full paper here.) Below is an excerpt on the types of test-takers we identified (referred to as “candidates,” because they are candidates for a certification).

Candidates and Test Takers

Before issues surrounding test security can be resolved, it is important to understand how the ITCC categorizes candidates and others who take tests. The ITCC has identified three main groups of test takers:

IT Professionals

• This group represents the majority of certification candidates who are honest and have done the requisite learning and studying for their exams. They are proud to earn a certification and highly value those efforts.
• IT Professionals are most affected by cheaters and test abusers because the integrity of their hard-earned certifications is compromised. These candidates must feel that their hard work is valued; to do so, the certification industry must demonstrate a commitment to combating cheating and recognizing the value of a truly-earned certification.
• Honest candidates will support anti-piracy actions designed to combat software and content theft because they want to preserve the integrity of certifications.

Misinformed Individuals

• These candidates may cheat because they are misinformed. Most may not understand that the materials and methods they used had violated an exam agreement. They also may not understand the consequences of their actions.
• Brain dump sites in particular can be very misleading for these individuals, because the sites disguise themselves as official materials. Proxy-testing offers can be very tempting as well, especially for those candidates who did not pass an exam the first time or who find it difficult to make it to a test center.
• Misinformed Individuals are either tempted to find shortcuts in test preparation and test taking because it is easy to do so, or they otherwise become victims of nefarious business practices.

Cheaters

• This is the smallest group, and is comprised of candidates who intend to cheat the system and who have no regard for the consequences. They actively seek exam answers or brain dump material; they participate or pay for proxy testing; or they find other ways to cheat during the exam.
• A lack of education is not a culprit in this category; rather, these candidates will find the means to obtain a certification or steal exam answers despite the ramifications.

This does not fully address all the reasons for test-taking behavior, both good and bad, of course—this is just one element. My goal is to make sure the first category remains the largest group, that the second group is transformed into the first, and that the third group—the cheaters—are removed. I want candidates to feel good about the certifications they work hard to earn; and making sure they are not compromised by a select few is one way to make sure that happens.

Got a tip for me? Let me know at [email protected].

Kerri Davis

Guest post by MCP community member Matt Griffin, Technology Analyst @ Apparatus.

Are you a student currently looking to transition to IT as a full-time career? I’ve had many people ask about my jump from school into working full-time in IT so I’d like to give you 5 tips from my experience that will help you make the transition.

Work while in school. If this isn’t possible do hands on work in your spare time. Its college, I know you have spare time.
I’ll start with the disclaimer that I am not a normal college student. I worked two degree-related jobs at the same time I was in school alongside studying. By doing this, I was able to hone in on the exact thing I wanted to do in IT. I realized web development was not for me as I enjoy the Managed Service aspect with client/servers a lot more. I could not be happier with the result, having taken that route through school. Over the years I learned the best thing you can do to achieve good grades in school (other than studying) is working with it hands-on, and when you are paid to work with it hands-on, it becomes a lot more enjoyable.

Network, network, network! For goodness sake, network!
Now you will hear constantly while in school that the most important thing to do is network. They recommend that you go to career fairs and talk with recruiters; I personally can’t say anything specific about that because I never attended a career fair, but I do know a recruiter at my current company who hits career fairs very hard to find new students that are eager to work. The way I focused on networking was being involved at work, and I’ll be honest I didn’t do a very good job networking until my last year of school when I went to a Microsoft TechEd event on a grant from my Nina Mason Pulliam Scholarship. After I went to Tech Ed I got involved with The Krewe and met tons of great people who were invaluable assets not just as friends but as resources who help me if I run into a problem at work and have no idea what’s going on.

Get certified! Even if it is something minor it’ll show motivation.
One thing that I thought was pointless at first was certifications. While I worked at University College Technology Services at IUPUI I had the opportunity to become certified by having a couple hours a week dedicated to study and they offered to pay for the exam. I’ll admit I never took this super seriously until a pay raise was involved because I figured I would just end up with a certificate that says I can do my job. Well that is exactly what it is and I never realized the value in that until I became certified and realized how many doors it opens in your employability. Once I passed my first exam, I was hooked. It became like a drug and I wanted to keep getting certifications. In fact, within the last two years I’ve passed 11 exams and I already have the next few exams I want to take lined up and just need to dedicate time to studying.

Make sure your resume is sound! Get advice from multiple people and take that advice.
I did take writing my resume very seriously throughout college because I knew that was everyone’s first impression of me, so I always took feedback on my resume and improved it accordingly. I actually have to thank my current job to a class I took while in school for Career Enrichment. The class helped build resumes, work on interview skills and required I do a mock interview at a local company.

Be prepared to be interviewed at all times.
In that Career Enrichment class, we also had to do a mock interview and I was lucky enough that in my mock interview I had enough experience and apparently good enough interview skills that I was asked to come in for an actual interview. A couple weeks later I became an Apparatus employee. I’ve thought about this experience many times and I guess my major take away from this is that you need to always be prepared to be in a real job interview even if it is just for a grade at the time. I don’t mean wear a suit everywhere but you need to be presentable and most importantly an advocate for yourself.

Do you have other tips to share? Comment below and tell us about it!

Matt Griffin earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Information Technology in 2012. He has been learning and working in IT since 2008, and is an active member of the MCP and TechEd #theKrewe community.

In addition to his work as a Technology Analyst, Matt also leads the Indianapolis PowerShell User Group.

Connect with Matt on his blog and on Twitter @MattGrif.

Listen to the People Talking Tech podcast episode featuring Matt.

Post by Holly Dickson, Senior Certification Product Manager, Microsoft Learning

We are delighted to announce the latest offering in our Microsoft Certification Program, the Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD): Application Lifecycle Management certification.

Today’s software development organizations are looking for a more productive and predictable environment in which to produce tomorrow’s apps. (Check out this report from Gartner for insight into how agile and cloud technologies are driving adoption of application lifecycle management.)

With Visual Studio 2012 ALM, organizations can break down team barriers and reduce cycle times to deliver continuous value. The MCSD: Application Lifecycle Management certification is for individuals who want the skills to manage the entire lifespan of application development, and build software with agility and quality.

Candidates must pass the following three (3) exams to earn the MCSD: Application Lifecycle Management certification:

• 70-496: Administering Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2012
• 70-497: Software Testing with Visual Studio 2012
• 70-498: Delivering Continuous Value with Visual Studio 2012 Application Lifecycle Management

Earning an MCSD: Application Lifecycle Management certification helps you build the skills needed to deliver ALM solutions and provides a competitive advantage in the industry. Developers who achieve this challenging certification must regularly demonstrate their up-to-date and relevant skills on rapidly changing development technologies through recertification.

For more information and this and other MCSD certifications, go to http://aka.ms/MCSD, and download the attached MCSD: ALM information flyer.

Guest post by MCP community member Jared Shockley, Director of IT Services @ Radia

"Compliance" is often perceived as such a dirty word to IT professionals that it might as well be censored. The mere mention of "compliance" brings about visions of paperwork and processes that slow down everyday tasks and project schedules for many IT pros. With newer regulations, be them federal laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX or SOX404) or Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA); association or vendor regulations like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) [3]; or internal standards created by management, IT teams in both engineering and operations have to work to meet these regulations and standards as a part of their project and daily work. This was a great discussion topic for Denny Cherry and me on his People Talking Tech Podcast.

Want to make an IT team squirm? Create a meeting about "compliance" or introduce an auditor or consultant. Let’s be honest; we’re technical people, and we want to make things work as quickly and efficiently as possible. It’s uncomfortable to have someone looking over your shoulder to verify that you are “doing things right," either through the operations team installing and configuring, or developers writing code that is deployed to users for saving data into the server. But get this: it is actually in our best interest see it from a different angle. Compliance, standards and regulations are the IT professional's friend. Much like all other aspects of IT, with proper planning and execution, complying with standards and regulations ensures that you have "air cover" for everything you do.

Proper planning for compliance is just like any other IT project: the earlier it can be integrated in plans, the easier the execution can occur. This is true with engineered projects by developers or with integrated projects by operation teams. Compliance can range from smaller tasks such as documenting what is built or installed, all the way to deep logging and intricate permissions management systems. In most situations, there is no "silver bullet" solution to comply with regulations or standards, and any vendor offering this to you or your company should be reviewed carefully. These sorts of vendors typically try to engage with non-technical management to sell them on solutions that the IT team has to later "figure out how to integrate them." (If you have good horror stories around this exact situations, feel free to share in the comments below.) To get ahead of these "snake oil salesmen", be ready to show your management how you are currently or will meet those standards.

Identify the requirements

First step in creating a good compliance plan is to understand what you need to comply with. This can be fairly straightforward for some, such HIPAA for healthcare, while being much more complicated for others, combining SOX with PCI DSS or US state and federal regulations with other countries. This step is very critical and will require IT professionals to reach out to the business users they support and possibly consultants like lawyers or compliance officers. It may sound simple, but this can be the most difficult step as many regulations are not black-and-white. Each person can read the same words and interpret it differently. Documenting this interpretation as it is being reviewed will only help you in the future if you have to defend that interpretation from regulators or re-interpretation with new staff or consultants.

Create and socialize the plan

Second step is creating internal processes, procedures, and standards that meet all of the items you found in the discovery. Many companies have unwritten ways to do things, rules that everyone follows without question, and systems they use to track what is done and how they do it. While some companies do a great job in documenting their processes, procedures and standards, most do not , and getting teams to change this practice can mean a cultural shift.

Where you often see this issue is when smaller companies grow larger. Small companies consider their IT teams agile because they are all generalists, and any member can and does fill all possible roles. As companies and their IT teams grow, specializations occur. The company's business users yearn for those old days when they could call one of the IT team members to get help and the IT team just got it done. The fight to follow processes and procedures while "getting things done" is a constant struggle. Selling the benefits of following processes and procedures internally is one of the toughest things for IT management to do in situations like this.

Document and organize

The third step is to take all of the documentation and organize it so that it can be reviewed, executed and tracked. This includes processes, procedures and standards, along with how the team is executing against those standards. In many cases, regulators can show up without notice and audit the company's compliance. Without having the information in an easy to access system or storage, it is useless to both the IT team and the auditors. Again, there is no "sliver bullet" solution for this. Every team needs to find their own solution that works for them. For some teams, it could simply be a file share with Word and Excel documents; for others, it might take a self-developed or commercially available software package.

All of this seems easy on paper, but there is no quick solution or answers. IT teams, management and business users need to take their time to understand what needs to be done, and when they need to meet regulations and standards. Sometimes, one group may ask for more than what is required in the regulations. This needs to be tempered with timelines and costs. Lastly, remember that it takes time for people to adopt changes, and anticipate that when creating the project execution plan. By working together with realistic timelines and good communication, a proper compliance plan can be executed.

Plan for continuous improvement

Once the compliance plan is pulled together and the users and IT team are following the plan, the best thing to show most regulators and auditors is a continual improvement processes. Regulators, auditors and compliance officers love to see improvement. In some ways, it is better to create your initial plan and then slowly improve that plan over time rather than trying to create the "perfect plan." Improvement around compliance is seen as a good sign of compliance in an organization. This makes the improvement process just as important as the initial compliance.

IT compliance does not need to be a dirty word. Everyone has his or her stories around the good, the bad and the ugly of compliance; the stories of well executed plans, stories of bad or no plans, stories of regulators imposing large fines and sanctions. Take your time to prepare and execute the best compliance plan you can with the resources available. Once that plan is in place, create an environment that makes ongoing improvements as painless as possible, so that compliance is something everyone understands and wants, and not seen as an impediment to their work.

How do you feel about IT compliance? Do you have stories to share, whether good or bad? If so, put them in a comment below.

Jared Shockley has been involved in the Information Technology field for over 20 years engaged with both small business and large enterprise. Currently focused on delivering IT Operations to a small to mid-sized healthcare organization, Jared's diverse career has included data center operations, small business ownership, web development, and large enterprise focuses IT operations management. He is an active member of the MCP community, and is taking this knowledge base and offering his thoughts on IT through his blog, Jared on Tech.

Listen to the related podcast episode on People on Tech.

Learn more about Jared from his Born to Learn profile and connect with him on social networks.

According to the 2013 Global Knowledge Salary Survey, Microsoft offers six of the top 15 highest-paying certifications*! Here are the certifications with the highest earning potential for 2013:

What are you waiting for?! Get started today!

*If the embedded link doesn't work, check it out here: http://www.globalknowledge.com/training/generic.asp?pageid=3430.

MC ID: 6378447

Location: Germany

Twitter: @FloKlaffenbach

Blog: http://www.datacenter-flo.de/

It all started with a bet.

My former team leader threw down the gauntlet when I was just a trainee. ”You’re not as smart as I am and you will never pass an exam without my help,” he told me.

I won that bet, passing my first Microsoft Exam 70-290 Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment, and I was hooked. After that, my goal was to complete the MCSA 2003. To date, I’ve passed 12 Microsoft exams and earned 14 certifications.

The most significant benefits of certifications I’ve experienced are job promotions and increased business contacts. Certifications also enabled me to achieve a lifelong ambition:  visit the Microsoft Corporate Offices in Redmond and take part in the first training group for Windows Server 2012 Upgrade. I feel that certification has provided me with an opportunity to support other people in the community as they work toward certification and that’s important to me.

There is so much community knowledge and practical experience that is helpful to people on their certification journey. The MVP Community, Born to Learn and Microsoft Learning have provided valuable, detailed information as I’ve prepared for certification. They have been very valuable resources.

Because System Center and Windows Server are my main focuses at work, I’m looking forward to achieving his MCSE 2012 and MCSE Private Cloud certifications in the very near future.

Florian’s Tips:

1) Order the self-study guides from Microsoft Learning

2) Search out other community members who are on a similar certification path and share experiences and knowledge

3) Avoid “Cheatdumper” to pass an exam. The most effective way to close knowledge gaps is to study.

If you've been watching this blog, you know that I'm planning to make some changes to the score reports that candidates receive after completing a certification exam. Based on the suggestions and ideas that you've shared with me over the last few months as well as those from several focus groups that I recently conducted, I have a number of great ideas. Because I can't implement them all, I'd like your input on several proposed changes to the score reports. This is your chance to tell me what would provide you the most useful information about your exam performance (and no--I can't tell you which items you missed, but I have some ideas that might get you closer to understanding where your strengths and weaknesses are...).

To participate, click the link below or copy it into your browser:

http://microsoftlearning.us.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0HtnAPXzBS7BOcd

The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete; please submit your responses by January 31. Your input is extremely valuable to us and will be used to finalize the improvements that we make to the score reports.

 Keep your eye on Born to Learn in February for a blog from me sharing the results of this survey and how they will be used to make the score reports even more valuable to Microsoft exam candidates!

 If you have any questions about this survey, please email [email protected].

 Thanks, in advance, for taking a few minutes to complete this survey!

MS ID: 6031299

Location: The Netherlands 

Twitter: @guidovbrakel  

Blog: www.enduria.eu

My jobs seem to lead to certification and then my certifications seem to lead to new roles.  It’s been a cycle of opportunity over the years.

I began achieving certification when I participated in Microsoft IT Academy while studying for my Bachelor of Science degree. That certification helped me land a job at the third largest bank in the Netherlands where my manager was a firm believer in certification; launching a program to certify everyone for MCSE: Windows Server 2003.

 I’m currently working on a design for System Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 and plan to take that exam end of this month.

I’ve developed some best practices over the years that have allowed me to achieve my certifications:  practice, practice, practice! There are no short cuts to certification.

Guido’s Tips:

1) Create a lab and test repeated to gain proficiency.

2) Don’t give up if something doesn’t work right away.  Spend the extra time troubleshooting until the answer reveals itself.  It’s always there! 

3) Get a clear grasp of the exam objectives.  There are so many resources at your disposal that will help you reach your goal, like TechNet and many of the TechNet blogs.

MC ID—7801993

Location: United States

Twitter: @mattgrif  

Blog: http://MattBlogsIT.com

My Microsoft Certification path began in 2010 when I was told that obtaining my MCTS: Windows 7, Configuring certification would lead to a significant pay increase. I was always encouraged to get certified by my employer but it was really the incentive of a pay raise that moved me to act. Since that time, I’ve passed 11 exams, and a number of those were certifications I chose to peruse out of interest.

Since my initial certification, I’ve moved from being a Desktop Support Technician to a Server Administrator at a managed services/consulting company. I have to credit my Microsoft certifications for making me more marketable. They demonstrate to potential employers and Microsoft Partners the depth of my knowledge and experience.

Matt’s Tips:

1) Make sure you select an exam that’s interesting to you. 

2) Look up the topics that are tested. You can find tons of study material with simple searches on those topics and they tend to be other MCP’s personal IT blog post.

3) Setup a lab and play with the technology while you are studying it.

MC ID: 3797799

Location: Denmark

Twitter: @haslund  

Blog: http://www.perfectcloud.org

I have been pretty lucky and I happened to find myself in the right place at the right time. I was working as a technician and wanted to move forward in my career and start my Microsoft certification journey.   I fortunately happened to have a boss who immediately saw the value in certification and agreed, supporting my first steps.

Because, really, everyone wins.

That was December of 2006 and I began with a week long, instructor led course. From that moment, I knew I was on the right career path and I continued with additional certifications. 

My goal is to contribute and help others—just as I’ve been helped. I really encourage others to do the same because it will strengthen the Microsoft certification community as a whole. 

I’m excited about having just completed my MCSA upgrade from 2008 to 2012. Just two more exams to go for MCSE: Server Infrastructure!

Rasmus’s Tips:

1) The thing that has helped me the most has been the support of the entire community.  Every day I see fantastic people spread amazing material on Microsoft's own Born2Learn, Twitter (#TheKrewe), LinkedIn (Windows Server 2012 Early Experts) and blogs such as www.enduria.eu and www.datacenter-flo.de .

2) Reach out to the community and you will find all the help you could hope for. 

3) Do lab exercises, using official study guides-- and taking lots of notes will get you to certification successfully.

I often see or hear of requests on forums and social media sites asking for “answers to exam xxx” or “where are the best brain dumps?” A lot of these requestors just want an easy way to pass an exam without working for it and know full well what they’re doing. Some actually want training material or practice items, and don’t realize what they are asking for. And, some want brain dump material, but don’t realize why asking for it is a bad idea.

So what is a brain dump, and why do we care? A “brain dump” is a term commonly used for a site or material where real exam questions and answers are provided (in most cases, for a fee). The promise to a user is that by memorizing the answers, one can pass the exam. Brain dumps are not legitimate training or test prep resources for two reasons. First, no legitimate training or test prep site will have the actual test questions and answers, because no IT certification programs  voluntarily release them. Therefore, a brain dump with actual test questions and answers has obtained them nefariously, and by purchasing them, the purchaser is abetting in fraudulent activity. Secondly, and most importantly, by memorizing answers a test-taker has not learned the material, has not demonstrated competence in the content domain, and has not earned the certification legitimately, thereby diluting the hard work that the truly qualified have put forth to pass the exam.

How does one recognize brain dump material? Like I said, no legitimate training or test prep site will have the actual answers from a test. Look for promises like:

• ·         Actual questions or answers
• ·         100% real test questions
• ·         Guarantees that you will have access to all test materials
• ·         Claims that all you have to do is “memorize” the material to pass

The words “brain dump” are another sure way to know that the site isn’t on the up and up. The key is that if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

The best way to prepare for an exam is to find the right training: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/training.aspx 

Use of brain dump material is a violation of our exam policy and can result in the loss of one's certification and a lifetime ban from Microsoft’s Certification Program. I won’t tell you how we know when someone has used a brain dump to pass an exam, but we know. While we work hard to prevent brain dumps from obtaining our material in the first place, and then removing it when it appears, we also put the responsibility on test-takers to act responsibly and with integrity. It’s important to everyone that those certification initials after one’s name were earned honestly.

Bottom line on using brain dump material? Don’t do it. It’s just not worth it.

Have a security concern you want to report to MSL? Email me at [email protected].

As many of you know, I love "year in review" retrospectives, so my holiday gift to all of you is my annual summary of what happened in the world of exams from a numbers perspective. Without further ado, here are my top 10 favorite numbers for 2012:

• ~400 total MCSA, MCSE, TS, and PRO exam publications, including new publications and republications related to updating exam content (although we had a lot of publications related to the updated drivers, user interface, plug-ins, etc. and exam title changes related to the redesigned certification program, they aren't included in this number--if they were, the number would be closer to 600!)
  • Of these, ~190 were ENU and ~40publications were in Spanish, Japanese, German, French, Chinese, and Brazilian Portuguese (per language) 
•  ~140 MTA publications
  • Of these, ~44 were ENU republications of these 12 exams
• ~150 new exams were published across all languages
  • Of these, ~40 were in ENU (this means that we released ~40 new exams in 2012--no wonder I'm tired!!!)
  • ~40 were Dynamics exams across all languages with 5 new exams in ENU

Here's where the numbers get interesting...

• 33 beta exams
• ~11,000 beta candidates
• ~10,200 beta comments--every one of these comments read by yours truly
• On average, ~310 comments per beta exam and ~3 comments per beta item...seriously, 20 minutes is long enough for you to provide feedback on a beta exam because if there's an issue with an item, someone will tell me about it!
• ~75 to 685: The range for the number of comments across all beta exams--yes, one exam had 685 beta comments!
• ~25 exams received new items as part of the ongoing sustainment of those exams
• ~7000 new items were created including both new development and sustainment activities

As you can see, this really has been a big year for Microsoft's Certification Program (and these numbers don't include the word we did on the Office exams!). I'm constantly amazed how a team of 14 can accomplish so much--and every year it seems like we do even more! Here's hoping we continue to rock in 2013!

Wishing you all the best this holiday season!