The World According to Mitch

In 1625 King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden ordered his shipyards to build (among others) a mighty fighting ship called the Vasa. He gave very specific instructions for what he wanted in this ship, how he wanted it outfitted, and made it clear that it should be the mightiest ship on the seas, and it was...

An acquaintance sent me an e-mail yesterday in which he essentially asked: 'I am interested in becoming an IT Professional.  What certifications should I get and where should I start?'  Here is my answer to him: You are right on the mark… certifications, no matter which one, take...

Because of my involvement I am often asked how certification exams are created. For the most part I have not answered the questions because of the secrecy behind it, but recently I came across this great outline on the Microsoft MCP site. I hope it helps! -M At the heart of the Microsoft Certified Professional...

Get a free retake on your next Microsoft IT Professional, Developer, or Microsoft Dynamics certification exam. This is a limited offer so plan now! If you register for the Second Shot offer starting September 15, 2007, prior to taking any exam, you will receive a free Second Shot exam if you don't...

An interesting post appeared in a newsgroup that I monitor today. A desktop support technician in the United Kingdom lamented a colleague who had attended a two week MCSE boot camp and indeed earned that certification. Unfortunately he later encountered a number of simple issues that he could not resolve...

It is a common misconception that information such as the number of questions on a given cert exam is protected by the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), and it has been repeated so many times by so many people that some people are surprised when I answer the question. That being said, this is not a History...

I have spent quite a bit of time in the past two years writing and speaking about IT certifications. It is hard to believe that my path to certifications started about six years ago, and that I passed my first certification exam just over four years ago. It feels like yesterday that I first walked into...

I wrote this as a reply to a reply in the CanITPro blog, and thought it would be good to repost it here. -M I have said time and again that certifications are a path to follow, not a destination to arrive at. I remember when I passed my first exam how excited I was to achieve my first cert... not knowing...

Many people have complained that there was never a proper study guide for the exam 70-282: Planning, Deploying, and Managing a Network Solution for the Small and Medium-Sized Business, a requirement for achieving the Microsoft Small Business Specialist designation. So when Microsoft invited a company...

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Shon Hong of Microsoft Learning, who has the (to me) fascinating job of hunting down cheaters. Let me explain: Microsoft exams are the basis for the entire Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) program. The exams you pass earn you credentials and credibility...