Today I’m going to be taking Microsoft’s 70-270 exam: “Installing, Configuring, and Administering Windows XP Professional.” Over the weekend, I said goodbye to the XP install that I’d been continuously using for the last five years or so and upgraded to Windows 7. It’s an interesting transition. I expect, of course, to pass the test - but even if I don’t, it’s interesting that it lines up with XP bowing out of my personal life. I’m slated to take a lot of certification tests over the course of 2010. So far, I’m passing 100% of them, so I feel good about that. There are questions about how worthwhile certification tests are, and I’m definitely skeptical, but I know that they are worthwhile. My plan for certification is to say: behold! My track record is that I took a dozen certifications on a coherent but diverse body of knowledge over the course of the year. This demonstrates that I can assimilate a body of knowledge fast and apply it. That’s a valuable thing.

What I wish I knew about certifications is mostly this: why in the heck did Microsoft move away from the MCSE branding and its very high name recognition to “MCITP” and “MCTS”? It’s very strange - I have to conclude that the MCSE brand somehow became poisoned. Otherwise, the decision seems irrational. And with the continued life of Server 2003, people are still looking for MCSEs and MCSAs even when they’re also planning on upgrading to Server 2008. I’m baffled.