Status Update on Exam Release Dates
A few are asking, so I thought I would post this morning what our current release dates are for the remaining exams.
SQL Server
70-433 – February 27, 2009
Visual Studio
70-505 – February 5, 2009
70-563 – February 3, 2009
70-565 – February 23, 2009
70-566 – March 10, 2009
70-567 – March 3, 2009
70-568 – March 26, 2009
70-569 – March 26, 2009
Embedded Standard
70-577 – February 5, 2009
Again, remember that these dates are current but are subject to change without notification.
Gerry
Comments
- Anonymous
February 02, 2009
Gerry Did you mean January 27 for 70-433? It is already available in Prometric.
- Titus
Anonymous
February 02, 2009
Hi Titus, I forgot to add that will be a repub of 433 for the addition of some new items. Thanks for catching. GerryAnonymous
February 02, 2009
Thanks for the info! I can finally plan for my 3.5 certs. :) Thanks again. -JasonAnonymous
February 02, 2009
What does the republishing mean for test-takers of the 433? Is it advisable to wait for the new version or should one hurry up to get the old release? Also, will there be "first to know" offers for the new and republished exams?Anonymous
February 02, 2009
Hi, what about 70-562 and 70-564? Many thanks. OenningAnonymous
February 03, 2009
Thanks for the update. I've been looking forward to the "Exam 70-566: Upgrade: Transition your MCPD Windows Developer Skills to MCPD Windows Developer 3" for a while and I'm ready to get it started. Do you know where I can find a list of study topics or exam details? Thanks! --ScottAnonymous
February 03, 2009
Hi Martin, Republishing can mean different things but in this case, it means we have added more content to the exam. In this case, there is no need to retake the exam or think there is anything different, it still covers the same material. GerryAnonymous
February 03, 2009
Hi Oenning, Those two exams are live in market now. GerryAnonymous
February 03, 2009
Hi Scott, The prep guides will be live shortly and you can find out information on all the Visual Studio 2008 exam information here, http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcpd/vstudio/2008/default.mspx GerryAnonymous
February 03, 2009
Hi Gerry, The "First to Know" Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Exam Offer should apply to those exams as well, shouldn't it? When can we expect to receive the email with the voucher number? Thanks.Anonymous
February 04, 2009
Hi Minor, I don't run that program but I am checking with the internal stakeholders to see if these are covered in this program or not. GerryAnonymous
February 04, 2009
I'm a long time developer finally trying to obtain the MCSD cert. I understand that the old exams are scheduled to retire at the end of March. Do the above exams replace the ones required for the MCSD cert? Does MCPD replace MCSD? Thanks!Anonymous
February 04, 2009
Hi John, You are correct, the exams required for MCSD will retire at the end of March 2009. I strongly suggest you look at completing the new generation of certification instead, unless you have invested time and money in the MCSD track already. The above exams are not the complete story for developer certification. I have posted that story here on this blog and it is also available on the following web site, http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcpd/vstudio/2008/default.mspx. My suggestion would be to read the requirements on that page and the related pages to determine which path you wish to take. GerryAnonymous
February 06, 2009
Hi Gerry My last post wasn't published...sorry again if it wasn't to be here. I'm a MCTS developer and I'm actually studying to get more .NET certifications, so that's why I hate people getting certified by "wrong" ways (In the future, there will be a lot of MCPs that don't know anything about the tecnology he got certified...so our reputation as MCPs will start to fade... I just need some feedback about this subject. I won't bother you again. Thanks.Anonymous
February 06, 2009
Hi Robson, it was published. http://blogs.msdn.com/gerryo/archive/2009/01/12/quick-update-for-the-new-year.aspx Look to the bottom of the page. GerryAnonymous
February 06, 2009
Hi Gerry, thanks for the information but I have a dude: Now, 70 - 536 is the first exam that you must pass, will it change? will the 70 - 563 exam be the first exam that you must pass? Thanks :)Anonymous
February 06, 2009
Vicente, 70-536 is the same exam that it has always been, it will not change. 70-536 is a .NET foundation exam whereas 70-563 is the MCPD exam for Windows developers. Two completely different exams. GerryAnonymous
February 10, 2009
I have taken the 071-563 exam in October but in my "Candidate History" in Prometric website the status is "No Show". Shouldn't it show the results since February 3rd?Anonymous
February 10, 2009
Hi Carlos, I suggest you call Prometric with proof that you actually took that exam. No Show indicates that you were registered but did not actually take the exam on the registered date. That is an issue between you and Prometric that needs to be resolved first. GerryAnonymous
February 10, 2009
Hi Gerry, Any update on the "First to Know" offer? Thanks.Anonymous
February 10, 2009
Hi Minor, According to the First to Know web page, the First to Know offer applied to seven specific exams: 502, 503, 504, 561, 562, 432, and 448. GerryAnonymous
February 10, 2009
Hi Gerry, This must have been changed. The confirmation email I received in May 2008 after registration said: You will receive a same-day notification when the next three Visual Studio 2008 MCTS exams are available (70-505, 70-561, and 70-562), plus another 40% savings code to use on any one of these three exams. Anticipated date in July 2008 is subject to change based on availability of exams.Anonymous
February 10, 2009
Minor, I'll need to see that email before I can validate that. I have enabled the Email option on my blog. Please send me your email using that option and I will contact you directly. I will need to have you forward the actual email you received. GerryAnonymous
February 10, 2009
Hi, I'm planning to write my "final" exam 70-565, but there is no info about what it will cover. My idea was to compare the coverage with the 70–549 exam and if it's not too much difference I'm going to do the preps for the 2.0 exam and try to pass the 3.5 exam. The problem is that my local prometric center is closing down last of february so that's why I'm in a hurry. Since the exam will be released 23/2, I figured I'll have a shot to pass it before they close up. But as I said, I can't even see what the exam will cover. When will the info be updated on the page? I would appreciate a quick answer, since I'll need to start studying soon :-) AjdenAnonymous
February 11, 2009
Hi Ajden, Please see this post. http://blogs.msdn.com/gerryo/archive/2009/02/11/exam-70-565-prep-guide.aspx GerryAnonymous
February 14, 2009
…Gerry O’Brien blogs the prep guide here . He’s also got a status update on other developer exam releaseAnonymous
February 19, 2009
I found the result of 071-565 at Prometric today. This should be a good time to have a break. Thank you!Anonymous
February 22, 2009
Hi Gerry, I had scheduled the 70-565 exam for today (same day as it's supposed to be released), but they couldn't find it at the testing center in the prometric system. Is there any delay to Sweden testing centers? Regards AjdenAnonymous
February 23, 2009
Hi Ajden, This exam is supposed to be live today in English. I don't see it on the Prometric US site for registration yet either so I will be looking into this today to see what the issues are. GerryAnonymous
February 25, 2009
Hi again, Just wanted to inform you of that it was available the next day. Just came back from writing the exam, glad to say it went good! /AAnonymous
March 16, 2009
Hi Gerry, Any update on 70-567, upgrade of MCPD, web developer from .NET 2.0 to 3.5? Per your post it should have been released on March 3rd, but website still says "available soon". When is it going gold? Thanks, KripAnonymous
March 17, 2009
Krip, The exam is available if you check the Prometric web site. We are in the process of a site overhaul and as a result, many pages will have complete updates. Some have not been removed or updated yet. GerryAnonymous
March 30, 2009
Hi Gerry I see on Prometric's site that 568 and 569 are available for selection, so I assume that they've been released? Did these go through a beta phase - I'm a little disappointed at missing this? Any word on the prep-guides for these exams? There has been some discussion recently in the comments on your blog regarding the pace at which new certifications are released and the quality of certifications and I have a couple of comments:
- The pace is acceptable and necessary to match the release of new products. However personally I would prefer official Microsoft training material (either Microsoft Press or E-Learning) to be available for all certifications at a similar pace.
- This a small issue, but it seems more reasonable that upgrade exams be released before regular exams for the same certification, as those taking upgrade exams generally have a greater prior investment in their certification. Is the idea to encourage people not to wait for the upgrade exams and instead to try and go through everything from scratch at a faster pace? Are others typically doing this? [If the development of the upgrade exams requires existing regular exams, then would there be a problem with the following release sequence: regular exam beta, upgrade exam beta, upgrade exam, regular exam.] Any feedback on this or general comments from others would be appreciated. Thanks.
Anonymous
March 30, 2009
The comment has been removedAnonymous
March 30, 2009
Hi Gerry Thanks for the prompt and thorough reply - including the clarification of the exam creation and release process. This is most helpful.Anonymous
April 07, 2009
Hello Gerry, I have been looking for information on this for a while now, and I finally stumbled across your site, great work!!! I have a quick question that I am hoping you can help with. I currently hold an MCPD: Web Application for .Net 2.0, and I would like to transition to .Net 3.5. I primarily use the Microsoft Press books to study as I find them very good, but I notice that there aren't any Microsoft Press books specifically for this exam, is this by design? i.e. will there never be a book for this exam, or is it just not available yet? Would I have to buy the Microsoft Press books for the non upgrade route, i.e. 70-562 and then 70-564? Thanks again!! GaryAnonymous
April 08, 2009
Hi Gary, Glad to hear that you use and like the MS Press books. Unfortunately, the books for these exams didn't make the cut in terms of our publishing list and likely won't be created by MS Press. You could buy the individual titles that cover the content on the exam and that would help you as well. Basically, what you see on the MS Press site for books on 3.5 is about all we will publish at this time. Our attention has shifted to .NET 4.0 for planning and budgeting now. GerryAnonymous
April 08, 2009
Hello Gerry, Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have a question though... Your response seems to suggest that there were books created for these exams, but that they weren't published, is that correct? Are you aware of any equivalent books specifically for the upgrade path, rather than the individual titles? On a separate note since you mentioned .Net 4.0, is there going to be an upgrade path for 2.0 to 4.0, or is it going to be 3.5 to 4.0, or is there going to be no upgrade path. Forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere in your blog, but I have literally only just found it, and will start reading through some more of your archive. GaryAnonymous
April 09, 2009
Hi Gary, The books were not created at all. This is something we decide early on in our planning. Typically if a book gets created, we publish it. I haven't searched for any other books from outside publishers on the upgrade exams, sorry. We also typically don't provide an upgrade path to span two versions of a technology but it is more due to technology changes. We're still evaluating that at this time because our plan for .NET 4.0 is almost, but not yet, complete. GerryAnonymous
April 14, 2009
Neither selftestsoftware or measureup have these exams available yet. I would like to start studying I made a search on amazon but there are no books for these 2 examss Any idea which books should I buy?Anonymous
April 19, 2009
In the absence of training material specifically for the 70-567, what material should be studied? Do we need to cover the 70-563 and 70-562 material or can someone specifY topics that will be covered in the upgrade exam?Anonymous
April 20, 2009
Hi Ed, Yes, you can study the materials for the two exams that make up this exam itself. Take a look at the prep guide to determine what items will be covered on the exam. GerryAnonymous
April 20, 2009
Hey Gerry, I have only found your blog now... are you aware that the MCP site still lists all the MCPD 3.5 upgrade exams as "availale soon". http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcpd/vstudio/2008/default.mspx Also, I have MCPD:EAD VS2005(2.0) cert, and with VS2010(4.0) comming out soon, when will you know if there may be a direct upgrade from VS2005(2.0). Its a bit late that the VS2008(3.5) upgrade exams are available 18 months after VS2008 was released, and now with VS2010 around the corner I think there should be a direct path from VS2005(2.0) certs. Do you know when your VS2010(4.0) certification paths will be complete? Are you thinking weeks or months? Thanks for the insight. Cheers, KrisAnonymous
April 21, 2009
Hi Kris, yes, I am aware that the pages our out of date. We are completing a refresh of the entire site and these will be updated at the same time. I hope. As for a direct upgrade path from 2005 to 2010, there won't be. We don't allow upgrades to cross two versions of technology. I can't go into all the details as to why it took that long to get the upgrade exams out in market. Suffice it to say, it normally does not take that long. GerryAnonymous
April 22, 2009
The comment has been removedAnonymous
April 22, 2009
The comment has been removedAnonymous
June 08, 2009
Hi Gerry, Fortunately I read your blog, so I found out that the MCPD upgrade exams released. The Microsoft site still displays 'available soon'. ;-) http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcpd/vstudio/2008/default.mspx Last week I did my up upgrades (and past), but I was very surprised about the contents of the ADO.NET part. Upgrade to 2008, so I expected things like SqlToSql, Entity framework and Synchronisation Services. But I found only a few Linq statements and a large amount of questions about Datasets. I thought a upgrade exam would focus on the new stuff, but I guess that's not the case. What's the reason behind that? Thanx, ChristianAnonymous
June 09, 2009
Hi Christian, Our entire web site is undergoing a complete overhaul and as a result, all updates are currently frozen which is why some of the pages are outdated. As for the content on the ADO.NET exam, keep in mind that it's your peers that decide what goes on the exam. During the design sessions, I had a hard time convincing most of the people in the room that we should have coverage of EF and LINQ on the exam at all. These are industry experts who work with ADO.NET on a daily basis, not Microsoft people. The finally agreed to include both technologies but indicated that they thought only a small portion was appropriate. It's a difficult decision sometimes around what goes on an exam because at the time we create them, some technologies are very new and not many people are using them. On the other side of the scale, the exam will exist for a number of years in market including when these technologes are being used more so it makes sense to include them early on. In the next versions of the exams, you will see more coverage based on the adoption in the industry. Also, remember that an upgrade exam is merely a combination of the MCTS and MCPD exams for that track, not a completely new exam. GerryAnonymous
June 09, 2009
Thanx Garry! That's a clear answer. By the way... one more remark (I don't know if you have any influence) It was the first exam that I realy struggled to finish in time. 3 sections of 20 questions in 3x40 minutes... May be because I'm not native English speaking. Just to let you know. ;-)Anonymous
June 10, 2009
Crispy, What would you like me to influence? Gerry (with an e not an a)Anonymous
June 10, 2009
Oeps sorry Gerry, Normaly I have enough time to complete the exam but this time I didn't. I don't know if you decide what the available time is for an exam. Thanx Christian (crispy)Anonymous
June 11, 2009
Hi Crispy, That makes more sense. The answer is yes and no. Yes I have influence, yes I help decide however, what is in place are standards that are agreed upon by us and the exam providers. 2 hour total seat time for non-beta exams and 4 hour total seat time for beta exams. No I can't change those times. Hope that makes sense. :-) GerryAnonymous
November 17, 2009
Gerry, I am going to need to take the 70-568 and 569 soon and I think you said that there are no MS Press books for those exams. Do you have a recommedation on study materials other than practice tests? You do say it is a combination of MCTS and MCPD tests, but is this all new material related only to 3.5 tests or is there some 2.0 stuff in there too? I have looked at the skills measured for the test and it looks like it will test me on things that I have already taken through the 2.0 series.Anonymous
November 18, 2009
The comment has been removed