In this article we're going to go over the current requirements for getting an MCSE certification. Please keep in mind that these requirements could be old news by the time you read this. No knock on Microsoft intended.

So, you want to get an MCSE certification. Well, in order to do so you're going to have to pass a series of exams. As of this article, seven to be exact. Five of the exams are what they call core exams and the last two are called elective exams.

The five core exams consist of four operating system exams and one design exam. The four operating system exams offer the following choices. The first of the operating system exams is the client operating system. You need to take one of these. The last three are for the networking system itself. There is a bit of an overlap here so we'll just cover the choices as they apply to both options.

The overlaps are courses 2151 and 2152 which are Windows 2000 Network and Operating Systems Essentials and Implementing Windows 2000 Professional Server. Also in the overlap is course 1560 which is upgrading from Windows NT to Windows 2000.

This is where we have the breakoff between client operating system and the networking system. The last client operating system exams are course 2272 and 2285 which are Implementing Windows XP Professional and Installing and Configuring Windows XP Professional. This concludes the client operating system exams.

The remaining exams for the network system itself are courses 2153 and 2154. These include Implementing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure and Implementing and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services.

The design exam comes with a number of options which cover Designing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services Infrastructure, Designing a Security-Enhanced Microsoft Windows 2000 Network, Designing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Networking Services Infrastructure, Designing a Highly Available Web Infrastructure, Designing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory and Network Infrastructure and Designing Security for Microsoft Networks. The good part about the design option is that the student has a number of options to choose from.

The two elective exams are a bit of a blessing and a curse. There are numerous courses that can be taken for the two elective exams. The problem is, with so many choices a new student may have a difficult time deciding which one to take. With some being infinitely more difficult than the others, the choice can mean the difference between passing and failing the exams. Having said that, the more popular of the elective exams, which doesn't necessarily mean they are the easiest ones, are System Administration for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, which has been a staple for years, Implementing a Database on Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, which is usually taken with the other SQL exam, thus completing the elective section, Implementing and Managing Microsoft Exchange 2000, which has been another long time staple and finally its cousin, Designing Microsoft Exchange 2000 for the Enterprise. There are of course other courses but these are the most popular.

In our next article look for more information on MCSE certifications.