Next week I scheduled in training time focused on gaining “MCTS .NET 2.0 web dev”.
I started to investigate what the differences are between the 2.0 exams and the 3.5 versions. Here is what I have discovered (sharing it because everyone I’ve asked haven’t had any ideas about the 3.5 certs)

They stripped out the old 3 ‘silos’ that the MCTS 2.0 exams had

and replaced it with a number of certifications that focus on a technology area.

The .NET 3.5 certifications are listed here. The first 3 with prep guides will be released late March, with the others being released later on.

All of these .NET 3.5 certifications still have this requirement

  • MCTS: .NET 2.0 App development foundation70-536Prep guide

Which means you can work towards any of the 3.5 certifications right now. And if you currently have a MCTS 2.0 certification then you already have passed that requirement.
They will have “upgrade exams” from MCTS 2.0 certifications to 3.5, but full details haven’t been decided yet. But it is suggested that the upgrade exams will ONLY cover the differences.

References:
http://blogs.msdn.com/gerryo/archive/2008/02/21/microsoft-certifications-where-do-i-start-part-2-of-2.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/gerryo/archive/2007/11/20/technology-adoption-time-frame-and-the-relation-to-certification.aspx#6461249

By David Burela

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