Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator Certification

By Business & Finance Last updated Sunday, June/02/2024

Examinations

To receive the MCSA credential on the Windows Server 2003 you must take and pass a total of four exams. Two of them--the Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment test and the Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure test--are based on networking systems. The third exam is on client operating systems. The last is an elective exam. The MCSA credential on the Windows Server 2000 also requires you to pass and take four exams, according to Microsoft.

The MCSA credential is also available in a few Windows Server specialty areas. These include the MCSA Messaging on Windows Server 2003 and the MCSA Security on Windows Server 2003. Both of the specialty credentials are available on the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, according to Microsoft. The MCSA Messaging credentials requires you to take and pass four examinations while the MCSA Security credentials require you to take and pass five examinations.

You may wish to upgrade your MCSA credential to operate on newer networks. The Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) credential is available on the Windows Server 2008. To upgrade to the MCITP, you can choose a certification path that may require as little as two examinations, according to Microsoft. The Exam 70-648 is based on knowledge from the MCSA credential. The other exam that you would need to take is the Exam 70-646: PRO: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator, which of course would bring you up to date on the newer server.

Though there is an upgrade available for the MCSA certifications, you are not required to upgrade to the MCITP unless you choose to. You also do not have to do anything to renew your MCSA credential. According to Microsoft, they keep their certifications available as long as there are areas that continue to use them. Once your MCSA certification is no longer needed, Microsoft will retire the credential and list it as inactive.

Salaries for Microsoft Certified Systems Administrators vary based on what type of work that they do. Those working as Information Technology Managers are some of the highest paid with a reported salary range of $55,600 to $84,700 as of July 2010. Those working as IT Network Administrators have a salary range of $41,700 to $61,300 while those working as Systems Administrators have a salary range of $44,200 to $63,200, according to PayScale.com.