All citrix certification holders will now be required to update their certifications as exams are retired.

As of yesterday, exams covering older versions of MetaFrame, such as 1.8, have been retired. Candidates will have until May 2004 to update certifications based on these exams. The more recent XP certifications do not need to be renewed at this time.

Additionally, "elective" requirements that must be fulfilled through Citrix online learning courses, which will be made mandatory in May 2004. With these, Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA) candidates will be required to pass either the new 222 Feature Release 3 exam or the 310 MetaFrame 1.0 for Unix exam, plus take one of the following two e-learning courses and pass an online assessment exam at the end of the course:

According to Citrix's Web site, candidate may still earn the titles via the old requirements (i.e., no electives) through May 2004. More info

The exams, Core Hardware (220-301) and OS Technologies (220-302), debuted Thursday at Prometric and Pearson Vue testing centers worldwide.

The exams are based on the 2003 objectives released earlier this year. Several new topics -- including Windows ME, XP and recent memory, peripheral and wireless technologies -- are now covered on the exams.

The new exams instantly replaced the previous 2001 versions. Candidates who have already taken one 2001 exam can "mix-and-match"

Each exam contains 80 questions for a maximum of 900 points, with a minimum score of 515 needed for the Hardware exam and 505 for the Operating System exam. Both are delivered in linear format.

. The new objectives are described as a "minor update" to the 2001 objectives and covers the latest memory, bus, peripherals, operating systems (Me and XP) and wireless.

The MCDST requires passing two new Microsoft exams:

70-271, Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Windows Desktop Operating Systems
70-272, Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Applications on a Windows Desktop Operating System Platform

Microsoft targets its newest title, Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician, at Tier 1 personnel, whose job tasks primarily encompass daily operating systems troubleshooting. MCSA and MCSE fill Tiers 2 and 3, respectively. Microsoft has yet to reveal plans for a certification for the top tier.

The new exams will continue to be in linear format. CompTIA announced last month that it has dropped adaptive format permanently so that it can continually test beta items both for upgrades and to refresh the question pool.

CompTIA's A+ certification is made up of two exams: Core Hardware and OS. It is a vendor-neutral title designed for computer repair technicians. Once earned, the credential is good for life -- there is no need to upgrade.

The new objectives are described as a "minor update" to the 2001 objectives and covers the latest memory, bus, peripherals, operating systems (Me and XP) and wireless.

Prometric the global testing service released a study that shows the top reason for individuals pursued IT certification during 2002 was to enhance professional credibility and not to increase compensation as has previosuly been the case. This along with other findings indicates that the reasons for pursing IT certifications are changing in response to the chaning IT market

Individuals - The value associated with certification is becoming increasingly personal in nature with respondents pointing to the increase in confidence and perception of competence that comes with certification. Thirty-two percent of candidates and 34 percent of already certified respondents cite credibility as the top reason to seek certification, compared with 27 percent and 12 percent, respectively, in 2001. Respondents, are becoming increasingly less motivated to seek certification as a means for attaining a new position with only 14 percent claiming this reason in 2002 compared with 23 percent in 2001.

Managers - The benefits of certification can increasingly be found in the value that certification brings to the organization. Also significant was the number and variety of programs available, and the number of individuals seeking and achieving certification led some responding managers to dismiss certification as an employment criteria. These managers cited that certification has become hampered by the fact that there are no experience-related prerequisites to obtaining certification. In fact, 61 percent of managers and already certified respondents, and 47 percent of candidates agreed that there should be experience-related prerequisites for IT certification programs. It’s also worth noting that 70 percent of already certified respondents felt that certifications lose value when everyone has them.

These findings are in marked contrast to those of previous years’ studies, which found that individuals primarily pursued certification for higher salaries or better jobs and managers used certification as a tool to screen potential candidates

Cisco updates the four exams required for the CCNP Certification.

There are changes in content of the exams, and they will feature more simulation questions. Current exams can booked until August 7th 2003.

Old Exams (registration available until 7th August 2003)	New Exams
640-901 BSCI Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks	643-801 BSCI (Beta) Building Scalable Cisco Internetworks
640-604 Switching Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks (BCMSN)	643-811 Switching (Beta) Building Cisco Multilayer Switched Networks v2.0 (BCMSN)
640-605 Remote Access Building Cisco Remote Access Networks (BCRAN)	643-821 BCRAN (Beta) Building Cisco Remote Access Networks v2.0
640-606 Support Cisco Internetwork Troubleshooting Support (CIT)	643-831 CIT (Beta) Cisco Internetwork Troubleshooting Support v5.0 (CIT)
Read and Post Comments regarding the new CCNP exams

On Feb 17th 2003, Microsoft announced their MCSE / MCSA 2003 requirement. These exams will become available in the 2nd half of 2003.

Upgrade from Windows 2000 : People certified on Windows 2000 can choose to upgrade their certification by passing 2 exams for the MCSE and 1 for the MCSA.

Recommendation : Continue with the existing Windows 2000 Track and complete the 2000 MCSA / MCSE - Take the two upgrade exams to become certified as both a 2003 MCSA and MCSE. See details here