Welcome to the MCSD, MCAD and MCPD study Wiki. For the MCSD.NET and MCAD.NET, this site focuses on the C# track. If you have an interest in writing about the VB .NET track, feel free to add pages. For MCPD, of course, the language doesn't matter - the questions are basically the same.

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MCPD Upgrade......

Only one exam is required to upgrade from the MCAD.NET to the new MCPD certification for Web or Windows certification. Two upgrade exams are required for the Enterprise version. Check out the following links for details:

• MCPDWebUpgradeExam - Exam 70-551
• MCPDWindowsUpgradeExam - Exam 70-552
• MCPDEnterpriseUpgradeExams - Exam 70-553 and 70-554

You must already be an MCAD for .NET to take the Web and Windows exams. You must be an MCSD.NET for the Enterprise exams.

MCSD Core Requirements

There are five exams in the Microsoft MCSD .NET Certification. The first core exam everyone has to take:

• DotNetSolutionArchitectures - Exam 70-300

The second core exam deals with web development. You need to pass one of the following two exams:

• Visual Basic Web Development - Exam 70-305
• CSharpWebDevelopment - Exam 70-315

The third core exam deals with Windows development. You need to pass one of the following two exams:

• Visual Basic Windows Development - Exam 70-306
• CSharpWindowsDevelopment - Exam 70-316

The fourth core exam deals with web services development. You need to pass one of the following two exams:

• Visual Basic Web Services Development - Exam 70-310
• CSharpWebServicesDevelopment - Exam 70-320

The fifth exam is an elective. You need to pass one of the following three exams:

• DesigningSQLServer2000 - Exam 70-229
• Designing Biztalk Server 2000 - Exam 70-230
• Designing Commerce Server 2000 - Exam 70-234

As always, if you have already passed one of these core or elective exams as credit towards another certification (MCSE or MCDBA for instance), you can also use the same exam towards your MCSD.

General Tips

You will not get credit for passing two core exams in the same category. That is, if you take and pass both Visual Basic Web Development (Exam 70-305) and CSharpWebDevelopment (Exam 70-315), you will not be any closer to your MCSD .NET than if you had only taken one of them. The reason is that the Visual Basic .NET and C# exam questions are identical except for the language used for examples on the test.

Exams cost $125 U S Dollars each. You will spend at least $625 to earn you MCSD for .NET. Discounts are available - see ExamPrepSoftware.

Once you pass an exam, you cannot retake it.

Once you fail an exam, you can retake it again. But if you fail again, you have to wait a certain period of time before you can retake it. This is to discourage people failing the exam on purpose in order to get the exact questions.

The questions that appear on Microsoft exams generally come from a pool, so you and your friend can take the same exam on the same day, and you might get completely different questions than your friend.

MCSD Exam Prep Software

Companies like Transcender and Self Test Software provide web-based and Windows-based test simulations, that some people find to be an easier way to study. Check out the ExamPrepSoftware page for more.

Persuing My MCSD .NET

Do you want to see the current status of my .NET certification? Go to the ScottDuffyStatus page