Microsoft Certified Professional facts for kids

Microsoft Certified Professional was a special program from Microsoft. It helped people show they were experts in Microsoft's computer products. Think of it like getting a certificate for being really good at something!

What are Microsoft Certifications?

For many years, Microsoft offered special certificates. These showed that people knew a lot about their computer programs and systems. In the 1990s and early 2000s, these certificates were very popular. Many companies helped train people for these tests. Other companies then gave the actual exams.

To get a certificate, you had to pass one or more tests. For example, the MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) was for computer systems. The MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer) was more about software. How you earned these certificates changed over time.

Around 2020, Microsoft decided to update its certification program. They announced that many old certificates would be retired. These included MCP, MCSD, MCSE, and MCSA.

Why did Microsoft change its certifications?

Microsoft wanted to focus on newer technologies. These include Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. These are popular cloud-based services. The old certificates were planned to stop on June 30, 2020. Later, this date was moved to January 31, 2021.

In the past, some certificates needed to be renewed. You had to pass more tests every two or three years. This kept your certificate "active." Now, once you earn certain certificates, they stay on your record. You can also earn a new version each year. This is done by passing an extra test.

These changes happened because Microsoft products update very fast. Also, the computer world has changed. It moved from old client-server systems. Now, many services are "rented" online. This is called software as a service (SaaS) or platform as a service (PaaS). These are all part of cloud computing.

Current Microsoft Certifications

Microsoft now offers different types of certificates. These help people learn skills for today's technology.

• Fundamentals: These are for basic knowledge.
• Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE): For teachers using Microsoft tools.
• Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS): For people good at Microsoft Office programs.
• Role-based: These focus on specific job roles.
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Microsoft 365
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365
  • Microsoft Power Platform
  • Microsoft Teams
• Specialty: These are for very specific skills.
  • Windows Virtual Desktop Specialty
  • Azure IoT Developer Specialty
  • Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty

See also

• Microsoft Technology Associate