| Microsoft currently offers two levels of developer certification for Microsoft .NET Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) for Microsoft .NET. In fact, the MCAD certification is a subset of the MCSD certification. In this section, you learn how the two certifications are structured and what you would expect from an ideal MCAD or MCSD candidate. The MCAD Certification The MCAD is a certification for the developers who develop, deploy, and maintain applications and components using the Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. To get the MCAD certificate, you are required to pass three exams that include two core exams and one elective exam, as listed in the following sections. MCAD Core Exams You must pass two of the following core exams to earn credit toward the MCAD certification: 70-305, "Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" OR 70-306, "Developing and Implementing Windows-Based Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" OR 70-315, "Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" OR 70-316, "Developing and Implementing Windows-Based Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" 70-310, "Designing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and the Microsoft .NET Framework" OR 70-320, "Designing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and the Microsoft .NET Framework"
MCAD Elective Exams You must pass one of the following elective exams to earn credit toward the MCAD certification: 70-229, "Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition" 70-230, "Designing and Implementing Solutions with Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000 Enterprise Edition" 70-234, "Designing and Implementing Solutions with Microsoft Commerce Server 2000"
You can also count as an elective one of the four core exams: 70-305, 70-306, 70-315, or 70-316. The one you can count as an elective is the exam from the opposite technology from the exam that you count as a core exam. For example, if you take the exam "Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" (70-315) as a core exam, you can either take the exam "Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" (70-316) or the exam "Developing and Implementing Windows-Based Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" (70-306) as an elective, but you cannot take the exam "Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" (70-305) as an elective. The Ideal MCAD Candidate The ideal MCAD candidate is someone who has from one to two years of experience in developing and maintaining department-level applications, Web or desktop clients, XML Web services, and back-end data services using the Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. The ideal MCAD candidate might also be someone who works in teams that use Microsoft .NET Framework and other Microsoft technologies to develop enterprise-level applications. Typical job titles for an ideal MCAD candidate include programmer, programmer/analyst, and software developer. The MCSD for Microsoft .NET Certification The MCSD for Microsoft .NET certification is for developers who design and develop enterprise-level solutions using the Microsoft .NET Framework and other Microsoft development tools and technologies. For the MCSD for Microsoft .NET certification, you must pass four core exams and one elective exam, as listed in the following sections. MCSD for Microsoft .NET Track Core Exams You must pass four of the following core exams to earn credit toward the MCSD for Microsoft .NET certification: 70-305, "Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" OR 70-315, "Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" 70-306, "Developing and Implementing Windows-Based Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" OR 70-316, "Developing and Implementing Windows-Based Applications with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET" 70-310, "Designing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and the Microsoft .NET Framework" OR 70-320, "Designing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft Visual C# .NET and the Microsoft .NET Framework" 70-300, "Analyzing Requirements and Defining .NET Solution Architectures"
MCSD for Microsoft .NET Track Elective Exams You must pass one of the following elective exams to earn credit toward the MCSD for Microsoft .NET certification: 70-229, "Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition" 70-230, "Designing and Implementing Solutions with Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000 Enterprise Edition" 70-234, "Designing and Implementing Solutions with Microsoft Commerce Server 2000"
 | Exam 70-320 also qualifies as an elective toward a different certification The Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA) for the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Certification. |
The Ideal MCSD for Microsoft .NET Candidate The ideal MCSD for Microsoft .NET candidate is someone who has at least two years of experience in designing and developing enterprise-level solutions with the Microsoft .NET Framework and other Microsoft technologies. An ideal MCSD for Microsoft .NET candidate should be able to work as a lead developer performing tasks such as analyzing business and technical requirements and defining solution architecture. In addition, an MCSD for Microsoft .NET candidate should be able to perform the tasks typical to the MCAD certification, such as building, deploying, and maintaining the applications. Typical job titles for an ideal MCSD for Microsoft .NET candidate include software engineer, application analyst, application developer, and technical consultant. |
