SQL Admin Cert -- Please recommend a class

Well, the company I work for is a smallish tech shop, and I've been 'Winging it' with our SQL servers when it comes to problems or backups, etc. My boss would like me to get a cert, and they're going to pay for it, so why not.

Plus, I want to start getting certified in some things. I'm a pretty smart guy and I really know what I'm doing, but thats not going to sound good on a resume :). I need to backup my claims.
 
Well, there are a couple of reasons why not. They've been covered in other threads here; one is that many employers think that experience far out-weighs certification, as certifications aren't about real-world experience and don't demonstrate anything besides passing a test.

If working the certification course gets you structure or references (or a class) that helps you learn, then that's great. But I'm not sure it's really worth much more than that.

If you do want to get certified, why would you take 70-431 for SQL Server 2005 instead of 70-432 for SQL Server 2008? You'll want to first decide if you're going to just do database operations (eg, managing servers, taking/restoring backups, handling hardware upgrades) or do database adminstration (eg, tuning queries, indexes, building physical models, helping with logical models), or do implementation (which is more about application development).

You can find roadmaps to the Microsoft curricula here and here, in the side bar.
 
Thanks Mike,

I agree on the certification being less important than real world experience, but I figure if I have both certs AND real world experience, that can't be a bad thing right? And while certifications don't mean all THAT much, it can possibly help me get my foot in the door.

As for which SQL to do, I'm mostly focused right now on the database ops you listed like backups, etc. The thing is, I handle a lot of that already without having taken a class. Some things I'm fuzzy on are setting up Mirroring/Clustering, the pro's and con's of each -- troubleshooting issues, that kind of thing.

I was going with 2005 because thats what we have around here where I work, we don't have any 2008's. I know it makes more sense to go with the latest, so I'm flexible on that.
 
It can be a bad thing. You'll spend time and money and effort on obtaining the certification. Classes are really expensive, tests aren't cheap, and neither are the books. Think of this as spending time and money on buying something -- the certification. Once you've bought it, what does it get you? Is what you get for what you paid worth what you paid?

Some employers look for certifications. I don't for the reasons I listed in my previous post.
 
Yea, I'm kind of against getting certs for the same reasons you mention. But like I said, my boss is going to pay for it all. He wants me to at least get some training and classes in, so I figured I might as well get the cert. If he's paying, its worth it ;).

Even if I'm not getting a cert, do you have any classes or training that you recommend? My boss wanted me to look at Spring House and New Horizons, but I wanted to see if the [H] Forum had any recommended classes.

Thanks for your advice!
 
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