10/17/2007 -- I confess to having mixed feelings about the "Second Shot" promotion that Microsoft is currently offering. If you fail an exam you registered for between now and Jan. 30, 2008, the promotion lets you have one free retake. Second Shot is applicable for any IT professional, developer or Dynamics exam.

As Microsoft's marketing piece says:

"Microsoft certification is a great way to set yourself apart with hard proof of your skills in the most current and specialized technologies and tasks. Now Second Shot doubles your advantage by giving you a free retake of a Microsoft Certification exam. It's your extra shot at success -- and it's only available for a limited time."

On one hand, I'm in favor of anything that's free. If you want to offer me the chance to take an exam without studying properly, fail it so I can learn what types of questions you ask, study for the test and pass it -- how can I be against that? I just saved the time it takes to read the whole study guide.

On the other hand, however, Microsoft talks about "hard proof of your skills"...but then tells you that it's OK to fail; just try again, take the do-over without penalty. I'm not sure that's a world I want to live in. Imagine arriving to work Monday morning to a down network. When you grab the junior administrator by the collar and ask why they did nothing, they respond that they just didn't know what to do in this particular situation. It's their mulligan; they'll fix it the next time it goes down.

Of course, I'm being flip, but the truth of the matter is that there aren't many do-overs outside of children's games. Not only do I think that there shouldn't be free do-overs on exams, I also think that your certification transcript should indicate the number of times you had to take an exam. I'd much rather hire someone who passed the first time through as opposed to someone who had to take it enough times to learn every question in the pool.

Novell's Newest Engineer Certification
Novell has announced a new certification to help Certified Novell Engineers (CNEs) migrate to Linux: the Novell Certified Engineer (NCE). This isn't just a simple reshuffling of the acronym; the NCE is intended to further cement the move away from all NetWare platforms in favor of Open Enterprise Server.

To become certified, you must pass a single exam: NCE Enterprise Services (050-709). While not currently available, the exam is expected to be practicum-based and priced at $195, the same as similar Novell exams.

For those new to Novell, four courses are recommended in preparation for taking the exam:

• Novell Networking and Services for Linux
• Administering Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 for Linux
• Implementing Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 for Linux
• Deploying Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 for Linux

For those already certified as CNEs, only the latter two courses are recommended.

More information about the upcoming NCE certification can be found here.

Book of the Week: 'The IT Career Builder's Toolkit'
Though it's going on a couple of years old now, Matthew Moran's The IT Career Builder's Toolkit is still relevant and useful.

The 23 short chapters are divided into five parts where you're bound to find information applicable to you if you've never had a job in IT, or if you've worked in the field for years. The five parts telegraph the content within: An Introduction to Career Building, Filling Your Toolkit, Putting Your Toolkit to Use, More Options to Build Your Career and The Value-Added Technologist.

While the book is small, don't dismiss it as a quick read. You should spend time pondering what it says and working through the exercises that conclude each chapter. It will be time well-spent.