MCSA Office 365 certification

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       I was wondering is there anybody out there that has pursued the MCSA Office 365 certification and, have you been able to find a job with it if you have. I know this is a great certification but I just want some incite as to what to expect if I'm able to earn mine. I've Googled a few sites and most of them say that MCSA with Office 365 certification can make upwards of $75,000 to $80000. Now I'm guessing this is not walking in the door as with just the cert. I know that this is more then just one question but, any input would be greatly appreciated. 

14 Replies
In my experience, MS certifications don’t matter that much when people hire! A Microsoft cert don’t really prove that much! Companies tend to focus on personality and experience! Maybe the higher level of certs like MCSE can play a greater role! Also Microsoft certs never gained such approval as the high level Cisco certifications for example! Overall if you are interested in working with office 365 you should go for it and it can help you get selected for a interview but from there no MS certificate can save you :)
Keep in mind this is my opinion and my experiences from where I come from!!

Thanks for your feed back, I ask because I current work in a Office 365 environment and we use Azure to manage our servers. I figure it just makes sense to learn what I'm around right now as opposed to something new. I mean at the end of the day office is everywhere you have to have people who can manage that right.

Yeah, having Office 365 experience across the board is in very high demand right now. Especially if you learn and know Teams/SharePoint etc. The certification to me has always been about self justification. It can help sometimes, as some places require them, but usually it's all about job experience and the interview are more important than a certification. Althou as Adam says, the certification can set you ahead to getting that interview.

Hi Keith,

 

I did the MCSA: Office 365 Cert last year - more so as a challenge to myself to write some exams again - and I actually learned a few bits I might not have worked with daily - and then there's all the PowerShell fun!  ;)   When I got my MCSE in 1997 it certainly opened up doors for me - especially as a woman - but today I know there are several conflicting views on certification.

 

One thing about the MSCA is that the exam requirements changed frequently in the short time I wrote the two exams - a month apart!  My takeaway from writing the MS exams again - for myself - is that I won't do them anymore. I've been working with MS products since the early 90's - so have the experience - and as we all know it is continuous updates to the Office 365 suite versus back then - let alone only a few short years ago. The exam requirements will constantly change.

 

I work with Microsoft 365/Azure daily in my role - yes I am a "Jill of all Trades" as a result of this so instead of doing exams/certs I have chosen to focus on Microsoft Teams. I did consider adding some Cloud Security certs into the loop but at the end of the day I had to pick my battle - and again that is Teams.

 

The cert might help....as others have said to get that interview, etc.  In the meantime it sounds like you're already working with/or have exposure to O365/Azure - keep digging into these products...there are tons of free online resources/courses for learning....do the networking...attend online/in person conferences...perhaps volunteer to talk at events, user groups, etc. and keep impressing them in the office!  :) 

 

Hope this somehow helps - cheers!

Yeah, Microsoft has a challenge with certifications now with all the updates happening daily! I noticed this also when I did the MCSA.. same with Azure and all the cloud services

In case you don't know and it's of interest, the Office 365 exams are being retired as well as the corresponding MCSA effectively.  Things are moving on to Microsoft 365. I put some of the details here:

 

Office 365 Exams Retired 70-346 & 70-347

 

I wouldn't take the salary claims too seriously, it shouldn't be the primary motivation for certification I find. It's more to be able to demonstrate your skills, learn new technology and the satisfaction of accomplishing something that should work in your favour.

Yeah, these look good! And they are needed to cover more than the current office 365 certification! Although I guess my days of taking certifications are over when I moved over to modern workplace to 100 %!
I guess there won’t be any exams on adaption, teams , yammer and so on :)

Wow I’m so glad that I put this blog out there because I knew nothing about these exams retiring. This is a surprise to me and they won’t be available I’ve found out till November 18,2018.

Never found a certification of any kind has gotten me a higher salary or even a job.

 

I guess that if you are an employer facing two people and one has a relevant certification it might weight the decision. However, mostly I have found it has absolutely no effect.

 

However, I would encourage people to try and get them. It is really a good test of whether you have absorbed knowledge in training and at work. It is a goal of training and keeps you on track. So I think for the individual it is worthwhile at a personal level. Otherwise it doesn't help.

I may be a bit biased here, because the MCSA as a whole was fairly important to my last job.

 

I worked at a very large hosting provider that resold O365 and supported it. It was very important to management and marketing to be able to say we had Microsoft certified support folks. This not only made a difference in how we sold and marketed out products, but I saw it first hand help countless amounts of my co-workers.

 

The company actually invested 4 weeks of lab and prerp work for their employees to go and train to pass the MCSA. It was basically a top to bottom here is what you need to know, here is how you approach the test type of a thing. I was the first person to pass the exam, and then was tasked with putting together that training. So I spent a good amount of time developing a curriculum and lab work around the exams, and ultimately over 60 people had passed their MCSA when i left for a new job.

 

Those who had passed it either could more easily get raises and promotions internally, or several of them switched companies for a 40-50% pay increase.

 

I agree as a whole, if you know your stuff, do you NEED an MCSA? no. But its 100% worth the investment, and it can also help out allot. I see it as a college degree in the IT world. Do you need one? no not at all. We all know many successful people that do not have one. Does it hurt? No, if anything it probably opens up a few doors towards upwards mobility and promotions that may be harder to open without it.

 

If you happen to be in the Chicago area, I will actually be doing an MCSA training workshop at SharePoint Fest come December!

What are you up to? Posting this everywhere?

I think there may be some kind of mix up here. I was just asking a question about the MCSA Office 365 certification.

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