A New Certified Master, I Will Be

I mentioned in an earlier article that I began the application process to enter the Microsoft Certified Master: Exchange Server 2010 program.  Well, I'm very happy to say that I was accepted to the program today!

With this acceptance, I've decided to blog the entire experience (or at least as much as my NDA and time will allow).  This will let folks who are interested know what to expect if they want to pursue the same prestigious certification.

Once I confirmed that I met all the prerequisites, I began the application process on March 7, 2011 by completing the online application, supplying my MCP transcript, and paying the non-refundable US $125 application fee.

On March 10th, I was confirmed by the MCM program that I met the prerequisites.  A Microsoft Partners ID and workspace was created for me to upload my resume, two sample project documents, and a single page document describing my experience and "deep technical understanding of Exchange".    The workspace was created, but I had to email the MCM team to let them know I had signed in before I could upload my content.  Once this was submitted to the MCM workspace and I marked the content as "Ready for review", I waited.

There are three other MCMs who I work with at ExtraTeam.  All three of them had grueling telephone interviews at this point, so this is what I was anxiously waiting for.  Today, March 21st, I received a ominous email saying, "Thank you for submitting your application. Please view the attachment for the final results of your application to the Microsoft Certified Master Program."  Uh-oh.  No phone interview and they already made their decision.  That's not good.  But opening the attached PDF file I was happy to see, "Congratulations! You have passed all the required pre-requisites and have been accepted into the program."

Here's a diagram that shows the MCM application process:

So that's has you caught up to where I am today, aside from actually finalizing my registration (and paying the $18,500).  Now all that's left is the hard part -- Going though the MCM program.  My rotation will run June 6 - 25, 2011.  Can't wait!