Requirements Gathering

Once I made the decision I wanted to pursue the certification, I had to figure out what I needed to do to obtain that certification. A quick trip to msdn.microsoft.com yields a link to Training, Career and Events. There, I found links to MCAD and MCSD Certification. I found that the MCAD requires 3 tests.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcad/requirements.asp

Core Exam

Developing and Implementing Web Applications with Microsoft Visual C#™ .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET (70-315)

or

Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual C#™ .NET and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET (70-316)

(you may also take the tests in Visual Basic)

Core Exam

Developing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft Visual C# and the Microsoft .NET Framework (70-310)

Elective Exams

There are several elective exams. One option is if you took the Web App test for the core, you can take the Windows App test for an elective, or vice-versa. You can take those two tests in either VB or C# or one in each. You cannot take the Web C# and use the Web VB test as the elective. The same applies for the Windows tests. This is because the tests are about the framework, not necessarily the language. I decided that since I do Web based apps 99.9% of the time, the Windows tests weren't really applicable, so I chose

Designing and Implementing Databases with Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 Enterprise Edition (70-229)

since I work with SQL on practically every project.

The MCSD certification requires the 3 exams from the MCAD and 2 additional ones…

Exam 70–300: Analyzing Requirements and Defining Microsoft .NET Solution Architectures

And both Web and Windows is required, so I will take the Windows App test.

I am going to concentrate on the MCAD for now and worry about the MCSD when I get there.