I have commented on the SharePoint 2007 examples a few times in the past :
I've just read the announcement on the Microsoft Born to Learn blog about the coming SharePoint 2010 exams.
There will be four certifications:
- 70-667: TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Configuring
- 70-668: PRO: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Administrator
- 70-573: TS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development
- 70-576: PRO: Designing and Developing Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Applications
Role based
This is a big change away from the current courses that have an Administration and Application Development for both WSS3.0 (SPF2010 equivalent) and MOSS2007 (SPS2010 equivalent). With this now focused on your role within the SharePoint ecosystem you do not need to study up on areas you would not use in the Platform.
Overlap
Hopefully there is no overlap like in the previous ones where in the MOSS2007 Application Development one they were asking about SSP configuration.
Vertical Coverage
The issue I have here is that there is NO WAY that they will be able to cover all of the functionality of SPF2010 and SPS2010 in these exams. Which means there is going to be no way to indicate that you area "Excel Services" ninja or a "Business Connectivity Services" sensei. I'm disappointed in that approach. Having certifications in these verticals along with the foundations, which I'm assuming is what these exams are, would make it a lot easier to show your strengths in the technology.
The platform is so big now with: Excel Services, Business Connectivity Services, Access Services, InfoPath Services, Office Web Apps, FAST Search, My Sites, etc. that if they tried to cover this in one exam they'd be one question on each. This is hardly going to prove anything in terms of ability.
I'm sure other vendors have had to cover these verticals before. Cisco have a much more diverse range of certifications for their Infrastructure platform to cover off the deeper verticals and highlight those with more expertise in particular areas.
"Best Practice"
The other real limitations with the WSS3.0 and MOSS2007 certifications were that it did not test some of the key aspects that you would expect someone with some experience in SharePoint to know as this happened after the exams were published. Examples of this are for the Administration exam where it did not test the recommended number of Web Applications in a SharePoint Farm or number of List Items in a List. It did, from memory, test your knowledge of disposing of SPWeb objects when I took the exam so maybe there are updates.
This kind of information is core to ensure that quality SharePoint Farms are built and developed on. These exams are a sure way to raise that to people and educate them. Not everyone reads Technet and MSDN, not everyone takes the certifications. But Microsoft should be covering all their bases to ensure quality resources are out there.
Masters
Sure, if we all had the money (USD$18,500) we'd all go to Redmond to take the Masters course once we thought we were ready. The problem is the awareness of this course is low in the marketplace and it's only really the people who have it that are pimping it and there aren't that many either. So, a development manager can't really demand that you have one to get a role and realistically requires an Organisation to invest in their resource to go and take it. It's a huge testament to the guys who have got this as it is a long gruelling and in-depth course, these guys truly are the SharePoint Yoda's of the world!
So, I would recommend people getting these just to prove they have the foundation knowledge, but I think there is certainly a gap for deeper vertical centred certifications. I think this is why the market tends to lean on the quality of your blog to prove your knowledge and your previous projects you've worked on. Problem with relying on this is you don't know how much of this is that individual and how much of it was the overriding teams.