Hello!
This page spells it out quite plainly:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mta.aspx#certification.
It pretty much says that even though the MTA is a recommended prerequisite to the MCTS certifications, it is not required. You do not need to take the MTA exams to achieve the MCTS. This is unlike the way that the MCSA and MCSE were setup; in order to achieve
the MCSE, you naturally had to achieve your MCSA on the way to it. However, once you had the MCSE, that is all that anyone cared about, as they knew that of course you already had the MCSA. The same applies here. If an employer sees that you have the MCTS,
then it can be inferred that you already possess the knowledge and skills that are required to obtain the MTAs. So yes, you will still need to take the exams required for the MCTS, even if you have already passed the MTA exams.
You may now be wondering why you would even bother with the MTAs then, instead of going straight for the MCTS. Well, that is a matter of your experience. If you are a well seasoned IT professional who is simply looking to validate your skills via Microsoft
certification, then going straight for the MCTS makes perfect sense. However, if you are new to the scene, and are trying to build up new skills and knowledge by achieving certification, then you really should probably start with the MTAs.
Very Respectfully,
Josh Blalock, MCIPT | MCSE 2003 | MCT: www.techmyway.com
