One day, when I was walking through the forest of technology, I tripped over a stick and banged my knee on a rock and discovered that somehow I had accidentally gotten myself an MCSE.

They're terribly easy to get. On any given test, the questions fall into one of three categories:

  1. Technical know-how of standards and things(a mere 10% of the test or so)
  2. Really basic knowledge of the product (a mere 30% of the test)
  3. The complete list of bullshit marketing lines that Microsoft has decided make their product stand out from the rest (the rest of the questions)
So, to study for the exam, you take a few of those silly Transcender practice tests, skim one of those silly exam-study books, and then walk in and pass the test.

I've taken like 7 of them. 1 of which was on a product that I had never seen or used or even heard anything about until I looked at the courseware the night before the test.

There are two kinds of MCSE's in the world. The first kind have used the product, have a lot of experience, and got the certification just to satisfy their bosses curiosity. The second kind have never used the product, can't spell Windows NT without getting all the letters jumbled up, and pass anyway. The latter kind are called "Paper MCSEs" and are fairly useless.

It is said that Microsoft is irritated by this situation and is buckling down to make future tests much much harder. But they'll never be in the realm of Cisco certifications.