OT: Microsoft Certified Master

My blog posts have been very lacking recently as every single moment I have spare has been spent preparing for the Exchange Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) next week. I fly out on Friday, with classes due to start on Monday.
With the amout of information I have read about this course and the relatively low pass rate considering the acceptence criteria, I am incredibly nervous and feel very unprepared. I have completed about 85% of the pre-course reading material (there was a lot on it. With the 11 hour flight and the rest of this weekend, I hope to get close to 100%. How much I remember is a different question.
As well as being nervous, I am incredibly excited. This will probably be one of the best technical learning experiences of my career and expect to come out a changed man, regardless of the exam results :o)

I will definately not be posting over the next 3 weeks whilst I am there, so will post back on the other side.

OT: Microsoft Certified Master: Exchange

Thought I would give a quick update on here to say I have been accepted onto the Microsoft Certified Master for Exchange(MCM:Exchange). So in March I will be off to Redmond for three weeks intensive training, 3 written exams and a lab. I am incredibly excited at the prospect of learning so much and attaining that next level in my career, certification and technical abilities. It does mean the next few months will be spent completing that enormous reading material list and studying my weaker areas a lot more indepth.

What is the MCM?

The new Microsoft Certified Master series offers advanced technical training and certifications on Microsoft technologies that go beyond any product training offered outside of Microsoft today. IT professionals who successfully complete the training program and certification testing validate their skills as product experts who successfully design and implement solutions that meet the most complex business requirements.

Candidates who successfully complete the program can expect to have a greatly improved understanding of the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 platform. Microsoft Certified Masters can design and build customer-specified messaging solutions, and they understand how design decisions affect the final solution. They can troubleshoot and diagnose configuration and performance issues, and they have the detailed knowledge and skills that are required to successfully operate and manage an enterprise-class Exchange Server 2007 infrastructure.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/master/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/master/exchange/default.mspx

All being well, with a lot of blood, sweat and tears (or maybe just a hell of a lot of studying) I will become a MCM:Exchange in a few months time!