Tim,
I'm curious how someone in your position as a publisher feels about the vast numbers of people taking the book-learning shortcut (without real-world experience) to the MCSE certifications and whether that "cheapens" the professionalism in the field. I definitely feel there is a need for the exam preparation books, but some of them go too far, basically saying "memorize this, but don't try to understand it." I think the focus should be to make available truly prepared professionals for a market that demands them. Any thoughts on O'Reilly's stance on this issue? I notice your book on the core exams follows much more of an overview format.
Sincerely,
Mark Creamer
Mark,
Well, to tell you the truth, I started the MCSE in a Nutshell (Core Exams and Electives) project more from a desire to prick the bubble that was happening, with incredibly overpriced books promising to turn people into MCSEs. I figured that if that's the kind of market it is, let's be straight out and do a "Cliffs Notes" kind of approach.
But as we actually started to think more about the space, we realized that there is definitely a place for a book that teaches someone who basically knows his or her stuff what Microsoft expects. The MCSE tests do contain a lot of details that even an experienced system administrator wouldn't necessarily remember--he'd just look it up if he needed it. So there's a legitimate market there.
Also, we found that the tests do create a useful framework for summarizing what's important in an area. This can be useful for a person who is basically sophisticated and just wants a quick overview or "Cliff Notes" to an area. He or she can then decide whether or not to go into greater depth. In the end, a book like MCSE in a Nutshell is really useful for people who don't give a fig about the exams, but just want a good, concise overview of the Microsoft technologies that happen to be covered by the exams.
So what we tried to develop was a book that:
--Tim
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