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:

• Would be useful even for someone who didn't plan to take the tests.
• Would help the experienced administrator learn the "Microsoft answers" to various subjects in the event that he or she did want to take the test. (In some places, the answers that Microsoft wants are not actually correct in "the real world".)
• Would undercut some of the price gouging in the MCSE book market.

--Tim