Is your consultant/ISP/ASP MySQL Certified? -- Discounts on MySQL Certification exams.

Carsten Pedersen, Certification Manager, MySQL AB

In March, MySQL AB announced the general availability of the Core MySQL Certification -- and now, the Professional Certification exam has been published, in the form of a Beta try-out. In the near future, customers will expect their solution providers (such as consultants, ISPs, and ASPs) to be MySQL certified. Discounts on exams are currently available from https://order.mysql.com

We are already receiving inquiries about ISPs and consultancy companies that retain MySQL certified personnel among their staff. Clearly, in the coming months and years, having a number of MySQL-certified staff members is going to be a differentiator for many service providers in the coming months and years. If you make a living selling MySQL services and your staff is not already MySQL certified, they should sign up for an exam -- the sooner, the better. As in many other aspects of the IT industry, vendor-specific exams make the difference for customers that are on the lookout for expertise in a certain field of work. In just a few months, you may well gain or lose deals depending on whether your staff is certified or not.

The MySQL Core Certification tests your skills in basic MySQL administration, the tools used with MySQL, knowledge of client/server architecture, SQL, data definition language and many other valuable areas. Although, at a basic level, the exam is designed so that if you pass, you hold proof that you have broad knowledge of many aspects of MySQL, as well as a good understanding of the basics.

The MySQL Professional Certification goes into more depth on topics such as proper setup procedures for a new MySQL installation, the differences between the InnoDB and MyISAM table types, security issues and optimizations. The Core exam must be passed before you are eligible to receive a certificate for the Professional exam. Although the Core certification is good, for example, for judging whetherto hire a certain person, customers will in time want to make sure you retain employees with a skill level matching the MySQL Professional Certification.

For a limited time, MySQL AB is offering discounts on the Core exam and the Professional Beta exams. Vouchers for each exam can be bought through https://order.mysql.com at a 10% discount; if you buy vouchers for both exams at once, you get a 15% discount on both. Note that the Professional exam is already heavily discounted due to its "Beta" status -- it will never be less expensive to invest in a Professional certificaiton exam than it is now.

To make use of this offer,
* Point your browser to https://order.mysql.com and order the exams you want to go to.
* Once your order has been processed, you will be e-mailed vouchers to use for your testing registration with VUE.
* If you haven't already done so, create a MySQL account on the Pearson VUE website http://www.vue.com/mysql. This part of the registration process can take up to 24 hours, as the registration must first be approved.
* Register for the exam(s) you want to go to on http://www.vue.com/mysql. When you get to the payment details, enter the voucher number you have received from MySQL AB for that particular exam.
* Go to the exam!

Good luck on achieving your MySQL certification credentials!