Number of MCPs Worldwide

Since I participated in the SQL Server 2008 MCTS beta exams last year I wondered how many people would actually do this.  Now I have found part of the answer.

Microsoft keeps a count of all MCPs, grouped by certificate.  This page is was called Number of Microsoft Certified Professionals Worldwide and is located on the Microsoft Learning site. Update: with a layout update to the Learning site it has been relocated to the By the Numbers tab on the Certification Overview.

Obviously, the certificates that I achieved are mentioned on the page and I must say that I’m quite surprised.  These numbers do not reflect how many people took part of the beta exams but at least everyone that passed them since they became available (either beta or regular) is counted here.  I thought that the counts would be in the thousands range but apparently not.

At this moment (numbers are current as of January 2009) there are 2,381,907 MCPs in the whole wide world.  Out of these, 464 people hold the SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance (70-432) certificate and only 188 passed the SQL Server 2008, Business Intelligence Development and Maintenance (70-448) exam!

Here are some more SQL Server-related certificate counts:

To be allowed to participate in the MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) exams you need to hold the MCTS degree on the same subject.

When you have succeeded in both MCITP Database Developer AND MCITP Database Administrator the next step is MCM (Microsoft Certified Master).

And finally, if you still have not satisfied your hunger for certification, you can go for MCA (Microsoft Certified Architect).

Have a look at the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Certification site if you’re wanting to invest in your future!