The MCSE certification path is a relatively straightforward path set up by Microsoft in order to verify an individual's proficiency with Windows Server 2003 which instills a greater sense of confidence among potential clients and employers alike. In order to prove your proficiency you will need to be able to validate your proficiency in designing and implementing infrastructures based on Windows Server 2003 as well as evaluate the business requirements for information systems solutions. This will be done by passing four groups of exams designed to test such a knowledge base. The groups are separated into networking systems, client operating systems, design, and then there is a larger group where you are just tested on one elective.

The first group of exams which is supposed to test your knowledge of networking systems includes four exams, all of which have to be passed in order to get MSCE certification. The first exam entitled Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment checks an individual's ability to complete a wide range of tasks. These tasks test an individual's ability to manage and maintain physical and logical devices, a server environment, access to resources, users, computers and groups as well as being able to implement disaster recovery. The second exam of this group focuses on the implementing, managing and maintaining a Windows Server network infrastructure. This test requires the individual to demonstrate a working knowledge of IP addressing, name resolution, routing, remote access, and network security. The next exam is entitled Planning and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure. This test measures an individual's ability to plan, implement, and maintain things such as server roles, security, network infrastructure, routing, remote access, server availability, network security, as well as the security infrastructure. The last exam in the group is going to test the ability of the individual being tested to plan, implement, manage, and maintain an Active Directory infrastructure as well as Group Policy. The individual will also be asked to plan and implement user, computer, and group strategies as they relate to security and organizational units.

The second group is comprised of a series of four exams on client operating systems. Individuals only choose one exam to complete for this stage of MCSE certification. All of the exams in this section deal with installing, upgrading, or migrating to a different version of Windows, configuring hardware, applications, network connectivity, access to resources, mobile computing, backup, and recovery options. The first two exams are concerned with configuring client operating systems for either Windows 7 or the Windows Vista Client. There is a point of interest here and it is that these first two exams are also in the Electives section, or the fourth group. With that said, when one of these exams are completed it will either count for the Client Operating Systems group or the Elective Exam group, but not both. The other two exams check an individual's ability to implement and administer Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional. The test that pertains to Microsoft Windows 2000, however, is retired which means that it can't be taken anymore, but if it has already been taken and passed by an individual it can be applied to the process of earning MCSE certification.

The third group of exams tests the individual's knowledge about design. In this section you need only complete one exam and there are two exams to choose from. To pass the first exam entitled Designing a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory and Network Infrastructure one must be able to create logical designs for both Active Directory and Network Infrastructure, as well as the physical design for these two. This exam also requires one to have the ability to gather and analyze business and technical specifications, in order to create the conceptual design. The second exam checks the skills connected with designing security for a Windows server 2003 network. The specific technical tasks measured here are similar to the ones listed for the previous exam, however, the emphasis is put on data and network infrastructure security in this exam. Also, both of these exams in this group are also part of the Electives exam group. This means that these exams can only count towards one group or the other, but not both.

The final group is comprised of a great many elective exams. Individuals are required to choose one elective exam to fulfill the requirements set forth by Microsoft to earn their MCSE certification. There are a few exams that are retired, but as with before if the individual has already taken and passed the retired exams it can be applied towards this certification. Among them we have tests concerning Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0, Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000, Enterprise Edition, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition, as well as working on IT Projects by using Microsoft Solutions Framework 3.0. The rest of exams are comprised of many different skills that individuals can focus on. These tests can verify their general expertise with Windows server or how proficient they are at completing tasks such as configuration changes. Aside form that, candidates can choose exams checking their knowledge of matters that range from designing, implementing, maintaining, configuring, to managing all things Microsoft. This list of Microsoft exams is as follows: Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003, Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005, Enterprise Project Management Solutions, Network Solution for the Small and Medium-Sized Business, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Organization, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory and Network Infrastructure, Security for a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network, Security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network, Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004, Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004, Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006, Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006, Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence, Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, Microsoft Forefront Client and Server, Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Vista Client, 2007 Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. Also, in this group we can find certifications like MCSA on Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, MCSE on Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and some specific third-party (CompTIA) certifications that can count towards the exam requirement.