Okay, I was partly holding off on publishing this because at first I thought it expired REAL fast, but apparently, that’s changed! so here you go! It’s good until June 30th, 2010! woohoo!

If you guys remember my original post Certification and MeasureUp Discounts 20% off Certs! that story is still true – so the ‘approved’ countries will still be able to get 20% off which can make your exam costs as little as $100 USD! (Fill in the blank of your respective country :)) However, if you don’t want to get money off and instead want to take your chances at the exam at full price YET if you happen to fail (No one ever fails, right? Especially not ME?!? :)) This will give you a second chance at the exam for free then!

So, in USD terms, here’s a breakdown of the values!

So, by looking at that, wow! There is a definite value in taking advantage of this Second Shot Program! However, if you KNOW you’ll pass the first time and you live in an ‘approved’ country, then the 20% off voucher is definitely valuable.  Otherwise though, jump all over this Second Shot offer, as far as I know it’s available in EVERY country, which is great, and the fact it ALSO run’s until June 30th, 2010 – means you’re all winners all around!

So, just like before, feel free to email me, contact me on facebook, twitter @CXI, even linkedin (or you can comment here) – Whatever means is comfortable for you to get these vouchers.  I don’t have any limits, and I want you to pay as LITTLE as possible for your certification! (In the event you didn’t catch it, this is all free :))

So, I discussed this before in a few places, but just incase we forgot! Act now or forever lose your Microsoft Certification discount!, Getting Microsoft Certified in the United Arab Emirates! and Certification and MeasureUp Discounts 20% off Certs!

Well, in these past posts, I discussed that there were a finite number of countries whereby the 20% off discount would apply.  I did have a spreadsheet I generated and kept on hand.. but instead of sharing the entire spreadsheet I’m only going to include the countries which *today* offer the 20% off discount before they all fall into 10% only discounts.  The important lesson here is: If you live in one of these countries where 20% is available, let me know and I’ll be sure to get you the 20% off voucher before we all lose it forever!

That’s right! If you live, test and certify in one of these countries above, let me know and I’ll be sure to get you some vouchers! You must let me know before August 27th though, or else I’ll only be able generate 10% vouchers after that point!   And yes I will be generating SOME vouchers to keep on hand for these countries just incase, but it’s better to be safe than sorry and ensure you’re all taken care of!

Good news! Especially for those of you who have checked out these two posts:

Certification and MeasureUp Discounts 20% off Certs! 

Getting Microsoft Certified in the United Arab Emirates!

Unfortunately, there will be some change on the horizon! That 20% will soon become 10% for all vouchers generated after August 27th, 2009!  Fortunately, all vouchers generated BEFORE August 27th, 2009 will still be eligible for their original discount (Which is great for England, US and other 20% off countries! :))

I’ll generate a number of vouchers to have on hand as applicable, which I’ll definitely take care of for England and the US, and if you have any other countries you want vouchers for… let me know and I’ll be sure to keep them on hand! :)

For those of you who know me, and I know some of you do very well, you know how much I love education, learning, Certification, and most importantly.. Sharing the goods with everyone else! Well, this situation is no different!

I’m now able to take advantage of this special promotion for MCT’s which allows me to share discount vouchers with you! Discount vouchers to the tune of 10% to 20% off on Certification exams (depending upon the country)

All you need to do is let me know you want a voucher, provide an email address and country (and number of vouchers you’re looking to use) and I can supply that to you! You can reach me on Twitter @cxi, here by a comment, or sending me an email

You have no idea how excited I am to have this opportunity to share with you, so lets take advantage of it, I know I will :)  Below are the details and a brief look at what is available.

This voucher is redeemable for one Microsoft Certification Exam delivered at an Authorized Prometric Testing Center™. This voucher expires June 30, 2010. You must take your Microsoft Certification Exam prior to this date

Why you should get certified                                                     Learn more

When you earn a Microsoft Certification, you are demonstrating your knowledge and skills with Microsoft products and technologies, while validating real-world skills and job-related experiences that are used every day. Whether you are new to technology, changing jobs, or a seasoned IT professional, becoming certified helps you prove to peers and employers that you are committed to advancing your skills and that you are a candidate for new opportunities and career growth. Plus, as a Microsoft Certified Professional, you’ll have access to a vibrant, worldwide community of other certified professionals.

Save 40% on a 60 Day Online MeasureUp Practice Test      Learn more

You’ve made a great decision to certify your training and experience. Now make sure you are ready to pass the exam using a MeasureUp Practice Test. MeasureUp Practice Tests questions are written by subject matter experts and designed to test the concepts presented in the actual exam. Performance-based simulations are included in some practice tests as an additional test of the student’s capabilities.

Save 40% now using your voucher number and prepare for certification success.

¹ 2006 MCP Customer Satisfaction Survey • ² Redmond Magazine’s 2006 survey of compensation for Microsoft IT professionals • ³ IDC Study: Value of Certification: Team Certification and Organizational Performance, Nov 2006 •This voucher may not be combined with other vouchers and discounts. It is no longer valid after the expiration date; This voucher is nontransferable and is void if altered or revised in any way. It may not be redeemed for cash, credit, or refund and may only be applied towards Microsoft Certification exams. Microsoft ,Prometric™ and Authorized Prometric Testing Centers™ are not responsible for vouchers that are lost or stolen. Any resale of this voucher is expressly prohibited. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Prometric and the Prometric logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Prometric and its affiliated companies.

The fine print:

* Only MCTs can request MCT Rewards Discount Vouchers. You can offer MCT Rewards Discount Vouchers to students who have attended one of your instructor-led classes or one of your colleagues’ classes. You can also offer discount vouchers to people who you reach through your personal network or through your blog, website etc. These vouchers will be personalized and will include your name as the trainer that provided the discount voucher and you will receive points for each redeemed voucher. Please note that MCT Rewards Discount Vouchers may not be resold. Discounts may vary by country. For a list of discounts by country, (let me know ;))

For some reason, as I fly from LAX to ORD, I cannot seem to find any of my photos I thought I took of the masses who welcomed the SWAG Express, err.. the Career Express as it pulled in to TechEd, but I still have some after-swag-attack photos, so I can definitely share those.

Previously on the Bus, on Day 10, we had an enjoyable night out on the town to get back to the bus by 3:45AM for Departure to get in to LA.   We made it back literally just in time to grab our bags from the hotel, board the bus, and definitely in my case – to go to sleep.

Awaking 30minutes from the Convention center, I made sure to alert the Tweetosphere of our location(s) so they could prep for a Swagtastic arrival, which they frankly did quite a good job of relieving us of swag!

The type of community and engagement was just great, and amazingly well received.   People immediately entered into conversation, catching up with old friends or meeting new ones.

I had the opportunity to attend a session too! My first and only session for TechEd09, was Ken Rosen’s session on MCITP is the new MCSE, where you (me) need to watch out when you attend sessions.. you just might get called up to answer a community question ;)

With the bus tour at it’s end, the one thing that was everyone’s mind when talking about it was, asking how it was.   While I will do a full post-mortem and additional high-lights, here is a brief description of the bus tour.    zOMFG! Amazing!  That’d be the first point to say about an event and experience like this.    If you’ve ever had the opportunity to have your eyes opened to not only aspects of community you may have never seen, but to see that which is otherwise perceived as uniform being implemented so differently across communities in the north, the south, east and west.   Things are done in unique and interesting ways in every type of CPLS, ITA, and even in training businesses from coast to coast.    

When the bus tour was announced, I was gangbusters set on trying to win this, and this is even before I would realize the full depth of the experience, but once I did I yearn for it even more.     I evangelized about this opportunity constantly within the community (and my local community) to encourage them to take advantage of this, because while this may come along again, you’ll never have been part of the first one, and that first makes all the difference!

I look forward to something like this being done again (EMEA?!:)) and definitely the opportunity to get out in front of more members of the community, helping them connect with each other and just grow, grow grow!   The friendships, relationships and all the people I met cannot be replicated, cannot be bought and the experiences will be stories and legends to tell for years to come!

I want to thank all of you for following along and reading of our adventures cross country, cross community, and for making an investment in yourself through education.