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The pathway to Microsoft Certified Professional is broken down into tiers to demonstrate the level of expertise for the holder. These include:

• Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) – is the entry level certification that validates the holder's fundamental technology knowledge - previous entry level MCP has been replaced by MTA.

• Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) – this certification validates the holder's ability to build and design solutions using core Microsoft technologies. There are many flavors of MCSA certifications including Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows 10, Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), SQL Server 2016, SQL Server 2017, SQL Server 2019, BI Reporting, Dynamics 365, Web applications.

• Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) – these certifications show the skills to design and build advanced solutions[buzzword] which integrate multiple Microsoft technologies - requires MCSA prerequisite

• Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) – the certification proves the holder's skills in designing and building application solutions – requires MCSA prerequisite

• Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA) – database specialist that can design and maintain Microsoft databases using Microsoft SQL-Server – retired as of September 30, 2012

• Microsoft Specialist – Designed to validate knowledge and skills in a specialized area of technology, the Specialist credential sits outside the tier system – retired as of March 31, 2017

The MCSE certification originally stood for Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. In 2012, Microsoft made some changes to the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) program, and renamed MCSE to mean Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert. At the same time, the MCSA certification was renamed to Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate; from its original, previous name of Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator.

As of 2018, the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) program has three skill levels: Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA), Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), and Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE).

Snippet from Wikipedia: Microsoft Certified Professional

Microsoft Certified Professional was a certification program from Microsoft.

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