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Hey guys,

So i passed my A+, thought about the N+ but decided to skip that for now on the grounds that MCDST seems important at the moment as it expires at the end of June. I couldnt make my mind up whether to go down the MCITP windows 7 route or go MCDST first.


First of all, how long did it take anyone (roughly) to pass the MCDST on the self-study route? Also sayif i passed the MCDST in time and i want to do the upgrade path will I need to do this by the end of June as well, or will this stay open?

I just wanted a general idea if i could do the MCDST in time and whats in store really.

Thanks.

 

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You should do what you work with or if you dont work with anything at the moment whats most likely you will be working with.

So I would say do the MCDST because alot of place still use xp and will do foir many years then do the windows 7 upgrade.

I am not sure if there is a retirement for the upgrade but all certs will eventually retire when the technology isn't used any more.

The MCDST took me about 3/4 months by self study.

 

This is what I'm wondering, place I work at is moving to Windows 7 in a few months, from XP. I'm personally not going to use XP again so I'm wondering if I shouldn't bother and start on Win7 certs instead

 

The advantage of doing the MCDST first, is that it will help raise questions for you when you decide to go the MCTS/MCITP route with Windows 7. The upgrade exams for Windows 7 make the learning curve a little easier if you have the MCDST background, and by doing the MCDST you also learn some useful things about Windows in general that may not be present in Windows 7 exams, and you get another two nice acronyms under your belt (MCP and MCDST) which is always nice to put on a CV for those HR folk that like looking at them ;)

6 months should be a very comfortable amount of time to study for it. I already had the XP exam under my belt when I attempted the MCDST along with several years of 'other' industry experience, so it took very little time for me to feel comfortable enough to try the exam (a week or two actually).

But your mileage may vary, feel confident and study hard. You'll do fine.

 

Depends. Can you guarantee that you're always gonna work at places that don't use XP?

Anything that increases your attractiveness to a greater number of employers is worth doing. And at the moment, companies still predominantly use XP.

 

I did both within 6 months, because i could only give exams when i had a break from college. But frankly speaking, it all depends on your experience with Windows XP.

No, upgrades are independent exams within themselves. But 70-621 is expiring in march 2011. Win 7 upgrade paths are still open.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?id=70-682


As Shinigami already said, having MCDST helps u in the long run.

Best of luck.