When should you take the exams

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I am using a provider to train, and am attending my first course this week. Course 2274 and i do 2275 at the start of April. would you advise to take exam soon after that or would you wait and take 2 or 3 exams together.

 

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If you mean the actual certification exams, you might want to take them one at a time. The degree of difficulty rises as you progress but even the MS client exams can be challenging. If you tried to take two or three exams in the same setting, you might be reducing your chances for success. Best to take on each MS cert one at a time.

 

Thats what i thought, i let you know what our trainer tells us tomorrow i think he is going to tell us to wait till we done most of the courses.

 

Hi Millwallfc,

Firstly don't underestimate the difficulty of these exams, they can be as tough as any exam you are ever likely to sit.

I found that the MOC courses didn't cover the topics in enough depth to sufficiently prepare me for the related exams. I went down the Windows 2000 route, but I believe the same will apply to the Server 2003 track.

If you read the blurb at the beginning of the MOC book, it usually states that there is no direct correlation between the course and the exam. This was new to me when I first got into Microsoft certs three years ago.

To give you a blatant example of this, I will point you at the preparation guide for exam 70-290 http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-290.asp

If you scroll down you can see the black dots, if they are solid then supposedly the MOC covers the material (I doubt it) and if they are just an outline, then the MOC hardly touches the subject. But rest assured the exam will.

So, IMHO before you are ready to sit one of these exams, you should have done the MOC, read all the student materials, read other related articles on the areas which you find difficult to understand. Get loads of hands on with your home lab, and get involved with any labs your training providers are giving.

I would also recommend using more than one source for your studies. Students usually find that reading from different authors about the same subject can help consolidate their understanding. There are good books out there by Sybex and others, which can be bought second hand if necessary. Swat till you drop and when you feel you just can't cram any more detail into your noggin. Buy the related Transcender or Measure Up exam prep software. Bust a gut doing all the available exams at least twice or until you are passing them with near 100%! Then download the latest cramsession and use that to sharpen your wits on the small details.

Then sit the exam!

This is my technique and many others use similar approaches!

It took me a year to prep for my ISA exam which I sat recently and I am glad I did or it would have kicked my butt

Good luck,

Pete

 

To add a little punctuation to what Pete said, he has just earned his MCSE after 3 years of very hard work. The guy knows what he's talking about and I'd consider every word he's said here golden.

 

Well the trainers providers advise is to take these course first

2274
2275

2276
2277

Then a week or two after take the exams.

i have started 2274 this week, and doing 2275 att he end of March

Im doing 2276 in the middle of May
and doing 2277 last week of June

I have been reading the sybex books and looking at getting the Microsoft press books. However the training provider does not provide any labs on the ones why your on the course. Nor do they give you practice exams.

If i book the 2 exams for the middle of July do you think this is sufficient time if i out in 4 - 8 hours a week in studying?

 

Can you translate those four digit numbers into a content title? I know the cert exams by the MS designations. For example, the 70-210 cert exam is the Windows 2000 Professional certification.

As far as whether or not you are giving yourself enough time, no one can answer that one but you. I probably would need more time depending on how familiar I was with the information and how much I'd practices the various labs. I really can't see how you'd pull this off without hands-on lab work and using practice exams really hones your skills in terms of being able to apply what you know to a testing situation.

 

Course 2274 Managing & Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server Enviroment) (5 Days)

Course 2275 Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enviroment (3 Days)

Course 2276 Implement & Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure (2 Days)

Course 2277 Implement Managing & Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure (5 Days)