Comments on MCSE

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

What are your comment with this advice I was given about taking the MCSE


Personally, I find the Microsoft exams detached from reality - they are geared
around what MS think you should know, how MS say it should work and the latest
new things associated with that particular operating system (OS). They are (the
exams) NOTHING like the real world. So there's a double-edged sword here, so to
speak. If you know nothing and are starting from ground zero with, say, MCSE
2008, then you get fed all the OK war cries for 2008, but know nothing of the
real world where big businesses are currently running Windows 2003 servers at
best or Windows NT4 at worst (all the Oss have very different nuances, it's a
nightmare) and who are loathe to migrate to MS's latest offering immediately
(it's always bug-ridden and takes a couple of 'Service Packs' to iron them
out). On the other hand, if you're already in the industry, then you KNOW how
it works in 'the real world' and when you do the courses, all hell breaks out
because invariably the comments from existing MCSEs or
real-world engineers is 'B*ll*cks, it doesn't do that, despite what MS says'.
Get some serious qualifications in CISCO - the people who MAKE the
networks run, including the Internet - or go heavily into IT Security in
general - firewalls, anti-hacking or similar.

 

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

I thought you were taking our advice and starting with the A+? You're a ways off from needing either the MCSE *or* the CCNA. But hey, if you want to go that route, knock yourself out.

I personally think 90% of that quote is bollocks. Microsoft exams are much, MUCH better about giving questions that are relevant to the real world than they were, particularly from back in the NT4 days, where they simply asked trivia. Sure, there's a "Microsoft way" of doing things... but that doesn't mean the questions aren't relevant to what you'll do in the real world. You still need to know the capabilities of Microsoft's server-based OSes.

Companies ARE running, for the most part, Windows Server 2003... but why does the quoted person go after the 2008 exams? Going off on a 2003/2008/service pack rant really does nothing to logically bolster his position. The 2003 exams are still available, and in my opinion, I would recommend them before the 2008 exams (again, once you've got the relevant experience).

 

Hi,

Iam taking your advice, and have already started the A+ study, I just really wanted to know what you guys thought of this advice I was given a week or so ago.
Now I have posted the thread I can see that it may get some peoples backs up???

 

People being wrong or illogical doesn't get my back up. I just shake my head and smile.

 

There's no point in being skilled in something that no one or hardly anyone uses, unless you are definetly going to be working with it.

Most companies use 2k3 and xp, some still use NT and windows 2000. Better to learn the most used ones first before going for a new one.

 

I used to think all of the "Accessibility Features" content in the Windows XP exam was a load of hogwash back when I worked for a large company. Now that I run a small business where I have elderly and handicapped customers, all of those questions suddenly make sense. Same goes for the STOP errors that I thought MS was overdoing it with on the exam. It turns out that I have to troubleshoot several per week and it's darn handy to have them in my head and not have to race to a working computer to Google something.

Not everyone will use a computer the same way you do or that your company does, and the scenarios presented on the exams will pertain to someone out there working in the industry.

My 2 cents.

 

Id have to agree and disagree on that.

If you already have IT skills, then I can't think of anything that would put you in a better situation for the future. Sure, learning something that you are likely to NEVER find a use for is never a great idea, BUT as time goes on you will see Server 2008 increasingly being used. Especially with Hyper-V ect.

But as you say below, it's best for newcomers to gain the skills in widely used products first.

Completely agree.

 

I was just pointing out that it would be better to be skilled in what your likley to do rather than something you won't use, obviously if you are already skilled in those area then yes it would be a good idea to learn something like 2k8 then you would be ready for or if it is implemented wherever you work.