How much study time to pass 271?

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Hi
I purchased the Microsoft Press book 1 month ago and have been reading it for about 2 hours a day since then. I start an evening class on 15th April for the MCDST certification which lasts 10 weeks @ 3hours per week.

I find now that I feel fairly competent of my understanding of the objectives but when i sit practice exams I'm not scoring to well (~70% usually or thereabouts!)

Just wondered what sort of time scale other people give themeselves to study for these exams. I've not started 272 yet, although I did a quick browse through the book and it definitely seems easier.

Anyway, thoughts please

 

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It really depends on my knowledge of the technology that I'm studying. If I'm not very familiar with the technology, I would probably spend 2-4 weeks studying for the exam. That includes dedicating several (3-4) nights a week during that time studying for the exam. If I am familiar with the technology, I'll generally give myself a couple of weeks. Once I'm able to score 70-80% on the practice tests, I'll brush up on some of the topics I'm missing on the practice tests and then give the exam a go.

Note that if I'm not overly confident in my knowledge of a particular topic, I won't even think of taking the exam. I'll spend some time getting familiar with the technology, and then once I feel comfortable with the technology (this could take months), I'll carve out 2-4 weeks to actually prepare for the exam.

As with any study program, there's no one size fits all solution. You'll have to gauge for yourself how confident you feel before taking the exam. If you don't feel confident, keep studying. If you think you're ready, give it a shot. And, even if you fail the exam, it's not the end of the world. You can brush up on what you missed and try again.

 

As long as it takes you.

Some people may be able to study for the MCDST in a month some people may take a year. Its not a race, take your time and when you feel confident enough take the exams.

 

A big thing I have found is experience - working in a DST environment for 18 months is exactly whats needed for doing the MCDST - I'm less than 24 hours away from completing it (hopefully) and more often than not, I'm using what I've learnt in my job rather than what I got out of a book.

Unless you can do 40 hours a week for 6+ months worth of practice on your home lab setup (as if you were at work full-time), don't expect that reading a book will be always be enough - sometimes it won't.

 

Exactly right. If I tell you that it took me 6 weeks for the 271 and then nearly 2 years for the 272 what does that tell you? I did the 271 straight after the 270 plus I've been using XP since it came out. I've also used Office 2003 since it came out so really I passed the exams more on experience with the study filling in the gaps.

It took me a long time to read for the 272 on a palm tx while I was at the chiropracters 3 times a week (for a year and a half). Remember I said it took me nearly 2 years? Bad impression, yes? After that I kind of lost the study mode for a while but when I pulled my finger out to get it out of the way so I could help BosonMichael, I did a quick weeks worth of revision and passed. Experience really pays off.

At the end of the day it takes you as long as you need.

Experience will get you much further than just the book, but both together are great.