MCITP and now what?

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Hello,

Managed to pass the MCITP today (70-685) and as you may well know I am currently working for an ISP. What would be the next step forward from here in terms of training or job prospects?

Ideally looking to work within the support industry as I am possibly staying in 1/2nd line stuff (AD / Exchange / XP / Win7 / Server200 however what would help benefit me most in terms of certs?

Have been looking at possibly getting more in touch with active directory. Maybe studying the 70 640, good idea for development purposes or just a waste of time?

Your thoughts and comments as always much appreciated!

Brad

 

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I'm in the same boat, cert-wise.

686 & 640 are my aims for this year, so I'd say you are going in the right direction...

 

Congrats on the pass,

What is it you are currently doing at the moment? I know you work for an ISP but doing what? and where is it you actually would like to end up?

I guess if you are looking at staying 1st/2nd touching on AD/Exchange etc then the 70-640 is a good one to get under your belt, and in fact it might be worth your time going for the MCITP:SA, if not then I'd say do:

• 70-640 (the A.D cert)
• 70-642 (config server 200
• 70-662 - Exchange 2010

Going down that sort of path you are going to be learning about A.D / Server 2008 / Exchange 2010, which should stand you in a good position for the future.

For me doing the 70-640 (I'm not going to lie) it was a bit boring, as it does go pretty indepth in to A.D and after coming home from work, i'd try to read it and it would just put me in a coma. BUT saying that I also learnt a hell of a lot doing that, the 70-642 I found easier, and is a more general overview of 2008, and the exchange exam is again an over-view of 2010 but I did learn a hell of a lot studying for that as well.

 

Hi there Michael,

That was looking like the plan back then however since, I've decided I would prefer to move out of support (and off the phone, at long last) and start getting myself into a more practical role.

Since I've studied the CCENT and am looking to take the ICND1 at the end of this month, after working on 1st/2nd line for so long it would seem like a step in the right direction for myself.

Checking your Certs, you have CCNA? I've currently bought myself a few routers and switches from ebay and working through the CBT nuggets videos (2611 & 2900), would you recommend this lab setup?

Also if you don't mind, what are the best resources for study?

Thanks Brad.

 

Hi Brad,

Good for you, at least you know what you want and where you want to go, I think that's half the battle!

As for the CCNA yes, as of 5 days ago!

I can't vouch for the CBT Nugget videos (I have used them for my MS exams) but for the CCNA because I did it with commsupport.co.uk, they provide you with videos covering all the topics so I used those videos.

I also brought 2x 2950 switches off ebay (i'm looking to buy a couple more now) and also have 4x 1841 routers (over kill for the CCNA) but I wanted to buy kit that was going to last me through the CCNA/CCNP/CCIE so I didn't want to be buying routers every-time I moved up a level, so thought I would spend some money on some good kit.

I also used packet tracer a lot, in fact I would tend to do labs in packet tracer, and then do it on the real kit, and I also got the CCNA books from Wendell Odom (just for some bed time reading).

As you can see when I'm learning or studying for an exam I really have to hit my brain every way possible to get the information to stick, so books, videos, making notes, packet tracer, real kit...

Finally, and this might sound very geeky, but (it's unbelievable how much it helps me) I have a back room at home where I have all my kit (cisco kit, servers etc for the MS exams). and I also have a big white board on the wall.

What I will do is "pretend" to be giving a lecture on say OSPF, EIGRP, ACL's, NAT whatever, and write thing's down on the white board. So Start in the middle OSPF then branch out to how it forms a neighbor then branch out to requirements to form a neighbour etc... so i end up with a whiteboard full of scribbles, BUT because I am re-calling all this from memory it certainly helps me a lot to try and cement the knowledge. And most of the time I actually realize I know more than I though because when your constantly thinking, you can just give yourself meltdown, by writing it down it makes things a lot clearer for me!

 

Damn.
I used to use that technique before teaching someone, just to make sure I wouldn't embarrass myself by giving out the wrong info or be stumped by an easy question. I found my weak spots/grey areas quickly doing this.
I never though of applying it to studying, but it makes perfect sense. Especially for exams like the Cisco ones where there is a narrow subject range but more in depth knowledge is required. I might dispense with the whiteboard though.

I think that's where I went wrong in my recent 70-685 fail. I didn't modify my study methods to account for the fact the exam was a lot narrower in scope (and therefore more in-depth) than most other exams I've taken.