New to MS certs

Cyberscum

I have been a net admin for about 4 years. I am really interested in obtaining up to the MSCE server cert, but I really don't know where to start.

I feel very comfortable with Microsoft and I think that the MTA might be a little to slow for me, should I start with MCSA?

I have been looking for info on the 410 exam, but its literally everywhere. I do better if I work from maybe two or three sources studying from an exam, so what sources would be my best?

Any advice on the 410 exam would be greatly appreciated!

CS

Dakinggamer87

Some resources I am using in my studies for the MCSA/MCSE include:

-Udemy courses by Infinite Skills
-Microsoft TechNet white papers, documentation, knowledgebase
-Techexams.net
-Books/study guides
MCSA Windows Server 2012 R2 Complete Study Guide: Exams 70-410, 70-411, 70-412, and 70-417: William Panek: 9781118859919: Amazon.com: Books
-CBT Nuggets/YouTube

Hope this helps

iBrokeIT

Microsoft's Virtual Academy which has free CBT style videos - https://mva.microsoft.com/
Technet Virtual Labs - free virtual labs - https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/virtuallabs/
6 Months Free to Pluralsight.com CBT videos - http://www.techexams.net/forums/off-topic/115853-microsoft-visual-studio-dev-essentials-6-months-pluralsight-free.html

Edit: Also know PowerShell!!

Cyberscum

So is it worth buying the official study guide or using UDEMY, Tehnet etc...

techfiend

The official training guides were really good, best I found. Poulton's 410 book is also good. Exam Refs and Panek weren't helpful.

Dakinggamer87

Cyberscum wrote: »

So is it worth buying the official study guide or using UDEMY, Tehnet etc...

I think a combination of resources will help you out. This includes not only passing the exam but also enforcing the knowledge and understanding the material in a strong fashion.

OctalDump

Standard advice:
* lab with at least 3 VMs. The MS online labs are good, too, but you need some hands on with Hyper-V and with installation which is best done on real hardware.
* the official books from MS seem to be better options. Sybex books haven't been great.
* some video (can't think of any specifics to recommend) for when you need a break from reading and labbing
* read the objectives and get hands on with everything
* don't be afraid to explore outside of the objectives

The 70-410 is probably about the right level if you have some experience with Windows Server already, and get most of the theory for IP/DNS/VPN, file permissions, AD, replication, etc etc

chopsticks

Thanks for the study resource information.

thatguy67

My success came from ITPro.TV (they have a remote lab you can access in 2 hour blocks as well as 2 Transcender exams a month), CBT Nuggets PowerShell course, TechNet, TestOut, and the following books:

the Training Guides from Microsoft Press, the Group Policy book by Moskowitz, Active Directory by Desmond, and Mastering Server 2012 R2 by Minasi.