MCSA/MCSE Advice

minidaniels

Hey guys,

I had previously achieved my MCSA/MCTIP in Windows 2008 R2 back in 2011 and havent done much more certifications since then. As I have just been plotting along at work, they have now advised they would like me to sit any exams I like and get some certifications.

I would like to achieve my MCSE one day, but I am not sure if I should take the 70-417, get the MCSA and as a result take the path to MCSE or if I should resit all Windows 2012 Exams (ie 70-410 etc.) to get my MCSA again and continue to MCSE.

Thanks again for any advice

gespenstern

I would advise 70-417, but the only concern here is 2012 MCSA is really hard, I'd say seriously harder than 2008. Some people advise to do exams separately as it gives you more chances to pass because of having more questions, plus pass is a pass, unlike on 70-417 where you can have two out of three have passed but if you have one below 700 -- it counts as fail and your efforts on ones that you have above 700 aren't counted.

So if you are cocky, if you are confident in your skillset and labbed a lot in order to be familiar with stuff you don't use often in real world (you probably don't create forests each day, ReFS, storage spaces, IPAM, AD RMS, etc.) -- then go ahead and schedule 70-417. If not -- it would be better to fail and pass them separately.

minidaniels

Hey Gespenstern,

Thanks for the reply, I think I may pass the 2012 MCSA by sitting all the required exams..

If it is a lot harder as I am reading in these forums, It would be ideal to get more experience instead of maybe struggling later on in future exams.

Thanks for advice

OctalDump

One option is to do the 70-417. If you pass, then good. If not, you will have a good idea about which domains you are weak in and can better focus your efforts.