MCSA / MCSE Server 2012

jack84ie

Hi All, since i work with Windows Servers daily i am now starting to study for the MCSA and then onto the MCSE

whats the best way of studying ? go through all 3 MCSA courses first then start taken the exams ?
my study would be

Plural Sight MCSA followed by CBT MCSA

any one have any good website that has study guides ?

gncsmith

You can follow along with the 90 days to MCSA Challenge found on this Thread. There's a daily of activities in the 90 Day Challenge OneNote.

There's a little debate about which book(s) to use. PluralSight videos should be good as they lab through it. Labbing is the BEST to understand the materials/concepts, so don't discount it.

Make your own study guides as it will help solidify your knowledge of the materials (according to studies). Best to take the Microsoft "Skills Measured" and focus on them first, then expand.

ImThe0ne

My suggestion would be to go one at a time. If you were to go through all three courses and their respective modules, etc. I think you would find yourself coming back and going through them again during preparation for your exam. While I am not saying it is a bad thing to go through them twice, I am afraid that you may accidentally start crossing information between exams and adversely affect your final score.

Also, the good thing with these exams, is they are structured fairly well and build upon each other as they should. So when you are sitting for the 70-410 exam, for example, you will not be expected to know anything that will be on the 70-411 or 70-412. But expect them to slowly build upon as you go. I looked at it like a "gotta walk before I can run" situation.

For materials, I have used a little bit of CBT Nuggets and a large amount of PluralSight. I like PluralSights videos better, as I feel like I get more out of them and there are distinguished stopping points that are only a few minute sessions. So it's easier to break up your study time with PluralSight, if I find a 15 minute window of time where I have nothing to do, I can sit down and watch one or two portions of a study set for PluralSight and still have a decent stopping point. The average length of time for the CBT Nugget videos for MCSA 2012 has been 30-55 minutes per video, so if you have a full block of study time dedicated, it isn't as big of a deal.

I do, however, like the white boards that James Conrad uses in his training videos, but I like the way Greg Jones (PluralSight) does his course. I feel like James Conrad goes into these odd tangents that when added up, wasted a good amount of time in the long run. I know a lot of people enjoy the side stories and his corny jokes, but I wasn't trying to get any laughs out of it, just trying to gain the information.

jack84ie

I am finished the Pluralsight i took one Section per day.. moving onto the CBT Nuggets.. i found

Microsoft Exam Guides 70-410 Microsoft Exam Study Guide - Microsoft Exam Guides

will give this a read over. are the MOAC worth buying ?