Passed 70-271 - was it easy?

Hey everyone,

I took my test last Tuesday (3-14) and passed with a score of 899. There were 61 questions and they gave me 140 minutes. I used 135 of those minutes to finish my exam. I didn't think it was that easy of an exam. The questions were long, I found myself having to read it twice just to make sure I understood it correctly. I studying using CBTNuggets CBT course. I used Transcenders for the practice tests. A few days before I took the test a friend told me to read up on the Actual Tests. I got through about 30% of the Actual Test and when I took the exam, I'd say about 30% of the questions were word-for-word.

Right now I'm studying for the 70-272, and so far the Transcenders are freaking easy. I kinda wish I took both of them the same day. Especially since M$ is offering the free retake test if you fail.

Well anyhow, I'll study up anyways, you never know what you might learn. So my recommendations is this, if you want to learn something, read a book or take a CBT course, if you want to just be a paper cert, study the actual tests and memorize the answers. L8r

lnsomnia

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Ricka182

There's a reason some of those questions for word for word...Hello? it's called what it is for that reason. It is an illegal guide, also called a braindump. In essence, whether or not you knew, you cheated, and did not truly earn your MCP status. If you don't believe me, call Microsoft and ask them yourself.

For info on what they are, read this.

You have other reputable sources listed, and you seem to know which is correct to use, something your friend doesn't, so hopefully, you can learn with legit material from here on.

lnsomnia

I understand what braindumping is, but are you telling me that this company (Actual Test.com) that sells over 250 .pdf files for all sorts of exams is considered a "braindump"?

Why doesn't M$ or CompTIA sue Actual Tests.com for a violation of the non-disclosure agreement?

And some of the Transcender practice test questions were similar to the real exam.

And personally, I didn't ****, even if I didn't know I was. I studied only a portion of the Actual Test .pdf file and when I read them I was answering them before I even looked at the correct answer, and I was answering them correctly.

I've passed previous M$ exams prior to this without the aid of Actual Tests.com, so my MCP is legit regardless.

eurotrash

lnsomnia wrote:

I understand what braindumping is, but are you telling me that this company (Actual Test.com) that sells over 250 .pdf files for all sorts of exams is considered a "braindump"?

precisely.

And personally, I didn't ****, even if I didn't know I was. I studied only a portion of the Actual Test .pdf file and when I read them I was answering them before I even looked at the correct answer, and I was answering them correctly.

I've passed previous M$ exams prior to this without the aid of Actual Tests.com, so my MCP is legit regardless.

quit trying to justify it. you said 30% of the questions were the same as the AT, which means you knew them pretty well.
you may not have known it at the time, though words like "ExamCheatSheets" and "actual questions and answers" should have given you a good clue, but now you know that you used an illegal source to pass.

from the AT website: "1000-page books are boring".
ah, of course. now i understand why i must ****, actual learning is too boring.

Sie

Insomnia before you take this personally this comment is not aimed at you. thou as _omni_ states

though words like "ExamCheatSheets" and "actual questions and answers" should have given you a good clue

I always wonder what these people will do when they attempt to do the job they have certs for and they have no idea what is going on?

Ricka182

The companies that produce them aren't violating any NDA agreement, they pay other people to do so. And they can't be sued because of international laws make it hard to do so. Not to mention, these companies can shut down in a instant, and just pop up in another location, all the while keeping the web business going. They have tried, and failed. It's a never ending battle. As you said, some of the Transcender questions were similar, but not exact. That's because Transcender has very good question writers who know what kind, or style questionsthere are, and how to word them. This is not personal towards you, but the title is a dead give away.

marie2006

I spent good money buying the actual MS books with the CDs and practice exams. I prefer to do the right thing. Since the cert is Microsoft, I assume that the best materials available will therefore be Microsoft's big blue books with the accompanying CD with practice exams and study mode. My exam is tomorrow; I have been averaging 93 - 94% on the practice exams (146 questions each) so I am not worried.

These folks who buy the braindumps from ****.com "the power of knowing" as they claim (I say "the power of cramming and cheating") make those of us who spend our hard earned money and invest quality time to pass (I'm also working on my Master's in Information Systems Management) look bad.

I call them paper MCDSTs because when they are faced with the real deal in the workplace, they can't deliver. We had one here...he bragged about having the cert, even told us the materials he used and where he got them. He printed a copy for me when I told him I was going after mine but it was tossed away because memorizing questions and answers is NOT real world experience; it is cheating to get ahead and it will get you in the end. This guy, as a testament to the 'paper MCDST', was let go a month after he came on board because he simply did not know his job. Tasks an MCDST should be familiar with in order to get the cert he could not perform without a good deal of prompting.

toghermi

When you say study the actual tests, do you mean the transcenders or **** or something??
I have been studying using the misrosoft press book and some cbt nuggets so have a good understanding of the content,but I failed on first attempt with a score of 784.
Some people I know have just studied tests and passed.

Any way actual tests ???

toghermi

Okay just ignore my last post guys

Kevin.Smith

So does this mean if I never use any more brain **** I'll get a better job? Or will it just take me 2 years to get certified instead of 6 months and get the same job?

Sie

So does this mean if I never use any more brain **** I'll get a better job? Or will it just take me 2 years to get certified instead of 6 months and get the same job?

It means you will know what your doing and thus get a better job rather than just pretending to know what your doing.

In your job you wont have all the answers handed to you for each problem.

Imagine passing your driving test but not knowing how to drive!

Opi

it's very sad to see that still a lot of people get certified by using brain **** and are incompetent on the job...

Kevin.Smith

It's also sad to see some employers give out brain **** to their employees and then give them a bonus once they get certified.

NPA24

Kevin.Smith wrote:

It's also sad to see some employers give out brain **** to their employees and then give them a bonus once they get certified.

Does that really happen?? If it does that's crazy!!

Kevin.Smith

NPA24 wrote:

Kevin.Smith wrote:

It's also sad to see some employers give out brain **** to their employees and then give them a bonus once they get certified.

Does that really happen?? If it does that's crazy!!

Yes. I heard from someone who works in the same building as me, not the company I work for though. He would get like a $1,500 bonus for each cert. Plus they pay for the tests and supply the test material, some of it is legit, like transenders.

marie2006

I just don't get it: why is it that people feel that cheating is acceptable? You de-value the certs that so many of us study very hard for and pass HONESTLY.

The RIGHT way to get your certs: study, practice the concepts, get real-world experience under your belt and EARN your cert when you feel you have mastered the concepts. Keep it honest, and prove you know your stuff, you will have the true integrity and credibility that comes with getting your cert the right way.

The wrong way: use brain-****, memorizing questions and answers. This proves only that you can regurgitate information. It also proves that you have no integrity and do not respect those who earn their certs the right way.

What braindumps and using illegal tools will do: first, you can get your certs REVOKED and become INELIGIBLE for ALL future certs. Talk about a career killer. Second, it will make you look like an idiot in front of your peers and/or boss which will ruin your credibility, integrity, and possibly cost you your job because you cannot handle the work that your "certs" say you can do.

rowdymon

Laugh, this oughta be interesting for my first post on the forums.

I've been in this industry for going on 15 years now. The first five or six years as 'the computer guy' in addition to my other duties. After, as a full time desktop guy, now I do a little of everything.

Back in 99' the company I worked for decided everyone needed to be A+ certified. So we were all sent to classes for the exam. Many, many amusing stories can be told of that WEEK of my life, and I'll save them for another time.

In addition I purchased the Exam Cram books and passed the tests easily. Then the company offered a $1000 bonus for every exam you passed for the MCSE, so I bought the full Exam Cram series for the NT 4 Workstation and Server exams...and yeah, passed those too (they dropped that plan after two months). I remember clearly questions on the exam were almost word for word as in the Exam Cram Books.

For the longest time I didn't need any further certs for jobs. I traded on my experience, reputation, and letters of recommendation from previous employers. Then I landed what I thought would be my last job, and the company not only wouldn't pay for certs, they frowned on them. Two reasons. One, paper MCP's and MCSE's from the NT 4.0 generation pretty much made them worthless, I can't count the number of wanna-be's that walked through the door with their MCSE's in NT, and lasted all of three weeks in a real world situation. And two...certs made it easier for their employee's to seek jobs elsewhere. Sadly, flash forward to 9/11 and Enron (I live in Houston), and when Enron dumped their entire IT staff on the market, well lets just say employers learned just how cheap IT would actually work.

Of my six close friends in the business, half of us, exactly, are still in IT/IS, the rest have moved on to greener pastures. The rest of us are scratching it out at about 60-70% of our previous salaries.

So recently I decided it was time to go see about getting a full alphabet behind my name. This after I've been beaten out by inexperienced IT staff with certs behind them. The headhunters, on getting feedback, were told they would have gladly hired me (at my price)with more certifications.

WHAT?

Generally I'm the high end of the pay spectrum for all in one IT jockey's. This means I'm not a specialist in Exchange/SQL/CISCO or whatever. I'm a consultant with a wide variety of clients. From shoestring budgets to budgets that make your mind boggle, and they don't mind paying my company our rates. *We charge a bit more tham most of our competitors, five techs...more than 50 years in the field between us*.

I just want an office job. I'm tired of putting 12K a quarter on my odometer...it gets old. And there are companies out there that need a one man IT staff to do it all. That's me..*grin*.

SO where was I?

Oh yeah, braindumps.

If they were used properly, braindumps wouldn't be a problem. I've seen some people use them, reading the question, reading the answers, picking what they feel is the right answer, and reading and researching each topic as it comes up. IN ADDITION TO reading the materials, from Sybex, MS Press, Exam Cram or what have you. (I don't want people preaching at me, I'm not endorsing the use of **** or the like, I'm just expressing my opinion)

But they aren't. They are used as a shortcut. Simple memorization of the material and blam. They have a cert.

Eventually it catches up to them, or they get on with a gov't agency. I should know, my company has been responsible for many of them loosing their jobs in the private sector.

If you purchase the Sybex books, MS Press, Exam Cram, etc..etc..., you are still going to see some very familiar questions.

I passed the XP exam a little while back using some of these materials, and to be honest I think 90% of the questions were familiar from just MS Press and Exam Cram. Difference is you have to READ the material, and grok it(how's that for a geek reference?)...skimming really won't do it. Then again, I couldn't have passed any of it without my background and experience.