Study Method for Newbie

markotsg

Hello I am starting my MCSE path with 70-270 exam.
Could you please advise how you study and how long every day and how many weeks /months before exam?

I have CBT Nuggets videos, Transcanders, MS Press and Sybex
Do you read one book then another then videos?
Rr 1 topic from one book then same topic from another?

Please any advices would help

keenon

i study method i just adopted after my last exam was to

1. do the cbts first.. first with the nuggets or knet
2. then read book
3. then read cram book
4. trainsignal usually last

followed by practice test afterwards, labs are intermixed for the process after the cbts

kujayhawk93

Everyone learns differently and at different rates, so what works for others won't necessarily work for you. What works for me is this: For each test, I buy one good "textbook"-type book, and then I buy the Exam Cram book. I read the textbook from cover to cover and outline the entire thing, and use the Exam Cram book to get a different take on things I'm confused about. I also go through and do the review tests after each chapter and the practice tests in the book. In addition, I print off all the Tech Notes from this site, and do the practice tests here and at mcmcse.com. As for how long I study, I set a schedule to cover 2-3 chapters a week of reading and outlining, then a week of pure studying, then I take the test.

Slowhand

I tend to do my certs in this order (loosely):

* Go through the CBT Nuggets (Or an equivalent video-course, if I don't have the Nuggets, such as LinuxCBT, TrainSignal, Career Academy, VTC, etc. . .)

* Find myself a good study/text book to study with, and begin reading through it.

* Go through an interactive course, like TestOut, for example, to get some more course-learning, and some labwork done.

* Read the book(s) again, thouroughly. This time going through and reading entire chapters, reviewing sections, and re-reading areas I've found to be my weaknesses, in doing the coursework.

* Any hands-on work I can do with either at-home equipment or something at work. I like to make projects for myself that I have to finish, relating to the studying.

* Spend a few days going over review material from the books, from the videos, and/or from things like the technotes on this site.

* Take test

* Drink. . . heavily.

royal

My method of study is the following:

1. Watch all CBT Nuggets first (write down important details in a notebook)

2. Start reading a book. I use MSPRESS unless it got a bad review. If so, i'll probably use Syngress. When I do take notes, I write down short important details in the same notebook. If the important detail is long, I'll place a sticky note on the top of the page so I can refer back to it.

3. Every few days i'll review the notes in my notebook so stuff I read in the beginning of the book I won't forget.

4. I read lots of technet documentation as well as Help & Support inside Windows Server 2003. Lots of people don't think about using the Help & Support, but it's actually quite informative.

5. After I read the book, I'll go back and re-read some sections on which I am unclear about. I don't take any chances, and make sure I have a thorough understanding of topics I am unclear about.

6. I do tons of lab practice. The more, the better. I make sure I can do something without having to really think of how the process works.

7. I then supplement my knowledge with practice exams such as Transcender. Make sure you don't use practice exams too early in the study process. This is bad because you wont have a thorough understanding of the material and you'll just end up using Transcender to learn and memorize questions/answers instead of using it to test how ready you are. Also, when you are going through practice questions, make sure that you read all the answers to a question, even if you got it right. Make sure you know why the wrong answers were incorrect. This will assist in your knowledge on the topic at hand.

Good luck on your studies!

kujayhawk93

icroyal wrote:

Make sure you know why the wrong answers were incorrect

Excellent point! Knowing why wrong answers are wrong is every bit as important as knowing why right answers are right.

markotsg

icroyal wrote:

My method of study is the following:

1. Watch all CBT Nuggets first (write down important details in a notebook)

2. Start reading a book. I use MSPRESS unless it got a bad review. If so, i'll probably use Syngress. When I do take notes, I write down short important details in the same notebook. If the important detail is long, I'll place a sticky note on the top of the page so I can refer back to it.

3. Every few days i'll review the notes in my notebook so stuff I read in the beginning of the book I won't forget.

4. I read lots of technet documentation as well as Help & Support inside Windows Server 2003. Lots of people don't think about using the Help & Support, but it's actually quite informative.

5. After I read the book, I'll go back and re-read some sections on which I am unclear about. I don't take any chances, and make sure I have a thorough understanding of topics I am unclear about.

6. I do tons of lab practice. The more, the better. I make sure I can do something without having to really think of how the process works.

7. I then supplement my knowledge with practice exams such as Transcender. Make sure you don't use practice exams too early in the study process. This is bad because you wont have a thorough understanding of the material and you'll just end up using Transcender to learn and memorize questions/answers instead of using it to test how ready you are. Also, when you are going through practice questions, make sure that you read all the answers to a question, even if you got it right. Make sure you know why the wrong answers were incorrect. This will assist in your knowledge on the topic at hand.

Good luck on your studies!

So do you do CBT Nuggets and the Text book at the same time? ie. Watch one topic CBT Nuggets, read the same topic text book?
Or is it better to cover or topic in CBT Nuggets and then cove all topics in book?

royal

I always watch all the CBT Nuggets first. This allows me to get my feet wet in the material. I then start reading the book. When I finish a large topic, I'll go research the heck out of it on technet. For instance, I watched all the CBT Nuggets for 70-294 last week. I just finished reading about replication and global catalogs last week. This weekend I did some research on technet reading about global catalogs and replication. Next week I'll move on, but i'll re-read my notes on past issues so the information I read sticks in my mind. After I do all my reading, i'll go back and skim through some of the nuggets that I feel like I need to rewatch. I'll then do some practice exams. Good luck!

Slowhand

Try it out and see what works best for you. If you want to do the book and the videos at the same time, do it. If it works better to do the videos first and then the book, that's what you should do. It's all about how you learn, and what method works best to help you understand the material.