Failed 70-270 today

Dev13

I scored 594. Very disappointed
I studied really hard for 1 month. Used Sybex for main study and then completed exam quizzes from MS book and Examcram 2. Still couldn't do well.

It was much harder than i thought ( or may be for me). No questions on performance monitoring, min hardware reqirements. Lots of questions on security.
I need to give it again. Don't know what to study now. Any good exam preparation site or book??

kujayhawk93

If you already have the MS Press book, I suggest reading it cover to cover, then try again.

Dev13

My first Certification YAHOOOOOOOOO !!!.

Passed on my second attempt. And what a day to get it. Presiden'ts day.
So, now i am a MCP. I know many of you are thinking.... what's the big deal.
Hey, it is a big deal for me. And i am celebrating....

Now what next, i need to decide. May be A+ or 70-290. Any advice?

Slowhand

Congrats on the pass, and welcome to the MCP club. The only advice I can give you on whether you want to do A+ or 70-290 is this: it all depends on what you want to do. A+ is a PC repair and troubleshooting cert, which gives you the knowledge to build, maintain, and fix desktop PC's and workstations. On the one hand, you'll have plenty of knowledge on the software end, just having come off 70-270, so you'll really only need to work on the hardware concepts. Many people tend to couple A+ and Network+ together, using them as their first set of certs. If you decide to do A+, I'd recommend doing Network+ as well, since it flows nicely into future exams, such as the MCSA/MCSE track and CCNA.

If you're enjoying the Microsoft track and you want to do more with systems administration and networking, then you could do 70-290. Keep in mind, it's a much more expansive exam than the XP test, and you'll be learning a whole lot more new concepts that'll probably take you a good deal of time to learn. And, of course, keep in mind that 70-270 and 70-290 are considered the "easy" exams. But, if you're up to the task and you have the interest, then definitely continue on the Microsoft path, and you'll have your MCSE in no time.

Whatever you decide, good luck and I hope you enjoy the journey.

Willis

Yay! Yay! hhhhhuuuuuuuuuuuray! Great job! Don't forget to add the cert to your profile.

pbradish

congrats on your first certification!

GeorgeMcFly22

Congrats , i passed the same yesterday, i was also hesitating on what to do next.
Other people on the forum here have tell me to go for the 290, so i'm gonna go for the 290.
Do like me yesterday, take some good beers.

royal

Congratulations!

georgemc

Congrats! I haven't taken this one yet...

Dev13

Thanks everyone.

I didn't know 290 is easy. I thought its very hard, much more than 270.

Also how difficult is CompTIA A+. I believe i need to take 2 of them right, one for OS and one for hardware?? Can i prepare without any lab or practical experience?

One more thing. Any comments on CIW??

zebra-3

focus on 270 first.
A+ could be hard if you have no experience for the hardware exam, and the OS exam is not so easy, having your 270 knowledge would really help.

I remember when I went to my OS exam for A+ the girl at the exam center told me many people fail this exam. She told me that right before I start the exam like if wasnt stressed enought...

290 easy ? I dont think so, 270 is "easier" it's only XP features after all.

andrewdal

: what does mcse for anyway

andrewdal

i mean for what career path

pbradish

andrewdal wrote:

i mean for what career path

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/mcse.mspx

The MCSE certification is appropriate for:
• Systems engineers
• Technical support engineers
• Systems analysts
• Network analysts
• Technical consultants