Took (and passed) 70-526 today

mvastarelli

I finally broke down and finished off the first round of my MCTS tests (took 70-536 6 months ago). This test was very different from any other MS test I've taken to date. For starters, you get a lot more time (upwards 3 hours), and there's only 41 questions.

The question format was very different from previous tests too. This time it was very categorical. There was no jumping from section to section. You got a barrage of questions from one category, then it switched to a different category.

There was an even number of questions from each section too, so omitting one section in hopes you won't get quizzed on it is pretty much out of the question. This one wasn't as bad as 70-536 (that one was all over the place), but by no means is it an easy pass. There's a lot of material, and you do need to know your stuff if you want to stand a chance.

Now it's off for 70-528 for me. I've been putting off ASP.net and web programming in general for years. I really have no excuse to do it anymore.

rockrichard

I feel 5xx TS series are a lot more difficult than the original MPC 3xx series too. I passed SQL 2005 431 few month ago. i did realise the difference between the previous version & new one.
I'm now choosing the path to either win or web. Just wonder how you feel about these two different paths? any suggestion?

Cheers,
Richard

Gabe7055

Good Job!!

sthomas

Congratulations!

Megadeth4168

Congrats!

mvastarelli

rockrichard wrote:

I feel 5xx TS series are a lot more difficult than the original MPC 3xx series too. I passed SQL 2005 431 few month ago. i did realise the difference between the previous version & new one.
I'm now choosing the path to either win or web. Just wonder how you feel about these two different paths? any suggestion?

Cheers,
Richard

I never took a 3xx test so I can't comment on them. As far as the web/windows route I'd recommend doing web programming, since that's where a lot of jobs are going these days. I'm actually going to go for the distributed side of things once I finish w/ the web test.

bcairns

congrats !!!

Please keep us posted on your progress.
After I finish up my last two MCSE exams I will be chasing a MCPD Enterprise.

JDMurray

Congratz! Thanks for your impressions of the exam.

hi_its_ashu

I too completed MCTS certification last week...

I too agree that 5xx seris is pretty easy then other ones like 2xx series.


Cheers,
Ashutosh Bhawasinka
Microsoft Exams: 536, 526, 270, 290, 291