On a scale of 1-10 how hard were your certs?

corey1980

Considering we have a lot of very veteran people visiting here with a large amount of certs I thought it might be fun to see how hard each cert was for you to obtain. So, On a scale of 1-10 how hard were your certs?

I've only taken one but I thought the Network+ was a 6/10.

sprkymrk

Actually, a lot of it depends on your experience when you take the exam. For instance, back about 8-9 years ago when I took the Microsoft Network Essentials exam under the NT4 track, I passed with an 800 something and would have reated it about a 6 or 7 on the difficulty level. Then just for the heck of it last year I took the Net+ (actually I only took it because the Desktop Support folks where I work as an Admin were whining about having to take it or the A+ so I did it just to prove to them it wasn't that bad) . It was like a flash back to my Network Essentials test. I only studied up on the fiber connectors and cables and other misc. stuff for about a week, then went and passed the exam in about 20 minutes with a score of 900 something. Now even though it was very much similar to the Net Essentials, I would only rate it a 2 on the difficulty level.

markieman31

yeah, sprkymrk hit it right on the head...it depends on your experience and what you like and are good at. Like security just doesn't stick in my head for some reason...the theory and all behind security and stuff. The 70-299 exam, which i needed for the +security spec on my MCSE was the hardest exam for me that I have ever taken

eMeS

ITIL Foundation - 4/10
ITIL SLM Practitioner - 8/10
MS 70-290 - 7/10
ISO/IEC 20000 Consultant - 12/10

MS

mgmguy1

Back in 2000 I took the A+ test and failed really bad. I was really depressed and decided not to get certified. I was young and stupid. My life kinda took a different turn after 2000 and I was doing a different kind of help desk that did not require me to know computer stuff so I never got back in the game. Now Years later I am REALLY studying hard for my Network Plus test becuase I was told it was one of the more harder certitications Comptia gives.

I have a hard time studying and takeing tests but I know I can do this. Some people say that the Network Plus test is easy, Others say it's very hard. I hope when I sit for the test I am not struggleing to answering questions. I guess it all depends on the person how well they do or don't do.

BPM_33

For me the A+ Essentials (601) was a 5/10. Some tricky questions but nothing bad especially since I have an easy time grasping hardware.

The A+ IT Technician (602) was a 7/10 but only because of those questions where you have to tell them exactly how to get to a certain spot in Windows (i.e. Start, settings, control panel etc...).

Network+ was a 4/10 but that's just because I really knew it. So, it really does depend on your experience level, comfort w/ the material & how well you studied.

sthomas

I would say the MCSA/MCSE exams have been the toughest for me so far. 291 and 293 being a 8/10. I have learned a lot by studying for them though.

Paul Boz

If I had to rank the CCNA I'd say it was a 7/10.

BeaverC32

A+ = 5/10 (my first cert)
Network+ = 4/10
Security+ = 5/10
Server+ = 6/10 (only because of a lack of good resources)
CCNA = 7/10
70-270 = 6/10
70-290 = 6/10
70-291 =8/10
70-293 = 7/10
70-294 = 6/10

mog27

Defiantly my easiest one a few years ago (and I only have a few so far) was Linux+. I thought I got every question right (I almost did)

Megadeth4168

Wow... That is a difficult question to answer... It really has just been about how much experience I have with certain things or how much studying I've done.....

I though the Security+ was Up there around a 7 for me, it was the first time I got a more in depth look at the world of Cryptography.

Honestly, I found the 70-217 to be more difficult than the 70-216, mostly because I studied for the 216 a lot more, but also because I am more used to the objectives in the 216... I work in a 200 user environment with a single domain... Configuring Multiple Sites/Site Links is not really something we have had to do in our flat network here. So to me that has also made the 70-219 a more difficult exam.

I can definitely see the advantages of having hands on experience for certain subjects versus just reading about them.

tjcasser

I do agree on some level with the statement that it depends on your experience with the test - certainly, the fields that I've had a lot less experience with have been the ones that have tended to give me the most trouble.

Of all the examinations I found difficult, the one that comes to mind first is the Sun Certified Enterprise Architect exam for one principal reason - there's a practical section that's human-graded. I think any exam that actually has you prove your skills beyond the level of regurgitating knowledge into a multiple-choice/short-answer/drag-and-drop framework is almost always going to be automatically harder and, consequently, more meaningful when you accomplish it. (Some of the various networking and Linux exams out there likewise come to mind.)

I'm somewhat grateful that developers aren't usually called upon to do actual programming during their cert exams..

Trailerisf

I got a voucher for the Server 2008 exams... If I write before December, Ill recieve 40% off.

I doubt I'd even study for it. I'll take a look at the outline before the exam and flip through a copy pages at most.

The MCSE track was pretty easy for me.

drthtater

so far, my Network+ was the most difficult. Keep in mind though, the only other ones I have are A+, DCSE, and IBM/Lenovo.

the Dell certs were by far the easiest.

Net+>IBM/lenovo>A+>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Dell

keenon

Net+ - 2/10
SND - 3/10
CCNA - 7/10
BCMSN - 7/10
BSCI - 6/10
BCRAN - 6/10
CIT - 5/10


these are just my opinions.. i'll let you know on the next one i add

wedge1988

Office 2000:

Word Expert - 4.5 / 10
Excel Expert - 4.5 / 10
Word Core - 3.5 / 10
Excel Core - 3.5 /10
Powerpoint Core - 3.5 / 10
Access Core - 3.5 /10
outlook Core - 4.2 / 10 (Rushed this and took alongside word 2000 xpert failed ages ago )

A+ - 6.7 - 7.5 / 10 (Was easier as i already knew a lot, Network+ wont be as easy)

I need to do more exams now

Im not wayne

I think it depends on the person, really, since one may be better with Hardware than say Networking so of course they would do "better" on Hardware based exams. I also think the vendor of the test matters also, because to me Microsoft and Comptia are from two very different parts of the world. With all of that I would say my toughest cert so far has been my Net+ because I used one book, no other sources and just went for it.

Ahriakin

Chronological order with how hard they were for my experience level at the time vs. how I think they stack up now in hindsight when compared to each other:

Security+ = 8 / 6.5
Network+ = 5/4
First MCP (XP) = 7/6
CCNA = 9/7
CCSP = 9/8.5
MCSE 2k3 = 8/7

Slowhand

I think there's a valid point made about the perceived difficulty of the exams versus the experience of the test-taker. However, it's a fun little poll to do, just to get some opinions. Here's my personal opinions, in the order I took the tests (1 denoting "very easy" and 10 denoting "very hard"):

A+ 2003 Objectives - 3 out of 10
Security+ - 7 out of 10

MCSA On the whole - 6 out of 10
~ 70-290 - 6 out of 10
~ 70-291 - 8 out of 10
~ 70-270 - 4 out of 10

Linux+ - 6 out of 10

And finally:
CCNA - On a scale of one to seven, three being the highest, I give it a twelve. (I'll let you know once I've passed.)

For people trying to get a handle on how difficult the exams are, what's in them, and what the general industry opinions are, I've found that Cramsession's comparison feature is pretty helpful. It's not always dead-on, but it gives you a pretty good idea of how each cert stacks up against another in terms of cost-effectiveness, industry-recognition, and how much work is required to get it.

RoboNerd

A+ 1998 - 2/10
Security+ 2007 - 7/10

A+ : Never studied, walked in, passed both exams in 40 minutes. It was one of the easiest tests I ever took.

Sec+ : Most of the test is a breeze but the tons of factoids required to pass is what makes it difficult. Plus there's some critical thinking, moreso than I remember in the A+.

Networkhead

MCSE 2003 = 6/10
A+= 2/10
Network+=2/10

Tristor

I'd rate my exams as follows:

A+ 1/10 (it was a joke, the passing score is a 550/900 which is a 61%)
Network+ 2/10 (At least you sorta had to know something)
Linux+ 6/10 (difficult because more than half the questions had nothing to do with *nix so threw me off)
Security+ 4/10 (Had a lot of rote memorization, which made it difficult for somebody not accustomed to that)

Really, the Linux+ was the most difficult purely because a large amount of questions I got had nothing to do with the subject matter at hand whatsoever, which threw me for a real loop. I was 100% confident going into it and had to take a few minutes before I submitted to review about half the answers I had made.

Mrock4

keenon wrote:

Net+ - 2/10
SND - 3/10
CCNA - 7/10
BCMSN - 7/10
BSCI - 6/10
BCRAN - 6/10
CIT - 5/10


these are just my opinions.. i'll let you know on the next one i add

Wow...rated the CCNA harder than the BSCI/BCRAN/CIT! That's encouraging, considering I took my CCNA last month, and am working towards CCNP soon. I thought the BSCI would be a PITA.

I would agree that the difficulty is all relative. That being said, I'll give the CCNA:

CCNA- 6/10

wastedtime

Just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

A+ = 4/10
Server+ = 2/10
Network+ = 2/10
Security+ = 6/10
CCNA = 7/10
70-270 = 6/10 (probably would have been easier if I had a lab or something to get some hands on with RIS, GPOs)

For army peeps:
25B = 4/10 (a few areas were hard mostly areas dealing with IA)
BIC = 6/10 (it is a 6/10 but fast paced and fairly tight rules)