Which test to take first, 70-270 or 70-290?

sfetaz

I am seeking my MCSA. I am looking at the idea of taking Microsoft certified classes for the exams. The person I am dealing with at the school suggests I take the class for 70-290, Managing and maintaining a Windows Server 2003 environment. However my knowledge of Windows Server is very small, while I have a much larger knowledge of Windows XP, so I am wanting to take the class for 70-270. The person at the school says the class for 290 will help me with 270's class. What do you guys think?

Nuwin

I'd vote for 270 as you have more experience with the subject matter. This will also give you a good opportunity experience the Microsoft style of questioning.

One thing to note is that there is some overlap between the two exams, so preparing for the 270 won't completely take you off track for the 290, or vice versa.

sfetaz

Thanks for the quick response, I am gonna start with 270. Especially after taking the tech exams quiz for 290 and getting a 5 out of 20. Boy these exams and material seem overwealming, and I am not good at reading to study and memorize.

HeroPsycho

Since 70-270 requires you to know a bit about GPO's, I'd do the 70-290 exam first to get more exposure with that. I always found doing the first server exam before the client exam helps.

brad-

I would say since so much of the Server Exam is new material, start studying that. After studying both you'll see that much of the material overlaps.

Its really not that big of a deal, just a preference. I'm of the mindset to get 290 and 291 done first because they are newer and more difficult.

Megadeth4168

I went the route of taking the client exam first. You would honestly be surprised at how much you don't know once you read through a book. I learned a ton of information from every exam I've studied, even on subjects I thought to be easy.

Anyway, regardless of which route you take, I suggest you sign up for the second shot promotion while Microsoft is still offering it.

dynamik

You can make arguments to start with either, but it ultimately doesn't matter. There is a lot of overlap between these exams. Whichever one you do first will require more effort while the subsequent exam will be easier since you've already covered some of the material.

techster79

You might want to do 70-620 instead of 70-270 because 270 doesn't count toward the 2008 MCITP:Enterprise Administrator, that would save you a client test if you wanted to go that route.

HeroPsycho

Completely agree!

sfetaz

Well I am simply trying to get MCSA. I don't know what kind of upgrade tests I will have to take relating to the client itself, if they will require a vista upgrade exam for people who have passed the XP test or just a server upgrade test. But one things for sure, my best operating system is Windows XP.

HeroPsycho

MCITP for Win2K8, which replaces MCSA/MCSE 2003, requires a Vista client exam. MCSE/MCSA 2003 requires a Win2K, WinXP, or Vista client exam.

SO...

Smart thing to do would be go for the Vista client exam. Kill two birds with one stone.

sfetaz

I thought something like that was happening but the guy I talked to at Microsoft said otherwise. So I guess I would want to choose server administrator.

Edit-Actially it looks like they are gonna have something that directly replaces MCSA and MCSE and haven't released it yet, but that you should continue to persue the 2003 test. Anyone know release dates for these things?

Daniel333

The 2003 stuff isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

By taking the 70-620 you can get your MCSE and MCITP.

It's real important to have both on your resume for the next 3-5 years, as it will take years for the HR departments to stop text searching resumes for "MCSE" when they filter cadidates.