Passed....

AnthonyJD81

Well I passed my Net+ exam today. And boy was it hard. I mean I studied with about three books and every practice exam i could find, inlcuding VN Publishing CD and everything here on techexams.net. They twisted every question on that exam until it didn't make any sense in English...lol It took me about an hour to take the exam.

The majority of my questions were all scenario and troubleshooting. One after another...i was gettin so fed up while taking it. I spent so much time on everything and they hit me mainly on one area. There were about 10-15 questions all together related to OSI, ports, and hardware

Oh well...nevertheless, I passed and thats all that matters. On to the next endeavour...what to take, what to take :P

A word to the wise....practice exams are great to test your knowledge in weak areas generally. DO NOT RELY SOLELY ON PRACTICE EXAMS. Read through a couple books, read study guides, as many materials you can get-the better!....basically know the material the very best you can that way your not looking for key phrases your familiar with from practice stuff.

RussS

Congratulations dood - looks like you followed a decent study format and have reaped the benefits. Where to now?

AnthonyJD81

Thanks. Not sure what I wanna do now. The problem is I would hate to waste the money and time on certifications if theya re not gonna benefit any job opportunities I may have. But you never really know what may come up so it would prolly be smart to jsut keep going. The CCNA lasts for a few years right before it expires? Thats what i would really like to aim for but I hear it is a very difficult exam...plus I don't have any equipment to practice scenarios with.

So what I am thinking is the Server+ exam and possible Windows2000 Server and/or 2000 ADS. Any recommendations from anyone as to a smart next step for someone like myself?

Cross

Congrats, and on the topic of wasting money, some people see it that way. Start hunting for jobs, sell yourself by stating your accomplishments and your drive of pursuing further certifications.

Best to you.

RussS

I guess with A+ and Network+ the cheapest track to further certification would be MCSA - using the 210, 215 and 218 combined with your two Comptia certifications would cover that. I know that MCSA and MCSE seem to be dime a dozen, but the knowledge learned will stand you in good stead in most environments.
Myself I am on that track, but have made a detour for Security+ before I complete my MCSA with 218. After talking to many network admins out there I believe in my area that Linux+ would be a definite advantage and so would a basic Oracle course. I was thinking of something to so with SQL Server, but have been told that knowledge of Oracle will assist with SQL anyways.
Hopefully by the time I complete Security+ I will have a job lined up, so I will then complete my other studies extramural.

AnthonyJD81

What are the requirements all together for the MCSA? I am gonna go search around and see what is needed. Do my comptia certs credit over or do you mean just the knowledge I have obtained from them will aid me in the path for the MCSA???

On a side note...forget SQL. Its slower, older, and blah....learn ASP.NET

I learned that althought the initial load of a web page may take a tad longer, everything else is so much faster because it reads the script differently then other frameworks. If i understand correctly it 'picks and chooses' or scans everything entirely. I am still trying to understand the general concept before I delve into it. Any suggestions from anyone regarding similarities or differences between some of the options with the frameworks and scripts?

bellboy

i am thinking of attempting mcsa when i complete my network+. and am toying of the idea of some sort of sql/php/database thing afterwards. it seems to be where the demand is in my region.

RussS

Yes your A+ and Net+ is the equivalent to1 of the 70- exams for MCSA. 210, 215 & 218 will give you MCSA with what you already have.
I agree with SQL being slow, but there is such a proliferation of them out there that will not be upgraded for a long time that any knowledge is suitable. I have recently obtained an evaluation of .net server and think it is most definitely the way forward for MS - the way they added modules is kind of like how Linux does things.
My track will include Oracle for my database stuff due to the way it is being rolled out locally and also viewing job adverts a lot of employers are looking for that as a perquisite.

AnthonyJD81

So for the MCSA you have to take:

Windows 2000 Network Environment (70-21
Windows 2000 Professional (Exam 70-210)
Windows 2000 Server (Exam 70-215)

I know I have to take the Pro and Server exams to get the certification. But are you telling me they will give me the Network Environment certification just for having the A+ & Net+??? How do I go about doing this so I can get it?

Webmaster

So for the MCSA you have to take:

Windows 2000 Network Environment (70-21
Windows 2000 Professional (Exam 70-210)
Windows 2000 Server (Exam 70-215)

You need those three and an elective. The combination of A+ and NET+ or the combination of A+ and Server+ may be used to substitute the elective. Here are the details: http://www.microsoft.com/TrainCert/mcp/mcsa/requirements.asp

Transcender has sent me a 70-218 TransTrainer Pak for reviewing(includes the TransTrainer with over 9 hours of video, the TranscenderCert and the TranscenderFlash), we'll have a new section "Product Reviews" were we will review various products in the market. Since I 'only' need the 70-218 exam to become a MCSA, I'm going to use their product thorougly and take the real exam as well. I'll let you know how it works out.

AnthonyJD81

I found it. You must take at least one of the core exams for the MCSA, whether pass or fail. Then you get some number to email to them, then email comptia and they forward the info to microsoft and then they give you the certification for the 70-218.

So basically if i understand this correctly....I go take the 2000 Pro exam and pass. And then all i need is to pass the 2000 server exam and i am a MCSA???

Well, if thats the case, I know what my next exam to prepare for is....why 2000 professional of course :P

here is the link for anyone interested in learning more about Microsoft and Comptia's 'agreement' if you so call it that...
http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/mcp/mcsa/comptia.asp


[edit]Oh i get it....so i need to take the three exams above regardless and the 4th will be credited because of my Net+ and A+. So you need 4 exams for the MCSA then...

Webmaster

I think you want to re-read my previous post above and follow the link, you will have to take the 70-218 exam no matter what, it is a core exam as well as 70-210 and 70-215, you can only use the A+/Net+ as the elective for MCSA.

[edit]exactly

AnthonyJD81

lol....there was a timing problem. I understand now. Gotta take the three core as mentioned above and the elective I don't have to take because of my Net+ and A+....thanks for all the help!

Off to start studying for Prossional..see you in the 2000 Pro forum :P

RussS

Excellent idea

And thanks to Webmaster for posting the link. Some filth stole my sytem that had all my bookmarks on and I haven't had a chance to sort them all out yet.

Webmaster

bellboy wrote:

and am toying of the idea of some sort of sql/php/database thing afterwards. it seems to be where the demand is in my region.

MySQL/PHP is a very good choice, I've been playing with both for years now but never took the time to really learn it, I should have though because the possibilities are endless and it is all very straightforward. Let me know when you get the skills, maybe you can develop some fancy stuff for TechExams.Net

bellboy

maybe someday. lol. if i complete mcsa, i will likely try for mcse along the sql track. once i have that under my belt (or pehaps in tandem), i will look at linux servers and mysql/php in the hope that i could work either system.

firms over here haven't really hit the linux bandwagon yet. servers are still nt/win2k orientated.

i have toyed with the idea of taking 270 after 210 and 215 to keep my options open too