CBT Nuggets---worth it?

coffeeking

Hello all,

I see a lot of guys use this, but is it really worth it? I mean do you really get a real world feel with the videos? I have thought about it several times but it sounds a little too expensive every time I look at it. I mean $300 for a CCNA single exam.

any thoughts?

royal

They really are great. But I understand 100% that it can be really expensive if you are paying for it yourself and not your company.

Plantwiz

I suppose one could compare it to what you pay for a college credit hour? Consider the cost of formal schooling vs. purchasing independent study materials such as CBTNuggets Not too expensive and the quality on the one's I"ve used have been very decent.

Revenue

IMO the best video series out there Great to watch a few vids then dive into the books. Great stuff.

bwcarty

My first MS exam was 70-291. I deal more with those issues in my daily job than those in 70-290 or 70-270, so I figured I'd be more comfortable going in despite 291 being one of the more difficult exams.

Using MS Press, Transcender, and O'Reilly's MCSE Core Exams in a Nutshell, I felt pretty good going in. I rushed it, and ended up failing (barely) with a 678.

After that, I came on here and saw all the positive reviews for CBT Nuggets, so I gave them a try. My next attempt on 70-291 yielded a score of 900. I didn't just get enough additional info from CBT Nuggets to pass, I saw a drastic improvement in my score.

That was before the second shot offers, so failing the test once forced me to spend another $125 on the voucher plus all the extra time studying and actually taking the exam.

After that, I bought a package deal for the rest of my MS tests, and I've passed my next two exams comfortably, so it's money well spent, IMO.

coffeeking

thanks guys for your opinions. I have been looking at the prices and stuff, and you guys are right, it might be well worth it looking at how much you can learn from watching someone do it. compared to taking classes in an institute it is much better. I think I will give it a shot for my next cert. Thanks again.

ULWiz

The CBT are good source but is the same as reading a book or two. So in my opinion spend 100 on two books read them absorb and implement the knowledge and go pass the exam.

royal

ULWiz wrote:

but is the same as reading a book or two

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles

CBT Nuggets = Auditory and Visual
Books = Visual

d4nmf

I agree - i used the CBT Nuggets and passed 70-290, i felt alot more confident after watching these videos, i understood nesting groups, domain local etc straight away even after 3 hours of lecture time spent on the same subject, a 30 minute video hit it right on the head.

brad-

If you dont know anything about the topic you are delving into, they I would say they are worth it. I didnt want to, but went ahead and got the MCSA pack...and compared to a college course, CBT Nuggets are more worth the investment. You can cram a semester into a week. If your class is 80 minutes, twice a week, for 4-5 months....then you have to cram and register to test.

Not knowing anything about 2k3 server, I did the CBT Nuggets a few times and Trancender a few times and did well on 290. I have had some things at work change lately, so I havent gotten to spend the time on 291 yet, but im sure its the same.

If you compare it to college tuition and the amound time you have to spend as well...its no comparison.

Daniel333

CBT was great for 70-270. Really covered things well. But I also had a chance to work with TestOut which had many advantages such as Q&A and simulators. So I would go probably go back to TestOut at this point if it were int he budget.

Since neither products are in my budget now, I started using www.vtc.com but they seriously move too quick and don't cover the details well enough. So you have to supplement everything with reading.

coffeeking

O.K....how would you guys rate the IEEE's videos at www.computer.org. Their membership fee is $54 per year, and there are insane amount of videos you can watch. So far I have been able to find MCSE, CCNA and many other kinds of videos on there. I have not yet subcribed with them but it seems to be the best deal so far. I mean comparing the cost with others, these guys are way cheap. I just don't know if their videos are worth it or not.

have you guys tried it?

dynamik

www.itidiots.com is a great source for free IT CBT. I'd encourage everyone to check them out, regardless of whether you're tight on cash.