Passed with an 899... maybe MCSE isnt THAT hard?

Long time reader, first time poster.

Passed the 290 today with a 899. Glad to have that one over. I got my degree in MIS in 2003 (seemed like mostly theory, little to non OS admin) but then was out of the IT realm working with a non-profit for 4 years. I transitioned back into the IT world 11 months ago and took my 270 exam at the request of my new employer. Failed that guy the first time with a 680... I was all-kinds of second guessing myself (Should I even be in this field, I means its XP, c'mon). My confidence was cr@p.

Nursing my wounds, I came back and scored a 900 on my second attempt of the 270, then decided to get the 291 over with. Got a 760 on the first attempt at the 291. Yea!

Then I came back around and took the 290 today, got an 899 on it. I didnt study near as much as I did for the 291. I actually didn't even finish the MS Press book, I only skimmed the last 4 chapters. I only used the MS Press book, and 1 Ucertify practice test (plus the last few months experience). I didnt let myself get too optimistic during the test b/c I didnt want to get overconfident. Same as everyone else, my test was weighted toward backup and permissions. 6 sims I believe. The sims weren't too complicated except for one that was ambiguous on the requirements.

SO after my score today I'm wondering, how do you guys think the rest of the exams stack up against the first three (270,290,291)? Easier, harder, different? Does anyone have any perspective?

-MTBking

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dynamik

I don't think it's so much sheer difficulty as it is learning such a large amount of information and staying on track. None of my exams has been nearly as difficult as my college-level calculus course. To be honest, there's been very few times where something I read didn't *click* immediately. That doesn't mean I didn't spend a great deal of time preparing for them though. The MCSE is a big endeavor, and I'd wager that people mainly fail to complete it because of poor study habits and/or the ability to stick with it long-term. It's easy to get discouraged, especially if you're going the self-study route. In short, the material isn't easy, but you certainly don't need a Mensa-level IQ to obtain the MCSE.

To answer your question, many people consider 291 to be the most difficult exam. Personally, I had done some Cisco studies prior to my 291, which helped with subnetting and basic ip/routing concepts, so it wasn't too much worse than my other exams.

Congratulations on your pass. Which one are you going after next?

Rikku

SO after my score today I'm wondering, how do you guys think the rest of the exams stack up against the first three (270,290,291)? Easier, harder, different? Does anyone have any perspective?

I took the 270 myself and passed with a straight 700 and I had studied like crazy. Practically only 10% of the questions on the test were even what I have studied and the rest of the questions seemed like general networks type questions unrelated to XP at all! I was like what the #)*@#!

I think the deal is that the questions are different for each person (you shouldn't have the same test twice...) and if you get a bunch of questions your spot on for..then your golden. I think it's luck of the draw for your test questions and how much experience you have overall. I think for most individuals taking the test will find even if the fail the first time around, the second or third will be a sure fire pass for them (not all) as it was in your case. But, you need to keep a positive/confident attitude as well; like you said..you felt you were second guessing yourself. I have felt the same, but I just get more determined to learn the answer. That is the sucky thing about these tests, you never know what questions you missed..only what catagory/percentage on each section you scored.

Well, experience is the best teacher after all (and a harsh one at that.)