Passed - first shot...
OracleIsBettah
Member Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
Can't believe that I passed this the first time in!!
I'm a software developer going for my MCDBA and decided to take this test first since it was the one that I had the least experience in.
So, anyway... I started studying around October 03, stopped in the beginning of november (projects at work became 60-80+ hour nightmares) Then started up again in feb 04, again halted in march due to project madness... then last week I decided to get it over with.. bought transcenders practice exams 2 days before I had told my boss I was going to take the test (Wanted something current to test my knowledge)...
So.... I read over my outlines that I had made from the MS 70-215 self study kit... and took my first transcender test... and failed miserably (started freaking out because I had less than 2 days till I HAD to take this test).
Hit the books / ms online help / MSDN for about 12 hours cumulative in my time before the test.. learned signifigantly more than I did from the MS training kit.
Let me state that I have zero experience administering a win2k server box... I've built them, installed them, etc... but never been the unholy administrator of them.. I'm a developer... we've got an IT dept.. I dont have any opportunity to do this sorta thing.. Hell I didn't even install the OS on any of my computers or do any of the excercises in the MS training kit (although I read them... step-by-step instructions on how to use a MS GUI.. woopity hoo!!)..
All I can say is that without the EXCELLENT explanations of why I got answers wrong from transcenders, I would have failed. The MS training kit explains the definitions (the WHAT) of everything you are tested on, but really lacks in explaining the application and interaction (the HOW).
Transcenders explanations were excellent on explaining HOW GPOs and the disk management tool actually work (and how to use them). Which is invaluable. Also helped me determine where my knowledge was lacking... although, when it came to the actual test... transcenders was nothing like it (I'm happy about that or I woulda felt like I was cheating if transcenders was just like the MS exam)
So...
I guess you can take out of my experience the following items:
1) take a decent practice test before the real thing
2) concentrate on the "HOW" and not the "WHAT" (but know the "WHAT")
3) The MS training kit is nowhere close to complete... you can read the book backwards and forwards for months and never pass... I was better off reading online help and MSDN articles.. and that stuff is free..
--also, I took the test from a prometric center and the testing software froze when moving between questions about every 10 questions or so... anyone else see this behavior? (of course it was probably the archaic hardware that the test was running on....)
awright.. itts milla time.. I'll be posting in the 70-228/229 threads soon!
-- oh, the spellcheck DBneeds updated
I'm a software developer going for my MCDBA and decided to take this test first since it was the one that I had the least experience in.
So, anyway... I started studying around October 03, stopped in the beginning of november (projects at work became 60-80+ hour nightmares) Then started up again in feb 04, again halted in march due to project madness... then last week I decided to get it over with.. bought transcenders practice exams 2 days before I had told my boss I was going to take the test (Wanted something current to test my knowledge)...
So.... I read over my outlines that I had made from the MS 70-215 self study kit... and took my first transcender test... and failed miserably (started freaking out because I had less than 2 days till I HAD to take this test).
Hit the books / ms online help / MSDN for about 12 hours cumulative in my time before the test.. learned signifigantly more than I did from the MS training kit.
Let me state that I have zero experience administering a win2k server box... I've built them, installed them, etc... but never been the unholy administrator of them.. I'm a developer... we've got an IT dept.. I dont have any opportunity to do this sorta thing.. Hell I didn't even install the OS on any of my computers or do any of the excercises in the MS training kit (although I read them... step-by-step instructions on how to use a MS GUI.. woopity hoo!!)..
All I can say is that without the EXCELLENT explanations of why I got answers wrong from transcenders, I would have failed. The MS training kit explains the definitions (the WHAT) of everything you are tested on, but really lacks in explaining the application and interaction (the HOW).
Transcenders explanations were excellent on explaining HOW GPOs and the disk management tool actually work (and how to use them). Which is invaluable. Also helped me determine where my knowledge was lacking... although, when it came to the actual test... transcenders was nothing like it (I'm happy about that or I woulda felt like I was cheating if transcenders was just like the MS exam)
So...
I guess you can take out of my experience the following items:
1) take a decent practice test before the real thing
2) concentrate on the "HOW" and not the "WHAT" (but know the "WHAT")
3) The MS training kit is nowhere close to complete... you can read the book backwards and forwards for months and never pass... I was better off reading online help and MSDN articles.. and that stuff is free..
--also, I took the test from a prometric center and the testing software froze when moving between questions about every 10 questions or so... anyone else see this behavior? (of course it was probably the archaic hardware that the test was running on....)
awright.. itts milla time.. I'll be posting in the 70-228/229 threads soon!
-- oh, the spellcheck DBneeds updated
Comments
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janmike
Member Posts: 3,076
Congrats on the pass!
Yep. There have been several posts on the forum that talk about bad experiences like yours at Prometric centers. But, you passed anyway!!"It doesn't matter, it's in the past!"--Rafiki -
skeetz
Member Posts: 39 ■■□□□□□□□□
Congrats on the pass. I work with a lot of Developers and they don't know much about the operating system world. But that OK ,job security that way.
