Need some study tips

moku

Hello guys, I'm new here. I am planning to get MCDST certification end of this year. I have 2 years experience as Tech Support ( Call Center). I just started reading the MCDST book and I like to hear some tips from people on this forum who passed the certification on how long it takes to prepare? I am working so I can only study on my day off. Any idea or tips how to get prepared and pass the test?

Thanks a lot.

vCole

Well what hours do you work? I study daily.

I work full time 8 - 5pm as a help desk tech (actual a more suiting title is a Desktop Support Technician) and then I attend college full-time. (M-W and Saturday). And on top of all that I have a very serious girlfriend to boot! You just have to make time to to study.

Psoasman

If you have 2 years of experience in XP, you can probably just read the book and do any hands-on exercises you might not be as familiar with. The book comes with some practice questions, which are helpful getting prepped for the exam.
I would make it a goal to read 1 chapter per day...which is about 60 pages on average. Most of the practices in the books you have probably already done on the job.
If you let your bosses know you are working to get certs, which can only benefit them as well as you, they might help with tuition/test fees or let you study at work when its slow.

Mrock4

Man. Study at work? I used to think that was possible. I saw my desk one time today..when I was dropping a switch off- in order to go home for the day.

I think 60 pages is pretty ambitious for a busy person. I work on average 9-11 hours a day..it can be hard to get in that much time on that kind of a schedule.

I would recommend setting *any* amount of time you can aside to study. Wake up 45 minutes early, study then. Grab a quick bite to eat on your lunch, and study for a few minutes, do whatever you can. The objective is to retain the material, ans pass the test, not kill yourself. That being said, some personal time must be sacrificed. It's almost inevitable.

BradleyHU

i do tech support also right now, and i study while at work. i try to do a chapter a day also, and following the examples they give in the chapters. i'm bout to start doing the practice tests on the cd as well. i knew alot about XP b4 i started studying, but this book has showed me a few things i didnt know prior to this.

moku

I was able to study and read few chapters the last two days and now I am studying at work with my giant book..lol. I work weekends 10 hrs for 4 days and sometimes we get pretty slow here on Sunday. I used to read here at work using the disc that came with my MCDST book but my eyes get real tired. My goal for this coming weekend is to read at least two chapters a day. I have other things going on too so I cannot study full time on my days off.

I Appreciate you all.