297 or 298?

ladyfox

Hi all

Fairly new to the forum, so be gentle with me

Just made MCSA, studying for 293 and trying to decide whether to do the 297 or 298 in my MCSE path and was hoping for some advice from those who have sat either (or both?).

I have no need to specialise in any given area as MCSE is required as an accreditation for my job role but I dont specialise in Exchange or AD (I'm a virtualisation bod) so i wasnt sure which may be easier for me. All i'll really want at this stage is the MCSE i guess, so as bad as it may sound, whichever is easiest to pass i want to take

I had thought that 297 might have lead on from 294 in the same way that 293 does from 291? Any truth in this?

Would appreciate any thoughts, insights, etc.

Thanks for your help in advance.

undomiel

I don't know about the 297 as I took the 298, but the 298 is pretty much just a summary of everything you've learned with a security focus. I would say it probably comes down to whichever you're more comfortable with, security or design. Since you aren't considering any of the specializations that eliminates that reason for picking the 298. So I would just look over the study guides for both and see which sounds more comfortable for you.

bwcarty

I'm not sure which is easier, but if you're not concerned with AD or Exchange, then 297 doesn't seem to have much use for you.

A strong security base is good for anyone, so I'd look into 298. With that, you could always move up to MCSE:Security later if you find a need for it. 297 would put you on a path to MCSE:Messaging.

HeroPsycho

bwcarty wrote:

I'm not sure which is easier, but if you're not concerned with AD or Exchange, then 297 doesn't seem to have much use for you.

A strong security base is good for anyone, so I'd look into 298. With that, you could always move up to MCSE:Security later if you find a need for it. 297 would put you on a path to MCSE:Messaging.

You can get MCSE 2003: Messaging with either. If it were me, I'd go for 298 to keep the path shorter for MCSE 2003: Security.

The only other consideration is certain specialties, competencies, and accreditations for Microsoft partners sometimes may require 297. If your employer doesn't care, or if you are not a partner yourself, that's not a factor.

ladyfox

Thanks for all the replies so far guys. I may go for 298 then, I just want to sit one and finally get my MCSE, I guess I can always sit 297 later if i need it for anything but I doubt I will.

Its a good feeling when you are on the downhill stretch of your MCSE