MCSA in 6 months doable?

The Shadow

I just a got a new job and I have to get my MCSA, Security+, and Network+ in 6 months or else I loss my job. I've been there for about 6 weeks now, and I passed the Security+, and I am taking the Network+ next weekend. Then I am gonna start with 70-270 exam. Is it possible to get all of these certifications in just six months?

amp2030

It's a function of what you already know and how much time you can dedicate to studying.

That being said, it's definitely doable.

ULWiz

I have to agree. A MCSA Cert in 6 months can definately be done.

dynamik

What sort of experience do you have? There's a lot of overlap between 270 and 290, so that pretty much leaves 291 as the big one. One exam per month isn't too bad.

NetAdmin2436

It's definitely do-able if your dedicated (I guess losing your job would of course be a motivator ). Experience of course would be a huge help but you can do it regardless. Plan on studying virtually every day and having less of a social life Good luck!

aquageek

I started at the beginning of December. Got my A+, Network+, 70-270, and 70-290 in 3 months. It's definitely possible!

elaverick1981

Yeap that's very do-able. I completed my MCSE in 5 1/2 months. The one thing you will need to do is get in plenty of practise. Realistically this means getting a home lab set up. The chance of you encountering enough of the right sort of situations to prepare you for MCSA in a work environment is slim, and its even slimmer if you're hoping to be the one dealing with them.
Grab yourself a spare PC and stick Server 2003 on it and have a play. Its by far the best way of learning

Daniel333

Lighten your load buddy, dont do 70-270 and do 70-620 which is much easier and applies toward your MCSA.

jbayne3

I did my MCSA in a year with distractions in between....if you study at a steady pace, you can definitely do the MCSA in a year

Claymoore

Sure, but what are you going to do with the other 4 months?

It just depends on your experience and the amount of quality time you can dedicate to studying. If you have been working with XP/2003/Vista for a few years in a corporate environment it should be no problem for you to study up to get into exam shape and pass the tests. If this is relatively new to you, then expect to spend a lot of time in the lab or hitting the books. Since your employer is requiring you to get certified, is he providing time and resources to prepare for the exams?

gravyjoe

I believe that it is doable. You would really have to dig in there, but yes, I believe that it can be done.

bsddaemon0

Yeah, you can do it. Skip the XP exam and do Vista instead.

motogpman

Total time for me in the MCSA path so far is 4-5 months total ( 291 is this week). The holidays and work have gotten me behind my scheduled timeframe. I would say that it is very doable, especailly if normal "life" doesn't get in the way of studying, as in job, family, gaming, pimping, and such.... LOL.

If your experience is in a vast amount, this should be an easy task. The main thing would be if you can retain the info learned/tested on in that short amount of time if your experience is limited.

JJbiggle

With motivation like that what choice do you have.

Are they paying for the certifications?


I wish I would get a threat like that. I might just get off my Ass.

Study for 291 vs. GTA IV

GTA IV seems to always win.

genXrcist

Assuming I pass the 70-291 this month I will have earned A+, Net+, MCDST, CCNA and the MCSA 2K3 in 7 mos.

I was of course, unemployed for 5 of those months but I would still say it's doable.

The Shadow

Thanks everyone for all of your input. I feel pretty confident about how getting MCSA. I just found out that I can use my Security+ to fulfill my elective requirement, so that's one less exam that I need to take.

I little bit about my background, I have a BS in information systems, I've passed the CISSP exam (which was a major beast that I never want to have to go through again) and I am currently waiting to fulfill the experience requirement, I've been working with Server 2003 and Active Directory for the past 3.5 to 4 years; and I have server 2003 running in vmware.

I have to take the 70-270 exam in order to get reimbursed for the exam, since we don't run vista and no desire to run it.

dynamik

Dude, why'd you even bother asking? You have it in the bag for sure

ElwoodBlues

I started my first course in October of 2008 and I finsihed the 291 one today to be come a MCSA. Less than 6 months.

calaverasgrandes

bsddaemon0 wrote: »

Yeah, you can do it. Skip the XP exam and do Vista instead.

I kind of wonder about this. I have heard other people say it is better to go with 620 as well. But I dont see ANY Vista boxes at any place I have worked at since Vista debuted. Okay one or two places had Vista running on a laptop or a GX270 over in the corner of the IT room. But you go out in the cubicles and you see more Macs than Vista boxes.

undomiel

It's advised mostly because it meets an MCSE and MCITP requirement at the same time and also because it is an easier exam (I've taken both, it is definitely much easier). Taking the 720 will go far in preparing you for the 290. Taking the 620 is just kind of the odd one at as there isn't too much that is relative to a domain environment. But saving money on exams is a good thing. Just study hard to make up for it.

The Shadow

I passed my network+ exam on Saturday, and I am going to be starting on the Microsoft certs, and I am looking into buying these questions, and I am wondering if they are a good buy or not. I've heard for the 70-270 exam its best just to start taking practice exams; vs. spending time studying.

MCSE Test 70-290 70-291 70-284 12n1 EXAM QA PDF+SIM+LAB - eBay (item 280312869298 end time Mar-14-09 16:45:04 PDT)

calaverasgrandes

I would say the opposite. I drove myself nuts with practice exams for months. constantly second guessing stuff and running in cirlces re-studying stuff that I was flunking on practice exams. When I took the 70-270 I just approached each question logically and got a good (not great) score. If you just practice tests how will you learn the core material?
OTOH the Microsoft press book for 70-270 is about 1400 pages? Well its as thick as my other MSP book thats 1500 pages but it doesnt have sequential page numbers. Maybe get the Sybex book and an exam cram book?

bertieb

The Shadow wrote: »

I passed my network+ exam on Saturday, and I am going to be starting on the Microsoft certs, and I am looking into buying these questions, and I am wondering if they are a good buy or not.
MCSE Test 70-290 70-291 70-284 12n1 EXAM QA PDF+SIM+LAB - eBay (item 280312869298 end time Mar-14-09 16:45:04 PDT)

No, they aren't. These are likely to be **** which wont do you any favours at all. Memorising a bunch of Q's and A's is a waste of time, understanding the material is key.

I'd go for the MS Press/Sybex book (see each forum for the best recommendations) plus CBT Nuggets (if you can afford them) and use a respected testing software vendor such as Transcender.

Good luck with the MS exams!

NetAdmin2436

I agree with bertieb, that is likely a brain ****.

Unless you have many years experience, practice exams alone are not going to be enough. I always recommend multiple study resources. Get a book (MS Press and Syngress are great), go through the Technotes, setup a lab and go through the exercises in the book, then finally go through some practice questions to see your weak areas.

HeroPsycho

The Shadow wrote: »

I have to take the 70-270 exam in order to get reimbursed for the exam, since we don't run vista and no desire to run it.

I'd still do 620 out of your own pocket. You're talking $125, plus prep material.

Since it gains you MCTS certification, along with giving you a leg up on MCITP, I think it's worth spending your own money on it instead of bothering with the XP exam. The small price in $ you pay is worth more to you for your career, IMO.

calaverasgrandes

HeroPsycho wrote: »

I'd still do 620 out of your own pocket. You're talking $125, plus prep material.

Since it gains you MCTS certification, along with giving you a leg up on MCITP, I think it's worth spending your own money on it instead of bothering with the XP exam. The small price in $ you pay is worth more to you for your career, IMO.

Again, I am highly skeptical of 620. To me it is like taking a test for Windows ME just before XP came out. I do grunt level IT everywhere in the SF bay area. From SF to Mountain View, the peninsula and Oakland. I literally see more win 2k stuff out there than Vista. Lately I am seeing win 7 everywhere. All the developers at my morning job are running win 7. I personally cant wait until 7 comes out for reals. And I cant wait until you can cert on it.
But if you want to take the easy path I suppose 620 can fly as an elective exam for MCSE as well as the OS exam for a few others. If you are doing home user support than I guess 620 makes sense as well.

dynamik

It's a requirement for the MCITP: EA.

HeroPsycho

calaverasgrandes wrote: »

Again, I am highly skeptical of 620. To me it is like taking a test for Windows ME just before XP came out.

I'm confused. You're saying getting certified in Vista is bad because it will be obsoleted by Win7 certifications when they become available, and to fix this, you should get certified in WinXP?!

calaverasgrandes

Thats just what my experience tells me. I dont see any vista anywhere. Everybody I know in IT hates vista. Not a single client I have talked to is even considering adopting it as an enterprise wide os. Its the classic case of "no killer app".
Win 7 looks really good so far, and may be able to get away from the stink of vista. In a year or two I can see some places wanting to migrate to 7, if for no other reason than because XP will actually, finally completely be dead and unsupported by MS.

msteinhilber

calaverasgrandes wrote: »

Thats just what my experience tells me. I dont see any vista anywhere. Everybody I know in IT hates vista. Not a single client I have talked to is even considering adopting it as an enterprise wide os. Its the classic case of "no killer app".
Win 7 looks really good so far, and may be able to get away from the stink of vista. In a year or two I can see some places wanting to migrate to 7, if for no other reason than because XP will actually, finally completely be dead and unsupported by MS.

You won't likely see two operating systems come and go and not be adopted. Companies are eventually going to use Windows 7 either because they want to, or because they have to. A lot of what you can learn about in Vista will carry over to Windows 7, that's why it's a sensible choice.

Slowhand

calaverasgrandes wrote: »

Again, I am highly skeptical of 620. To me it is like taking a test for Windows ME just before XP came out. I do grunt level IT everywhere in the SF bay area. From SF to Mountain View, the peninsula and Oakland. I literally see more win 2k stuff out there than Vista. Lately I am seeing win 7 everywhere. All the developers at my morning job are running win 7. I personally cant wait until 7 comes out for reals. And I cant wait until you can cert on it.
But if you want to take the easy path I suppose 620 can fly as an elective exam for MCSE as well as the OS exam for a few others. If you are doing home user support than I guess 620 makes sense as well.

Vista's been pretty widely adopted by companies that are willing to spend the money on hardware, especially here in the Bay Area. My last employer, my current employer, and just about all the partner companies we work with use Vista Business or Ultimate as their standard workstation OS. Smaller places, or "low tech" places that may not employ internal IT tend to shy away from new things. As for issues, there have been some. Then again, I remember the nightmare days of XP just after it launched, so it hasn't been much different for me.

Either way, don't be too scared off by the hype that Vista is "just bad". If you want to wait for the Windows 7 exams, there's nothing wrong with that, but you'll have to wait until about 30 days after Windows 7 is released to the market; it just doesn't sound like you have that much time to wait. Having played with the Beta of 7, I don't see it as much different than Vista with some cooler features, and you can benefit a lot more from training on Vista and going to 7, than training on XP and making the much bigger leap to 7. (This is especially true if you haven't done any work with Vista; you'll be behind when it comes to working with Windows 7 once it's out of Beta.)