MCSE finished in 3 months

70-270 - 02/04/09
70-290 - 03/26/09
70-291 - 03/30/09
70-620 - 04/13/09
70-293 - 04/27/09
70-294 - 05/05/09
70-297 - 05/12/09

I did well for all the test but I passed 297 with a 700 just a few hours ago. The style was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Mainly used the MS Press books, cbt nuggets for a couple, and sybex for 293. With that I now have several MS certs and only 2 test from the MCITP:EA.

I only studied for about 3 or 4 days per test really and mainly only in the afternoon. I have 3 years experience as a system admin so I put a lot of faith into that. That and the fact I knew I had the 2nd chance voucher in case I did fail any of the test.

My overall impression is that the test could have more focus on real work applications (I have never used RRAS before) but it is good if you think about that it is testing on what could your business do with Windows 2003 and not what will it end up doing really.

My main drive for getting it so quickly was that I had just moved to San Francisco looking for a job and needed it on my resume. Thankfully I got a job after only 3 test but I still wanted to knock it out of the way. I could have probably gotten it in 2 months if I didn't play so much Left 4 Dead but shooting zombies (or killing humans as a zombie) is so much more fun than studying.

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Comments

mad82

By the way, thank you to everybody that has congratulated me.

ilcram19-2

rwwest7 wrote: »

Or if you cram for a week, take a test, then start cramming for another test you lose it a lot faster. The OP even admitted to skipping all the excercises and just reading through. But hey, you only **** yourself in the end. All I'm saying is bragging about earning a cert in only a few weeks doesn't impress me at all, because it's not hard to do if you just cram and then get your paper cert.

do what now?, so you are saying you remember every single subject of every test u've took, is no ones fall but yours if you wanna waste your time for a "test", plus hope you know that a cert doesnt mean more than what it is a cert is just something that you should have if you want to be in this field

dynamik

mad82 wrote: »

So you'll have a doctor straight out of med school that made A's by studying for years perform surgery on you than one that has been doing the work for several years and didn't need to study as hard?

But... what about the people he gained experience with over those years?

mad82 wrote: »

People on this board talk about how much experience is worth but when somebody actually passes the test by relying on that same experience, my passing isn't worth as much?

Correct. Your exam scores define your entire worth as a human being

Edit: Ilcram, I honestly respect your IT knowledge a great deal, but how in the world can capitalization and punctuation completely escape you?

HeroPsycho

rwwest7 wrote: »

Would you want your doctor saying " Yes, I could've spent months reading, doing labs, and learning and got an A instead of a C-, but why bother? I knew enough to pass the exams, that's all that matters"

That implies scoring 1000 on an exam means the skills you acquired in order to score 1000 are more valuable than someone's who scores a 700. I've never scored 1000 on a Microsoft exam. But I also know stuff that's not really exam material. There's not a single exam on scripting for example. Exam questions on clustering for example are very basic, and I guarantee you I know more about Exchange clusters than most people with MCSE: Messaging or MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator. I couldn't care less if they scored higher than me on the exam.

I've met a few people in person who have scored 1000. Trust me when I say you'd want me designing/admining your infrastructure over those individuals, and I don't mean that in a conceited fashion. I'm not dogging people who get 1000's. Great for them. I don't think that makes anyone automatically a better IT Pro.

HeroPsycho

mad82 wrote: »

So you'll have a doctor straight out of med school that made A's by studying for years perform surgery on you than one that has been doing the work for several years and didn't need to study as hard?

People on this board talk about how much experience is worth but when somebody actually passes the test by relying on that same experience, my passing isn't worth as much?

If you honestly passed the exam, while acquiring a deep understanding of the material, and can apply it without cheating, it's worth every bit as anyone else's. I see nothing in your posts that would indicate you did otherwise, so congrats.

astorrs

I've mostly ignored this thread thus far but this latest batch of posts irritated the hell out of me...

rwwest7 wrote: »

Or if you cram for a week, take a test, then start cramming for another test you lose it a lot faster. The OP even admitted to skipping all the excercises and just reading through. But hey, you only **** yourself in the end. All I'm saying is bragging about earning a cert in only a few weeks doesn't impress me at all, because it's not hard to do if you just cram and then get your paper cert.

So basically you've just told me I have a paper MCSE since I did mine in 45 days completely ignoring the more than a decade of experience I've had in IT - since to you real world experience accounts for less than reading chapters in a book. Also, I did my CCA without a single minute of studying or any prep whatsoever and scored around 90%, so I guess I guessed all the right answers there too. Grow up and get some perspective.

mad82, like HeroPsycho, dynamik and others have said: congrats on the pass and welcome to the forums.

Super99

That's crazy man!
Congrats.

rwwest7

Bragging that you "got your MCSE in 3 months" infers that you've only been working with the material for 3 months. If you have 3 yrs in as a sys admin, then it's taken you 3 yrs and 3 months to achieve it. If you've never touched a computer, then get your MCSE in 3 months then yes you are a paper cert. But if you have 10 years experience in IT, then earn your MCSE in 45 days...you didn't actually earn it in just 45 days.

Slowhand

Let's put on the brakes here for a second and get a little perspective. Working in the field and studying for an exam are not the same things but the material you study can, and often does, overlap with the things you work with every day. There are a lot of people saying that there's no retention when doing the tests back-to-back like this, and that's often true when you go from zero to MCSE in a few weeks or even a few months. However, if you're an experienced admin that decides, "I'd better get certified," and you read through the books to fill in the gaps of your knowledge, I'm fairly sure that's a different experience than the newbies going to boot-camps or someone scraping by with only reading the book and figuring out how to answer exam questions.

If you like working with your hands and rebuilding engines, then go to school to become a mechanical engineer, you spent the amount of time it took to get your degree to get your degree; you didn't spend the time it took to get your degree plus all those years you worked as a mechanic to get your degree. Nor is it somehow a cheapened experience for someone who has tons of experience in a particular field to use that existing knowledge to cut down on study time, regardless of whether it's for school or for certs, as long as that person can demonstrate the skills and knowledge the cert or degree in question reflects.

I spent several years building and fixing computers before I took my A+ cert. I studied for about half a day before taking the exam because I brought a lot of knowledge to the table already. I didn't spend those several years with the A+ in mind, but rather in the pursuit of general knowledge and a decent paycheck, so you can't really say, "Slowhand spent three years and half a day studying for his A+." 80% - 90% of the book I got from my employer to study from was old news to me, but I did learn a few new things and some handy tricks to help me both on the tests and on the job. Does that mean my A+ is somehow less valid because I only spent a few hours formally studying for it, or because I already knew most of what I needed to pass? I don't know what you all may think, but I certainly don't think I'm missing some crucial element every other A+ certified tech out there has, (especially when I have the same knowledge, experience, and have worked on the same equipment).

I took my A+ in a day, and if I had the same relative amount of experience and skill with Cisco networks that I do with stand-alone microcomputers, I'd take the CCIE R&S written and lab exams over a weekend.

HeroPsycho

rwwest7 wrote: »

Bragging that you "got your MCSE in 3 months" infers that you've only been working with the material for 3 months. If you have 3 yrs in as a sys admin, then it's taken you 3 yrs and 3 months to achieve it. If you've never touched a computer, then get your MCSE in 3 months then yes you are a paper cert. But if you have 10 years experience in IT, then earn your MCSE in 45 days...you didn't actually earn it in just 45 days.

To be clear, I'm not congratulating him for doing anything amazing. I'm simply congratulating him for getting his MCSE in what appears to be a legitimate manner. Couldn't care less the chronology of his exam passes.

Saying you took the exam in three months doesn't imply a darn thing about how long you've worked with the product.

There are far bigger fish to fry in the world than flaming a guy because he bragged he passed MCSE exams (for the record, bragging at worst in his original post was moderate) legitimately in three months.

Pick your battles, dude. This one would be best to just not comment if it bothered you apparently as much as it does.

astorrs

Slowhand

astorrs wrote: »

No, don't do that. There's an appropriate, measured response for a situation like this:

thenjduke

Congrads. I did mine in about 6 months. I was going to go for CCNA but that is on hold until I finish up my Bachelors first and then my Masters. I am going to get the upgrade exams out of the way since I only have two to take.

thenjduke

Actually I been a network administrator for 8 years and desktop tech for 7 years before that and I never took one of my certs before this year. I barely studied for some of my exams and passed them because of real world expierence i have had with the stuff. Yes he is right there are some things on the exam you have to study for because they are not used in the real world like RRAS but I remember alot of this back when setting up RAS on windows NT 4. Not much has changed just basically the handshaking protocols.

jamesp1983

Jdruin wrote: »

Our forest has 176 domains and well over 1000 sites. We use every conceivable MS product out there. Even with my MCSE, I feel like a total moron in this huge environment. Yes, there are environments that set you up for success on the MCSE. BTW, we have one of the 5 largest Server 2003 forests recorded by Microsoft.

geez, what company is that?

jamesp1983

congrats OP!

gravyjoe

jimmypizzle83 wrote: »

geez, what company is that?

I would like to know that too.

Mad82... Congrats. Now I know where to send all of my MCSE questions to. Expect a lot of notes in your techexams message box. hahaha. But for real, congratulations!

motogpman

I think that within IT this is the equivalent of talking politics or religion. LOL. Since most people invest in a lot of time studying, for varying reasons and with various amounts of hands on experience, there can be a certain amount of "knee jerk" reactions. We see quite a few people ""bragging", braindumpers don't help, so when a person places a time frame and then the big MCSE thrown in there it automatically gets lumped into the BS category.

Personally, I have a lot of hands on experience and now studying in depth for MS's administration, a lot of the pieces are falling into place. I have met people who can read something once and it nevers leaves them. I fall into the category of having to read and then reread for things to sink in as I am getting older, I think I have CRS or something, so my first impression in a case like this "BS." Then I fall back, regroup, and realize everyone's capabilites are vastly different, so really...who am I to judge.

As we all know, if it ain't legit, that's their reputation and everything comes out in the wash. With that said, congrats and welcome to the forums!

thenjduke

jimmypizzle83 wrote: »

geez, what company is that?

I love to know myself. There is only one company I seen this and they where Partner of Microsoft. I do not even think Microsoft uses every product they have in house.

genXrcist

Curious as to whether or not anyone has taken into account that when it comes to a certification exam, barely passing is actually optimal? Many of us have family/personal lives which are far more important to us in the long run so is it not better to spend just enough time to 'pass' the exam? Any additional time spent is just time spent away from your family.

The score is not truly reflective of the knowledge. It's not Black & White.

TXOgre

genXrcist wrote: »

Curious as to whether or not anyone has taken into account that when it comes to a certification exam, barely passing is actually optimal? Many of us have family/personal lives which are far more important to us in the long run so is it not better to spend just enough time to 'pass' the exam? Any additional time spent is just time spent away from your family.

The score is not truly reflective of the knowledge. It's not Black & White.

I agree. I'm starting my MCSE studies on Monday. My goal is 2 months to complete. Seriously, it's 6 tests, I don't see needing more than 2 weeks of dedicated study to pass these tests with the experience I have. I'm not aiming for 1000, I'm aiming for 850, and I don't care if I get a 700. It helps that I have a nearly photographic memory, I don't forget anything (ask my wife).

The fact of the matter is that life is an open book test, even if these tests aren't. If I come across something that I lack a little knowledge to complete, I have the skills, aptitude, and resources to find and apply the solution.

I have the experience and the references to back up this certification, and the faster I get it, the faster I can move on. If I make my goal of 2 months, I don't expect anyone to accuse me of cheating. The finger pointers here reek of jealousy and lack of real-life experience.

In the end, the certification is just a peice of paper, and we're all "paper certified" when we pass the test. You still need to prove yourself in an interview, through your references, and on the job. You can't fake that, and aptitude and experience are worth more than any of this paper when it's crunch time.

astorrs

TXOgre wrote: »

In the end, the certification is just a peice of paper, and we're all "paper certified" when we pass the test. You still need to prove yourself in an interview, through your references, and on the job. You can't fake that, and aptitude and experience are worth more than any of this paper when it's crunch time.

Well said!

I never bothered with certs until last year either (after 10+ years in IT - I admit it, I was scared of the damn things) and I got a few strange "looks" from people when I powered through a little more than a dozen exams in less than 6 months.

Personally I've found doing a practice test (Transcender or Self Test Software are my recommendations for providers) and going through every question in the test once, picking my answer and the having it grade just that question. If I get it wrong, or if I don't really understand why the one I chose was correct, I write down that area. Once I've gone through all the questions I have a look at my list of weaknesses and focus all my studying efforts there.

I've tried it the other way, but after 4-5 hours of reading, etc, and having only learned maybe 10-15 minutes of new things I go crazy. My technique has been a much better use of my time... that of course may or may not hold true for you (but you do mention being around for a while

)

Best of luck in your continued studies and welcome to the forums!

P.S. I do not recommend the above technique for people begining their careers in IT!

Knives Out

Congratulations!!

spaat

I totally agree with TXOgre.
It took me 4 months to knock out my MCSE. I averaged roughly 2 tests a month. No ****, just my work experience and home virtual labs. From a work experience standpoint, I've been an MCSE for about 8 years, I just never got the cert. In the long run the cert is more political then anything. I do value my certs, but I never lose site of how important real-world, hands on experience is worth (priceless). Even the knowledge you gain from setting up your own lab and working through all the problems as you try and get it to work flawlessly.

TXOgre

astorrs wrote: »

Personally I've found doing a practice test (Transcender or Self Test Software are my recommendations for providers) and going through every question in the test once, picking my answer and the having it grade just that question. If I get it wrong, or if I don't really understand why the one I chose was correct, I write down that area. Once I've gone through all the questions I have a look at my list of weaknesses and focus all my studying efforts there.

This is the way I do it. A quick look through the table of contents, make notes about the areas I might be weak in. Take practice test and make notes about weak areas. Study the weak areas.

Johnny Johnson

Jordus wrote: »

Yeah, but those camps are walking all over the line between real and ****.

There are smart people out there, but taking 4 days to pass an exam that most people take 2-3 times and study for weeks if not months seems a little odd.

The other thing is that a LOT of the topics on the MCSE/MCITP stuff are things that people dont normally work with on a regular job. Most AD admins work with a single domain...not 52 interconnected sites with subdomains and other domains in a massive forest mash-up.

Yes, I would have to agree. My former supervisor went to a boot camp several years ago and got his MCSE. He said they used TK as study material for the exams.

mikej412

Congratulations!

RobertKaucher

LarryDaMan wrote: »

Improbable but not impossible without ****. There are some very smart people out there. People pass the MCSE track without **** during a 13 day boot camp, so it can be done.

I passed in just over 6 months with very little experience. I took
270
290 <failed once>
291
272 <already had 271 and wanted MCSA fast>
293
350
294
Sec+
298

I had three years of support experience and decided to take the 272 on a Sat and scheduled the test for the following Thursday. Passed with low 800s.
I studied about the same for the Vista exam. On the other hand I studied for 5 months for the 431 (SQL 2005 and nearly failed). My test schedule gave me just a little more time than mad82. I had to take the 291 twice. I know some will find this confrontational, but I resent those who cannot accusing those who do of impropriety like this. I use my real name in this forum. Potential employers could see what I post and what others post about me. I would ask that Jordus etal not defame others without proof.

Tryntotechit

Good job! I haven't had the priviledge to get the experience you have. My MCSE is coming. Congrats.

Edit:
Wow. I wrote the first part before I new that there were 3 pages to this thread. I'm on my blackberry and kinda hard to see everything. Anyway

This has been an interesting thread. Page 2 got kind of heated. I know that I hardly have any experience in IT. Been working as pc tech for about 4 months. My MCSE has taking me 2 years and still not finished. I have also been completing my AAS and trying to do the family thing. I'm glad that you had the opportunity to knock his certs out. Some people do and some people don't. All I know is I have worked my butt off for my certs and I am really proud of all my accomplishments. Good job to Mad and everyone in this forum.

Bl8ckr0uter

You know this thread has given me hope. I have had 2 very disapointing things happen to me within the last 2 weeks. The first being that I was turned down for a job that I really wanted (getting to work with an isp doing cisco, microsoft, and linux work

) and getting denied twice to go into 2nd level enginnering at my job ( the first time it was because I "don't have enough expierence and the second time they said I hadn't completed enough business classes during the course of my degree, which is in progress

).
Because of these things I have decided to persue jobs at a local Air force base doing a contract position. To do 1st level server work, they want someone working towards the MCSE certification. I have decided that I want to get the MCP/MCSA/MCSE track done by November 22. I have not completed any of there test but hopefully before the 2nd week of July I will have the security+. From there I want to start the 70-290 and go..

I think it will be hard because most of the people around me either don't think it can be done, or dont care at all. Most people at my job either can't or won't go for certs. I think I agree with a poster from before that we are all just paper certified when we first get our certs. I think that the same is true for anything else in life, degrees, certificates and so on. I just want to get a couple of letters behind my name, and a couple of pieces of paper on my wall so I can move up in this field. Isn't that what certifications are about, to help you move up or increase your scope?