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Passed and throughts...
Daniel333
Member Posts: 2,077 ■■■■■■□□□□
Hey everyone,
Second shot inspired me to take another exam and looks like I won't need it. Passed with a 781. But this is another exam that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Computer crashed twice. Took me 2 1/2 hours to complete.
Been in IT for about 4 years, maybe 2 of them taking care of Windows 2k3 server directly.
Watched the video at vtc.com, twice
Went through the testout set, twice
Read the Sybex book, twice
Read the Microsoft press book once and ran it's labs several times.
Logged myself at 45hours in labs
Transcender tests
Microsoft.com/webcast has a 13 hour webcast on group policy I found helpful (at least 2 questions were answered on this webcast!)
Trying to avoid NDA here, but here are some thoughts
I would say that there was at least a quarter of what I was tested on was not in the materials I used and I had to best guess it. I would say anyone coming into this should do what I did but also need to spend some more time working with ISA Server 2000/VPNs. There were questions directly related to the use and application of ISA server. Quite frustrating as I sorta skipped through that in my studies.
I was also shocked to find the level of complexity with RRAS. I felt it was only lightly touched in the training but it was quite heavy on the exam. Moreso than then 70-291.
I also found the trivial nature of some of the questions to be frustrating. Some of the questions on clustering were the worst. I can't because of NDA, tell you what it was, but I can say you need to memorize the screen. Not just concept/how to. Make sure you a can draw each screen from memory and list each step one by one to do everything down to the smallest detail.
Certificates questions and such were actually well written and the questions very straight forward. Gotta give a thumbs up to Microsoft for this. Covered the concepts well in the training material and the questions reflected what I had learned well.
Second shot inspired me to take another exam and looks like I won't need it. Passed with a 781. But this is another exam that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Computer crashed twice. Took me 2 1/2 hours to complete.
Been in IT for about 4 years, maybe 2 of them taking care of Windows 2k3 server directly.
Watched the video at vtc.com, twice
Went through the testout set, twice
Read the Sybex book, twice
Read the Microsoft press book once and ran it's labs several times.
Logged myself at 45hours in labs
Transcender tests
Microsoft.com/webcast has a 13 hour webcast on group policy I found helpful (at least 2 questions were answered on this webcast!)
Trying to avoid NDA here, but here are some thoughts
I would say that there was at least a quarter of what I was tested on was not in the materials I used and I had to best guess it. I would say anyone coming into this should do what I did but also need to spend some more time working with ISA Server 2000/VPNs. There were questions directly related to the use and application of ISA server. Quite frustrating as I sorta skipped through that in my studies.
I was also shocked to find the level of complexity with RRAS. I felt it was only lightly touched in the training but it was quite heavy on the exam. Moreso than then 70-291.
I also found the trivial nature of some of the questions to be frustrating. Some of the questions on clustering were the worst. I can't because of NDA, tell you what it was, but I can say you need to memorize the screen. Not just concept/how to. Make sure you a can draw each screen from memory and list each step one by one to do everything down to the smallest detail.
Certificates questions and such were actually well written and the questions very straight forward. Gotta give a thumbs up to Microsoft for this. Covered the concepts well in the training material and the questions reflected what I had learned well.
-Daniel
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dynamik
Banned Posts: 12,312 ■■■■■■■■■□
About time you took an exam; it's been forever
I agree with you on all of that. I've yet to take an MS exam and feel like it adequately covered the objectives. You'll get a handful of well-written questions, then you'll get a lot that are just stupid gimmes, and then a lot of others that are beyond obscure. Unfortunately for you, 294 might be the worst as far as all that goes
Anyway, congrats on the pass. Even though all that effort didn't earn you a perfect score, you probably have an outstanding handle on the material, and that's all that matters. -
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Psoasman
Member Posts: 2,687 ■■■■■■■■■□
Thanks for the thoughts. At least you passed and you obviously spent a lot of time studying, so that'll pay off. I have found the MS book is lacking on some of the objectives. I've had to supplement with other materials to fill in the gaps.
I agree about the exam format. Its frustrating to have to read a whole page and pick out the one word that answers the question.
Good luck on the next course! -
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snadam
Member Posts: 2,234 ■■■■□□□□□□
congrats daniel333. Good luck moving on towards 294!**** ARE FOR CHUMPS! Don't be a chump! Validate your material with certguard.com search engine
:study: Current 2015 Goals: JNCIP-SEC JNCIS-ENT CCNA-Security -
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NetAdmin2436
Member Posts: 1,076
Congrats!
This test was definitely an Achilles heal for me, specifically the left one. The 294 was the right Achilles heal for me as that test is just as obscure.Ok you two, the race is on for 294. Snadam has a ten month head start, but I'm putting my money on Dan!
Ouch. Snadam, you gonna take that from him?
WIP: CCENT/CCNA (.....probably) -
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undomiel
Member Posts: 2,818
Yep, I'm siding with Dan for the win on this one too.
Congratulations on your pass! And I'll second what dynamik said about the 294 being the worst when it comes to the material.Jumping on the IT blogging band wagon -- http://www.jefferyland.com/ -
Optionssnadam
Member Posts: 2,234 ■■■■□□□□□□
NetAdmin2436 wrote: »Congrats!
This test was definitely an Achilles heal for me, specifically the left one. The 294 was the right Achilles heal for me as that test is just as obscure.
Ouch. Snadam, you gonna take that from him?
I appreciate the motivation!
the lab is ready, the book is on the desk (as opposed to the shelf). The biggest problem is getting my ass in gear.**** ARE FOR CHUMPS! Don't be a chump! Validate your material with certguard.com search engine
:study: Current 2015 Goals: JNCIP-SEC JNCIS-ENT CCNA-Security -
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motogpman
Member Posts: 412
Congrats on the pass. So does this mean we are taking bets on the outcome? I won't be giving either a hard time though, I have had to reschedule this test several times this month for various reasons.
Good feedback on the test, so thanks, and this means we will all be watching..... Nothing like pressure, eh?-WIP- (70-294 and 297)
Once MCSE 2k3 completed:
WGU: BS in IT, Design/Management
Finish MCITP:EA, CCNA, PMP by end of 2012
After that, take a much needed vacation!!!!!
