Most Attempts at 70-290?

94jedi

Hey all...so as my title say, who has the most attempts at 70-290? How my shots did it take YOU to pass it?

I'm about to schedule my 3rd attempt

Ah well. I'll make sure to study harder this time.

if 290 took me 3 shots (hopefully), then the beast (291) is going to wreck me. I'm looking at 5 shots or so lol.

someeh

94jedi wrote: »

Hey all...so as my title say, who has the most attempts at 70-290? How my shots did it take YOU to pass it?

I'm about to schedule my 3rd attempt

Ah well. I'll make sure to study harder this time.

if 290 took me 3 shots (hopefully), then the beast (291) is going to wreck me. I'm looking at 5 shots or so lol.

I haven't taken mine as of yet! I just have too much going on for me right now. I'm hoping next month or Sept for me.

94jedi

someeh wrote: »

I haven't taken mine as of yet! I just have too much going on for me right now. I'm hoping next month or Sept for me.

No worries man. I've been such a slacker on my certs. I got the comp tia stuff way back in 01/02, then 270 in 2003 (IIRC) and I haven't done squat since. I then took 290 back in 2/08, and failed. took it again in 7/08, failed again, worst than the first time!!!!

So here I am, I'm going to sit for it, for the third time on 8/14.

aordal

I think it's great that you have motivation to keep taking the tests. However, if you keep failing you're obviously doing something wrong. Take a step back and look at your study habits to see what you doing/not doing that's causing you to fail.

If you aren't using more than 1 source to study from, you need to get another (2 minimum). I prefer going with something like a book (Sybex, MSPress) and a legitimate study guide (Transcender). If you are struggling then you may want to even add a 3rd, I suggest computer based traning (TrainSignal, CBTNuggets etc..).

On top of that nothing beats hands on experience, but that doesn't mean you need a job doing these things or a production network. You can virtualize all these technologies your studying for FREE. All it takes is a little time to set it up and download the proper applications/.iso files.

I would really suggest taking my advice on this, it'll save you money AND you'll come out ahead because you arent just taking the tests to pass, you're taking the tests to prove you know the topics.

mrmcmint

When are you taking it?
Best of luck anyway!

mrgetdown88

I get mixed reviews about the 290, some say its the easiest of all in the MCSE circuit and then some ppl fail it several times. I'm thinking about taking mine in the next month or two, Ive been studying off and on for the last two years. I put it off for CompTia stuff and an expiring Vista voucher. I have a good deal of working experience with Server 2003 though, so I don't think I should have a lot of trouble. Good Luck on your retest

RobertKaucher

Passed on first attempt with relatively minimal study. As far as print material I used mostly MCSE Core Exams in a Nutshell, a decent amount of experience working with Server 2003 and I had just completed the 270, which has a lot of overlap. I would agree with the statement that it was the easiest of the MCSE core tests. I thought the ISA Server exam I took as an elective was easier, though. I scored in the mid 900s on that exam and the high 800s on the 290, if memory serves me.

If you have a descent amount of working experience I suggest you set a goal of two weeks. Just do some prep/review and I doubt it will be very hard for you.

dynamik

I can't remember which exam it was, but I saw somewhere here say it took them ten attempts to pass an exam. You still have a long way to go if you're trying to break the record

NetAdmin2436

The only really important thing is to not give up. You only fail if you give up.

dynamik wrote: »

I can't remember which exam it was, but I saw somewhere here say it took them ten attempts to pass an exam. You still have a long way to go if you're trying to break the record

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about breaking no record.
http://www.techexams.net/forums/70-290-windows-2003-server/31822-i-passed-714-a.html

94jedi

Thanks for the encouragement guys...I don't know that I have the guts to sit a test 10 times!!! lol...I'm hoping this 3rd time is charm. Like I said, I'll be taking it on 8/14/2009. I have several years working experience w/ Srv2k3 but we're a small company so I don't get to deal w/ some of the larger scale situations as the test describes. We also don't do any web hosting within the company and knock on wood - I haven't had too many failures or disasters.

I think I need to be honest w/ myself...I just didn't study enough the first two times. The first time, I know I didn't study. I thought my experience was enough. I took 270 several years back and I studied hard for that and passed with a high 800. I guess since then, there's been a disconnect for me. Since I haven't built upon 270, 290 has been more difficult than it should be.

The second time I took the 290, I did study but I really only used the Exam Cram book. Nothing else really. This time, in addition to the exam cram book, I also have the Prep Logic practice exams. I'm really going to hit it hard. I've been studying for the past two weeks, 1 hour per night 6 times a week. As the final two weeks approach, I'll ramp it up to 1.5 hrs per night every night for the first week, then 2 hours a night for the entire final week. Heck I might even throw in some "lucnh time" study at work during the last week.