MCDST

D-boy

Is MCDST harder than Network+ & A+? I was thinking of taking MCDST... what is the passing score? Are the MS press books best for the exams?

Ricka182

It's relatively easy. I passed the second exam, and am just being lazy on the first. If you can pass A+ and Net+, and use XP/IE on a regular basis, you'll be all set.

mistervince

CompTIA exams are well constructed at to the point... an easy test for someone who knows the topic well. The best part of CompTIA is the length of the test, not too long, not too short.... just right.

D-boy

Ricka182 wrote:

It's relatively easy. I passed the second exam, and am just being lazy on the first. If you can pass A+ and Net+, and use XP/IE on a regular basis, you'll be all set.

I don't use XP that much, I have it on my home PC but I haven't had time to play or check out all the features. I think I might go for it, I wanna make the Charter club!

janmike

M$ Press and Exam Cram 2 are about the only publishers with exam guides for these exams at the present time. If you're experienced then, Exam Cram will probably do the job. If you have little experience with XP and M$ Office applications, then you probably need the M$ Press books.

The reason that M$ entry level exams seem, and probably are, more difficult than entry level CompTIA exams is because CompTIA is certifiying to the general ability of the tech to have the knowledge at his disposal to troubleshoot and repair systems both hardwarewise and softwarewise, supposedly, without respect to vendor. All the studying I've done on M$ certs seems to indicate that you are being tested on M$ OSs. Which, when you start specializing, you're going to get into much more detail than a non-vendor specific exam will have. M$ doesn't manufacture hardware(Not that I'm aware of. Though they probably encourage the production of hardware beyond imagination!), but they do expect you to be proficient enough to be able to integrate/configure their software to work with applicable hardware.

The same principle applies to A+ OS exam. It is generally agreed that OS is a more difficult exam than Core Hardware, and average scores for Core appear to be higher that the average on OS exam.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

D-boy

Thanks for your input, do you think I should finish off my MCSA 2000 before doing MCDST?

Ricka182

D-boy wrote:

Thanks for your input, do you think I should finish off my MCSA 2000 before doing MCDST?

You could do it either way. If you think studying for MCDST would interfere with your MCSA studies, I would go for MCSA, which is a more recognizable cert right now. MCDST, only two exams. If you're taking 70-270 for MCSA, MCDST should be a piece of cake.

D-boy

I have already done my client exam 70-210, so I am on 70-215 now... do you think studying for both at the same time could be done?

How long did it take you to studying for your 1st MCDST exam? When are you going to finish your MCDST?

Ricka182

I didn't study at all for MCDST. I was just using XP home edition at the time. The exam focuses mainly on Pro, but the differences aren't that severe. Supposedly, Pro is more secure...whatever that means. I took the exam in Beta stage, and used vouchers someone gave me. I'm currently studying 215 right now, and will probably squeeze the other MCDST in between 215 and 218. That will give me MCSA, and MCDST. Then Server+ and Sec+. Eventually Cisco, when I'm fifty.

D-boy

Yeah your going the same kind of route I wanna go, How old are you now? I just turned 27! Keep up the good work and hard studying you will get there! Just a matter of time....... How are you finding the studying for 70-215?

Ricka182

I am also ripe at 27. I actually took a class for MCSA last year, but kind of lagged after passing 210. Right now, some of the exercises are very tedious, but I feel that if I don't have some practical knowledge, pass or fail, I'm no good in the real world. I saved, put together a server/client network, and try to get some reading in each night. I can't read books like that for very long, so it takes a while. I'm about to start working on permissions and Dfs. I should be testing within a month, then a couple of weeks for MCDST and 218.

skully93

I've already studied up for the 270, but I got a hold of hte MCDST books and they're pretty well done. If you;re studying for hte 270 they actually kind of help because it reminds you of how to get into a lot of the normal user features from both the client and Admin ends. There's a few good tricks in there that help you remember things like permissions and the like.

I've been reading casually and I'm already halfway done with the first book, and have a good understanding of the material. Of course, I have been a jr. admin and use an XP network at work/home daily.