Self study or a course?

selice

Hello there,

I'm about to do MCDST finally, and then go straight to Windows 7.

It seems, that most of you people did self study but what I was thinking about taking a course. Would that be good?

I have to say that I never worked with Vista and in past many years it was only XP or Vista very sporadically, so Windows 7 is completely new to me.

I thought I'll do a course:

MOC 6292 (3 day course) to get MCTS Windows 7, configuration. Would have to pass the exam of course. (70-680 Exam Code)
£995

MOC 6294 (5 days course) to get MCITP Enterprise Desktop Administrator. Would have to pass both exams. (70-686 & 70-680 Exam code)
£1395

The courses are pricey but thought it would be worth it? Any thoughts?

Thanks.

RobertKaucher

I do not think it is worth it for the entry level courses. The 6294 might be a good one to take. but I would do self study for the 70-680 exam.

earweed

3 day course..Most people study for weeks. Make sure this place isn't a brain ****.

selice

Yes, it looks a bit dodgy too, such a big topic and only 3 days.

I always did an online course. That any good? Or do you recommend just buy books and dive in?

ally_uk

Hell no! would I pay that amount for training, Save your money I'll give you a example I am due to start studying for the Windows XP 70-270 Exam, So far i have purchased The Microsoft Press Kit and Train Signal Videos, which includes the Transcender Exam Pack, As a bonus they have chucked in a free Server 2008 Kit which includes Videos on how to setup and configure Server 2008.

So far I have spent about 140.00 on materials, But there is noway on earth I would be able to take in that amount of knowledge in three days, sure I suppose you could brain **** your way through a exam, but without sitting down and getting hands on and doing labs how would this benefit you? you would have the skills to fluke your way through a multiple choice exam but when your asked to perform tasks related to your skillset in future emploment then you would struggle.

Just seems like a over priced fast track way of getting a cert.

MentholMoose

earweed wrote: »

3 day course..Most people study for weeks. Make sure this place isn't a brain ****.

If they are teaching with the MOC then they have to be an MCT (verify the trainer is indeed an MCT), so it's unlikely to be a brain **** camp.

fly2dw

ally_uk wrote: »

Hell no! would I pay that amount for training, Save your money

Agreed.

I have been on courses before that my work sent me on (and therefore funded) but I would not pay for it myself. Well not for those courses you have mentioned. You can get a lot out of the route ally_uk has taken from books, videos, like Train Signals and CBT, and forums (That is my preferred route of study). This route can take more self discipline and motivation (You find the people who are generally interested in what they are doing are fans of this method of learning). However everybody learns different and it depends on what suits you. You may want to ask question, get other peoples opinions in a class, and have a tutor on hand to guide you through practicals etc.

Remember the tutors can help you through the exam questions and concepts, but I have found some tutors clueless when it comes to answering questions from real scenarios you are dealing with everyday (Not to say all, as some are very good). One example was on a Windows Vista 3 day course (As it happens), the tutor was talking about the new features of Windows firewall in Vista compared to XP. At the end he informed the class "But in a large organisation you don't need Windows local firewall switched on your clients, that is only for paranoid admins, as they should have a corporate firewall in place protecting the network, like ISA or Cisco, so there is no need". Now this maybe a debatable opinion, one that I disagree with (Internal virus springs to mind), but my point is if you took that at face value, you may make terrible errors in the future, working in an organisation. It is worth getting multiple opinions on things in I.T.

A lot of people take these 3-5 days courses, cram and then go for the exam. That may work for some, but personally I don't think 3-5 days is enough, like some people have already mentioned here. At the end of the course I felt like I had been given a long introduction into Windows Vista and the new features. I may have been able to sit the exam and scrape a pass, but that is not my style. I prefer to know the subject to the best of my ability, so that I can use my skills at work to fix problems long term, not just A to B style. All the content in the cert may not give you this ability as this is where experience ties in, but it puts the foundations and building blocks in place for you to work on.

So the short answer being (Honest I don't just like the sound of my own voice), get a good book or books (MSPress, Sybex), some vidz (CBT, Train Signals), and an exam sim (Steer clear of some sims you don't learn from them, and they are just ****), and put the hours in. Use a virtual environment like VMware or Microsoft virtual labs to do some practical, to help reinforce your learning.

All the best and good luck in your studies.

selice

Fly2dw, thanks for the insight, that sounds reasonably well. I did my MCP and doing MCDST now, and it was always a self-online study, kinda like an online book.

Anyway, thanks again and I shall follow that advice!

impelse

This exam is really a little difficult, right now I am doing some practice exams (I already read the book, took some notes and I did the labs) and I get a lot if scripts, So I will need to review a lot this book and my notes to drill it.

I was expecting to sit down next Friday but I do not bealived I will do it (I've been studying for about 2.5 months)

varelg

Generaly, if my home lab satisfies hardware requirements for preping and emulating the subject on which I am preparing to be tested I go the self-study way.
However, if I would ever go for a vendor-centric test, I would stick to vendor-approved literature but again if I can prepare at home on my own lab I wouldn't take a course.
In my opinion course would be worthwhile if you prepare to operate hardware that is just not for sale to individuals or is out of your league in terms of pricing.

impelse

All of my certifications I did were selft study, but I bealived that if you take a training is going to speed up a little bit the time to complete the certification