MCSE NT 4.0

garv221

The MCSE NT... What was the passing score for the MCPs in NT? I'm thinking it was easier then....

Webmaster

I'll have to dig up my old score reports for the passing score examples, but you are right, it was easier than, just a little though. But not because of the passing scores, nor were the topics any easier (most of it still hasn't changed much). The questions however, were much more like the review questions you can find at the end of a chapter in a Sybex book for example. A couple of sentences instead of paragraphs for the question and not as tricky as now. Although questions with seemingly multiple correct answers (while you had to choose only one for example) were a problem then as well. Also, there was no such thing as a design exam for the Windows OS (there was for exchange and SQL though).

Found those score reports, below are the passing scores (linear standard scoring on 0-1000 scale):

Core exam:
NT 4 Workstation: 705
NT 4 Server: 764
NT 4 Enterprise: 784
Network Essentials: 552

Electives:
Exchange Server 5.5: 490
Internetworking with TCP/IP: 570
Proxy Server 2.0: 735

As you can see, the passing scores for the core OS exams are actually higher and there are huge differences between the electives. The amount of overlap between the workstation, server, and enterprise exam is about the same as with 210, 215, 217 (you'd get the Last Known Good question on all three, as well as permissions and other common topics). Even though Exchange 5.5 had such a low passing score, it was considered one of the most difficult MS exams ever, and many people failed the first time (it did have those long questions, but most of the info was actually relevant).

Webmaster

Garv221 wrote:

for the MCPs in NT?

The Network Essentials would not make one an MCP...

garv221

Thanks! I remember people talking about the Exchange test. Alot of migrating from MS Mail..Even though you say the tests were a little easier, there were NOT exam cram sheets & practice tests like todays generation so it kinda evens out in the end. I have alot of experience on NT Servers, MS Mail with mail beamer, Exchange 5.5, I would like to know how I would have done on some of the tests. The networking essentials is more like a Net+ huh? Thanks for the feedback, I knew you would post.

Webmaster

Even though you say the tests were a little easier, there were NOT exam cram sheets & practice tests like todays generation so it kinda evens out in the end.

Not like today's generation, there was only one braindump site, and there was no such thing as actual questions in PDF (the good old days ). But there was plenty of free honest study material including practice exams. Back then there was cramsession.com, which was still owned by the founder, PDFs as free download. Mcseguide.com and certifyexpress.com and several others that still exist were 'clean' sites. Also Jason from mcmcse.com has been around for about 8 years, and petri.co.il had some good practice exams, and of course there was transcenders (I used selftest back then). These are only a couple of examples. A lot of them (the 'free' sites) stopped updating when the 2000 certs became current, or went commercial. Writing practice exams for NT 4 was just so much easier.

Yeah, Network Essentials is very similar to network+ but again the questions were much more straightforward, no scenarios, just basic facts. Some did consider it to be the most difficult core exam, because the other 3 had so much overlap and you could learn those by using the product.

You're welcome

garv221

Things were pretty different before 2000 Server. Any of the above sites turn into braindumps? What year did you get into IT? Man, its hard to believe only 10 years ago people were running Win3X and just getting a taste of Win95/ NT. Kid I went to college with had a Windows 97 OS from mexico on a CD full of cabs....lol

Webmaster

No, but owned by/advertising such sites.

I got my first IT job in late 1994. The company I worked for had 200 DOS clients and 1 Windows 95 client (it took a lot of effort to convince them I just needed win 95 to do my job ).

ajs1976

I had a good general networking background, so I thought the Networking Essentials exam was easy. For me Server in the Enterprise was the harder exam. even though 75% was from the Server exam.

For electives I had the Exchange 5.5 and TCP/IP exams. The exchange exam was a harder exam, but I think the hardest at the time was the SQL 7.0 exam.

garv221

How long did it take you to get your MCSE on NT?

Webmaster

Took me about 6 months (I was working as a sys admin of over a 100 NT 4 servers, and 25 Exchange servers):

www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/transcripts
Transcript ID: 682540
Access Code: techexams

If I would pass 216, 219, and 296 I'd be MCSE 2000 and 2003 as well. But I don't plan to put my MS certs to work apart from writing for them (kinda shifted to Cisco/networking after NT 4) And since I won't write much for 2000 anymore, I might just skip 2000 and take the 293,294 and a 2003 design exam instead. Although Exchange 5.5 does not count as an elective anymore (nor do the others), the entire MCSE NT4 cert fullfills the electives requirements for MCSE 2003.

For electives I had the Exchange 5.5 and TCP/IP exams. The exchange exam was a harder exam, but I think the hardest at the time was the SQL 7.0 exam.

Although I can speak only for the exams I've done myself, the SMS 2 exam was considered the most difficult by many as well.

garv221

6 months is quick. You were pretty young huh? You were running alot, especially for the time....Where was the at?

Webmaster

Well, 6 -12 months was quite normal for the MCSE track. I've teached MS courses for some time and most people would do an exam every 5 or 6 weeks. Back then, many people didn't go for MCSE until they had a relevant job in IT already. (And almost every pass would result in more salary, so plenty of motivation ).

I was 23 when I finished my last MCSE exam, I guess that was young, but I think the average age of a new MCSE today isn't far from that.

You were running alot, especially for the time....Where was the at?

MS networks were actually often larger back then (before Active Directory). We had about 40 domains (which would be 'sites' now) and a huge load of trust relationships and replicating WINS servers. Another reason it was so large is because the main company kept buying smaller competitors which had their own networks already. Moving and combining domains was not as easy and convenient as it is with 2000/2003. The company is one of the three largest dairy companies with dozens of locations in Europe and a dozen more spread over the world (Indonesia, Nigeria, Guam, Thailand, and many more). I never had the pleasure of going to those countries (at least not for work), I sometimes even installed new (Exchange) servers over a 19.2 kb modem connection. About half of all locations had a local sys admin (often the desktop admin), who took care of the basic admin tasks. I was sitting at head quarters with PC Anywhere and several other remote management tools, maintaing the entire network (including the 'access layer' Cisco routers), and planning and making 'changes' (change management). I came at that company as a Novell admin (as they still had a couple of Netware servers running) and left as a project manager for expanding infrastructures. MCSE (and CCNA) definitely had a lot of positive influence on my carreer. It was a great job, but a horrible company.

garv221

I'm 23 right now; I do not have an MCSE. I feel like I should though. Sounds like you had some responsibility at a young age. Sounds at bit like myself, however you had a little bit more to maintain. You admin the website (techexams), write for books, & what else? Sounds like you have an impressive resume'.

Webmaster

True, and that had advantages (getting much experience as fast a possible), but disadvantages as well (ie. those local admins were usually 30+ and didn't like me telling them what to do or how to do it). I was of course lucky that the IT industry was at its peak back then. I had a brand new car every 3 years (could pick it up myself at the dealer), a company laptop and cellphone with unlimited credit. I worked for an IT outsourcing (outsourcing IT personel to companies, not other countries) company who rented me for over almost $100 per hour (I got a lot less though...). Negotiating salary and jobs back then was quite easy if you had the skills and could proof it, there were 4 times as much jobs than IT pros.

After that WinNT4/Exchange job, I focussed on Cisco for while, working for the same company. I've did some work as an Exchange consultant for some small companies who finally got e-mail (basically setting up an Exchange server and clients and the internet connection, usually a 1600 Cisco router with ISDN or leased line, after 'consulting' and designing it). I didn't like that much, because I was talking more about budgets and was giving advice to people that most times alredy knew what they wanted (that's basically what a consultant does). Although the company I worked for wanted to push me toward project management and consulting, I rather spent my working hours on technical issues/details instead of talking with managers in 3-part suites all day. They company asked me what I wanted to do (yeah, that's how it often went back then), which was training, training others that it.

A couple of weeks after that the CEO called me on my company cellphone in my company car running on company-gas if I wanted to train their other employers (MCSE 2000 and CCNA), which were actually my coworkers on several projects. I had to work an hour per day less, could choose a new car (was driving a Renault Megane Coupe sports edition, and could get a BMW 318 TDS), got my own office and classroom, and a bunch of lazy ass students. To explain, the outsourcing company we worked for would hire you full-time, but if they didn't had work for you (at another company), you'd still get paid (and allowed to drive the car). Training in my class became mandatory for those that didn't have a job, while they rather sat at home getting paid for doing nothing.

That was pretty much the moment I went to find somewhat more eager students online. And when I found plenty of those, and discovered the pleasure of writing, I stepped out of the rat race, burned my tie, turned in the car, the laptop, and the phone, assuming I would eventually be able to make a living of writing. 4 years later I'm do not nearly make as much as I did then, and every time the cops see my driving by they pull me over because my current car looks like it came straight from the scrap yard. But I haven't regret my desicion for a moment. It beats standing still in traffic two hours a day and working for someone else.

I guess I have a valuable resume indeed, although a lot is getting old fast or is already ancient. I'd still be able to pick out a nice job, but I rather work from my own 'office'. The plan is to move to Florida in one or two years and do some part-time work teaching Network+ and Security+, but my main objective is still to get a book published. And I have plenty of things to do with TechExams.net (currently working on the PDFs for 70-270) and I run two other sites as well (www.3dvalley.com and www.3dnuts.com).

Sorry for going that much off-topic, it's fun to look back sometimes, but perhaps I should have written this for the About Us page.

garv221

Impressive resume' indeed. I have alot of respect for you; giving up money to do something that you ENJOY. That comes first. I am sure it will be not only something you enjoy, but something that finically covers it all. I also I have paid cell & laptop, very handy! I have a company vehicle (shared) only drive it while at work (03 Envoy)...Sounds like you had quit the rides, nice thing to do while your young...I have a Lexus right now, NOT NEW, close but not new. Someday I will own a Mercedes black convertible. Right now I'm trying to get as much experience as possible with everything I can. I want to start my own company doing consulting for systems/networking/CCTV-DVRs. Get enough money to get a loan & a backer for a development project down south. Right now I'm hanging on as a System/Network admin. 8, 2000 servers at over 4 locations, 80 some VLANs & tons of Cisco gear & that dang paketeer....That’s where my time has been. Teaching does sound fun, I have always kept that in the back of my mind & is something I defiantly would like to do..They say to teach at a University you have to have a master’s degree, I honestly wonder how that works in an IT Class? oh--PS--Mike Nuts????

Webmaster

Thanks. It sounds like you're not doing bad at all yourself.

Teaching does sound fun, I have always kept that in the back of my mind & is something I defiantly would like to do..They say to teach at a University you have to have a master’s degree, I honestly wonder how that works in an IT Class?

I'm not sure about IT classes in particular, but I was suprised to see that a lot of jobs require only highschool (non-teaching by IT jobs for example). But there are plenty of other places where you can teach and where they look for other qualifications such as experience.

oh--PS--Mike Nuts????

That's a long story, but basically, Mike Nuts is a 3D character, a squirrel, that will evolve from a robot to a real squirrel with fur etc., bit like pinokio. This character will be the teacher/instructor in some 3D Studio Max study material I'm working on (including CBTs).

garv221

Mike Nuts is cool with a good concept. You have a few things going on with web pages huh? The layout is very close to this sites layout. CONVIENT.....I like Dream Weaver for webpages & honestly i'm a closet MAC guy for that stuff. We have two in the corp. office that have incredible displays. - They are for advertising & web page developing.

Webmaster

Thanks, I will post a link to an image of Mike Nuts under construction in a bit. 3D design is just a hobby, although I think I would be able to make a living of it. Compared to many others I'm just a beginner though. The websites are a means to get my own stuff 'published', and to make some money of it of course, but writing is on top of the list. The tutorials I wrote for 3dnuts.com are read almost 10 times more often than any TechNotes. Takes about 10 times as much time to write (incl. screenshots) one too though. Two of them are used by 2 different highschools in the US as part of an optional graphic course, and one of them has been featured on the homepage of 3dtotal.com (that's one of 'the' 3d sites) which resulted in 4000+ readers in two days. I've even been asked for an advisory board for a college in Texas. Money-wise none of the above is actually worth it, because the actual modeling takes a lot of hours of tedious work, but it's a lot fun to do though.

In the meanwhile, my slow PC finished rendering the image:
www.3dnuts.com/images/forums/mn_wip.jpg
(from bottom to top: pelvis, backbone, torso)
www.3dnuts.com/images/forums/mn_wip2.jpg

I'll probably start a Work-in-Progress topic about it at cgtalk.com

MACs are great for graphics indeed, but I think the main reason corporations still have them is that the graphic designers (who are used to them) 'demand' them. For 3D graphics however, MAC is not an option in most cases (no MAC version of the software), and the latest PCs are much faster (ie. a dual P4 with HT).

garv221

Webmaster wrote:

The tutorials I wrote for 3dnuts.com are read almost 10 times more often than any TechNotes.

WOW, thats impressive, 3dnuts does well. Those numbers are impressive. More readers than here! Ever considered coming to the states? I know the internet makes everything possible from anywhere...Those 3D images you linked up; looks ALOT like an image from Auto Cad or Ideas ( I was a Sys Admin in a design shop) & those programs were not cheap. Some ranged up to $40,000 a pop. They look good.

Webmaster

Yeah, I was amazed by the numbers myself. I use 3D Studio MAX, which is very similar to AutoCad, but 3D Max is more suitable for complex and organic shapes. There are many more though (Maya, Houdini, Cinema 4D) some free as well such as Wings and gmax. The latest version of 3D studio max is 7 and costs $3499, I use 4.2 which I bought for less than 300 bucks about a year ago and has 90% of the same options. But there are several packages that indeed costs tens of thousands, not even including the numerous plug-ins taht go for $500-$1000 each.

Garv221 wrote:

Ever considered coming to the states?

Yeah, quite often. Making plans already (as I mentioned in a couple of posts above: "The plan is to move to Florida in one or two years and do some part-time work teaching Network+ and Security+"), currently looking at Tampa Bay area. The goal is to go in 2005 but that depends a lot on whether I can get a visa by then (although I'm self-employed, I still need a green card before I can work) and how I'm doing financially. I actually submitted my application for the DV lottery just last week. There are many reasons I want to go, but one of them is to further improve my English and vocabulary to improve my writing skills.