Should I stay or should I go

NathanielTurner

Failed this bad boy twice.

I have used transcenders,test out,sybex,mspress to no avail. I have improved in the areas that I was weak in but group policy still evades me.

i guess third time will be the charm.. i wonder if i should wait untill the 2nd shot is offered again or just move on and come back to this one later

earweed

I didn't see any mention of labbing in there. Reading and practice tests will only take you so far. If Group policy is your main weak point then you're halfway there, you've identified what your weak point is.
This test isn't going to be easier later down the road. Set up some VMs and practice setting up GPOs and test yourself that way.
Just my $.02

colemic

I think this is one of the hardest MS tests (or was for me...) Just keep plugging away at it, and as mentioned above, focus on the weak areas.

Devilsbane

Some times a certain test can evade you. Don't give up on it, some day it will just click.

Now excuse me, I've got a song to sing...

GosU-TecH

earweed wrote: »

I didn't see any mention of labbing in there. Reading and practice tests will only take you so far. If Group policy is your main weak point then you're halfway there, you've identified what your weak point is.
This test isn't going to be easier later down the road. Set up some VMs and practice setting up GPOs and test yourself that way.
Just my $.02

he's right..the best way to see group policy in action is to lab/test it. Seeing different GPOs in action may help you way more than reading about them in a book. Not to mention you can experiment with some cool (and potentially useful in a production environment down the road) policies such as folder redirection, startup or login scripts, etc.

fly2dw

NathanielTurner wrote: »

Failed this bad boy twice.

I have used transcenders,test out,sybex,mspress to no avail. I have improved in the areas that I was weak in but group policy still evades me.

i guess third time will be the charm.. i wonder if i should wait untill the 2nd shot is offered again or just move on and come back to this one later

I just saw that you posted about this on the thread I started. Just encase you do not see my reply I thought I would post on here:

Are you failing by much? If you find you are quite close, concentrate on the exam sims. You will probably find that you know the material, but the actual questions are slipping you up. Use the exam sims to help you understand the questions. Make sure you understand why the incorrect answers are incorrect and why the correct answer is correct. I know that sounds obvious, but the majority of exam sims will show you why you were wrong, pay attention to that. You usually find you know the answer but you misread the question. I used Self Test which was pretty good. Keep at it!! Don't give up!!

genXrcist

I failed this exam twice and then took it a week later without studying. I passed with an 800+ score on the third try. Perhaps you just had a bad day.

NathanielTurner

Thanks for the responses

I felt comfortable with the material I guess the stress of being out of work is getting to me. study for certs keeps my mind occupied but i guess i need to schedule the test early before my mind gets bogged down in my situation. I really wonder sometimes if the certs are worth it. should i just cut and run . is the mcse worth it or should i get the mcsa and move on

thnks for letting me vent

genXrcist

The MCSE is definitely worth it. I'll give you two reasons right off the top of my head. It'll keep you from getting screened out by job search software & it will give you a big boost of confidence. I've met a lot of admins that are really weak on some base stuff when it comes to administering the Server OS and more often than not they don't have an MCSE.

No right or wrong answer, you gotta decide if it's worth it. Seems like an awful waste though if you quit now.

NathanielTurner

My lowest areas are plan/implement infrastructure and group policy.
The other areas have improved each time i have taken the test.
I cant for the life of me explain why the plan/implement areas are giving me so much trouble. I will need to man up and pass this test.

RomBUS

Try CBTNuggets, its a cool way to see how the labs are done as well...very informative

mikedisd2

NathanielTurner wrote: »

I really wonder sometimes if the certs are worth it. should i just cut and run . is the mcse worth it or should i get the mcsa and move on/QUOTE]

So you haven't attained the MCSA yet? What exams have you done so far? IMO 70-294 is the hardest in the set. Have you done 70-291?

The sequence is important. Definitely get the MCSA before attempting the higher exams. This will give you the ground networking knowledge and also a good entry on your resume.

NathanielTurner

Just had to take a break from studying so hard. My ego wont let me move on to another test. I will probaly cool out for a minute and come back stronger. I have just been frustrated with job search . Any thought on making jump from desktop roles to a jr admin roles. Cant seem to make that jump

gateway

Getting the MCSE will definately help with that jump; get back into those books!
Once you have this one out of the way you will feel better and it will enable you to move forward with confidence.

All the best.

motogpman

Don't give up man, I am in the same boat. I can't get this particular "monkey" off my back and now that the second shot is over, it isn't helping. I decided to take a small break to clear the "input" overlaod that was clouding my mind and with that little breather I have regained some steam. Guess we'll meet each other over in the 294 soon, eh?

NathanielTurner

even though microsoft has ended support for server 2003 i will continue with the test.besidesyou need active directory knowledge anyway
jury still out on the mcse. i will focus on finishing up the mcsa and along the way make up my mind about finishing the mcse, i am interested in the ITIL side of things and probaly some lean six sigma. i say that because imho the managed services game is only going to be the way to go.