Going for MCSE

Mojo_666

MentholMoose wrote: »

I decided to go ahead and do an elective to finish up the MCSA. I have some experience with ISA 2006 so I'm doing the 72-351. I'm currently going through the Sams Unleashed book and plan to take the exam on September 24.

Here is a tip for you if you plan on doing the MCSE Security at some point.

The 350 and 351 Exams are almost identical, I had maybe 5 questions that were different between the 2 exams.

MentholMoose

Mojo_666 wrote: »

Here is a tip for you if you plan on doing the MCSE Security at some point.

The 350 and 351 Exams are almost identical, I had maybe 5 questions that were different between the 2 exams.

Interesting! Maybe I'll take them both on the 24th...

Mojo_666

MentholMoose wrote: »

Interesting! Maybe I'll take them both on the 24th...

I would, well I did, after I got the same tip from a mate of mine.

MentholMoose

Unfortunately studying has been going slow. I've been busy lately and lack motivation for studying ISA Server. I'm planning to do 350 and 351 by the end of October to finish up the MCSA: Security, and 293 and 298 hopefully by the end of November to get MCSE: Security. I still really want to crank these out, and will keep this thread updated with my progress.

MentholMoose

Wow it's been a month since the last update. I've been studying off and on during that time, and I passed 72-350 yesterday afternoon. I didn't feel up for two exams in one day, so I will take 72-351 another day, likely this week. ISA Server 2004 and 2006 are quite similar, and if you weren't very familiar with them you wouldn't even notice a difference in the interface (besides the version number conveniently plastered on every screen). It would have made sense if 2006 was called 2004 R2 instead.

I have not worked with ISA Server recently and don't foresee using it anytime soon, so it really isn't particularly interesting. Also the exam covers all the functionality I haven't used and probably wouldn't use if I had a choice. So, it's been tough staying motivated. In any case, I don't want to spend time saying anything about the exam since it is retiring today. One more ISA Server exam and then I can focus on the 293 and eventually 298.

Mojo_666

Well done, at least you don't have to study for the next exam.

powerfool

Keep on chugging away there. There is always some point where our plans can break down. I knocked out the 4 core in a month and planned to hit the security exams immediately afterwards and ended up putting two months in between them. However, when I jumped back on, it was a second wind.

293 shouldn't be much trouble for you... and in retrospect, that is an awesome order to take the exams... 290, 291, and 294 before 293. You have covered all of the material for 293, at this point, essentially. Get your second ISA exam knock out, and then you should be able to do a quick review for 293.

298 was a bit much... mostly because some of the scenarios they establish would not lend themselves to the options available in the multiple choice answers. Many of the questions have some common sense, though. Again, this should be another review of material for you. The biggest thing with 298 is the change in exam format. I can say after having taken three MS design exams, there is no amount of studying that can truly prepare you for them. Just take your time and determine what they are asking. As many have stated, it may be more prudent to read through questions and then go back through the case study to find the requirements.

Best wishes.

MentholMoose

Well I passed 351 today, but it was a close one! I scored an even 700. I felt confident during the exam so I'm not sure what happened. On the score report, I perfected two sections, got near perfect on one, good on two, and decent on only one. I think that one, Planning and Installing ISA Server 2006, must have been weighted more heavily than others. For anyone taking this exam, make sure you are very confident with all the ways of deploying ISA Server 2006.

powerfool wrote: »

Keep on chugging away there. There is always some point where our plans can break down. I knocked out the 4 core in a month and planned to hit the security exams immediately afterwards and ended up putting two months in between them. However, when I jumped back on, it was a second wind.

293 shouldn't be much trouble for you... and in retrospect, that is an awesome order to take the exams... 290, 291, and 294 before 293. You have covered all of the material for 293, at this point, essentially. Get your second ISA exam knock out, and then you should be able to do a quick review for 293.

The exam order I'm using was actually recommended by someone on these forums, and it sounded reasonable so I decided to follow it. I'm going to take a break for a few days, then get studying/reviewing for 293.

powerfool wrote: »

298 was a bit much... mostly because some of the scenarios they establish would not lend themselves to the options available in the multiple choice answers. Many of the questions have some common sense, though. Again, this should be another review of material for you. The biggest thing with 298 is the change in exam format. I can say after having taken three MS design exams, there is no amount of studying that can truly prepare you for them. Just take your time and determine what they are asking. As many have stated, it may be more prudent to read through questions and then go back through the case study to find the requirements.

Best wishes.

Thanks for the info!

Devilsbane

Congrats on the pass! 293 is of course, hard, but you should be ok.

MentholMoose

Devilsbane wrote: »

Congrats on the pass! 293 is of course, hard, but you should be ok.

Thanks. I am planning to spend about a month on 293. I'm actually interested in some sections such as PKI, so I'm looking forward to those. I'm not looking forward to RRAS, basically just due to lack of interest, but I've already studied it with previous exams so hopefully it won't be too bad.

Mike-Mike

just found this thread, very interesting, good luck man

MentholMoose

Mike-Mike wrote: »

just found this thread, very interesting, good luck man

Thanks. Unfortunately, I've made no progress since my previous post. I took a vacation, and now I'm studying for the Citrix XenServer 5.6 beta exam. I plan to start studying for 293 next week.