How long does it take you to study/pass?

TechnologE

What exam did you take>?
Do you work full time?
How many hours do you study?

How long didit take you from starting a book e.g. 70-680 to taking he exam (e..g 6 weeks working full time 9-5 and socialising on the weekends?)

Very interested, Its taking me a while working full time

Thanks
(And hi tech exams.net )

xenodamus

ICND1 - 3 months
ICND2 - 3 months
Security+ - 1 month
70-290 - TBD....

I work full time, am married, and have no kids. I study 1-2 hours each morning before work and anywhere from 3-5 on weekend days. I also completed the CCNA Acadamy a few years before attempting the Cisco exams.

Welcome, btw!

gandalph

I think it depends on the course your doing because if you have a background in that area then it doesnt take as long. For example I recently done the 686 and it only took three weeks but I had previously completed both the 680 and 685 so the lab work was easier and a lot of the study material was covering similar areas, and yes I work full time.

za3bour

For 70-680 it took me around 50 days 2-3 hours daily.

SteveO86

Security+ - 2 months.
CCNA: Security/Wireless - Month and half each (but I work with the stuff almost everyday)

I probably spent a 2 months each on the 2 BlackBerry cert, but I was studying for those 2 in between the Security+ and CCNA: Security.

CChilderhose

For the 70-680 I read the book for 2 weeks and didn't even get through the entire thing then wrote and passed.

It all depends I think on how you learn and how much you retain.

For example I have MCSA on 2003. I recently in October did a boot camp after using 2008 since out but not regularly as now.

The boot camp was 6 days for the MCITP: SA and in 6 days I passed 70-640 and 70-642 but failed 70-646. I did pass 70-646 on my second shot voucher they sent me.

So within a 6-8 week period I got past my Win7 and the MCITP:SA. But I have worked in IT for 15+ years.

So I think everything varies with learning and studying, etc.

Good luck with whichever you are studying for or taking.

jamesleecoleman

CCENT - 9 months
A+ - few years on and off studying
Network+ - 3 months ( I was taking LAN administration at the time)

Hypntick

Haven't done any of the MS exams yet. However Net+ took 2 weeks of study. A+ about a week and a half. Working on Sec+ now which will come out to 2 weeks or so. I do 3-5 hours a day and 6-9 hours on weekend days.

dmad53

I started studying for the 70-680 in July, at least 5 days a week up until I took the test on Wed. the 24th. I failed with 556. I don't know how you prepare for a test like this one, especially if you have zero work experience. I logged at least 300-350 hours since I started studying back in July. I will do the free re-take on Fri. the 3rd. I have never worked in any area outside of mainframe, and at my age the possibilities of moving into desktop/server support at my company or any company is bleak. If I do not pass and the 3rd, I will put it on the shelf, until my company decides to deploy win7. That might be 1 or 2 years. I'm trying to be optimistic, but when you put so much time and effort into something and it doesn't pan out,
then it can be quite discouraging.

TechnologE

Good luck Dmad, I'm also a bit anxious about this exam as so many people seem to be failing it/finding it really tough.

It seems its partly due to the awfull book "Microsoft Press" released. I can't believe they release such a error packed book!
Does anyone know if we can download a new corrected PDF version from anywhere? Although not sure how we'd prove we purchased the original... Photo of us holding it with a news paper perhaps?

I'm studying deployment over and over again, it seems like this area (MDT) and IPv6 have me struggling!

Fingers crossed, fortunately we have the "2nd shot" promotion !
Good luck

earweed

@Dmad- keep your head up and study the areas you did poorly on the first time.
Mainframes? The technologies you probably know can easily be shifted into other environments if you decide to ever change jobs. Your big problem is probably just the lack of experience with Windows 7. Have you labbed with it a lot? I've heard it takes labbing with a combination of Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 to pass the test unless you work with it everday. I've also heard that people with a lot of just server experience have an easier time with it. Just my $.02

Good luck on the retake!

Mojo_666

It took me 3-4 weeks per exam doing the MS Stuff, I work full time (on the systems I am studying) and am married if I did not do this for a living I have no idea how long it would take me, I study 2-3 hours a day.

Repo Man

I'm very good at test taking and force myself to study longer so that I actually know the content.

Claymoore

Longer than it takes me to study and fail!

It depends on my experience with the technology and exam topics. I have taken (and passed) MS exams without studying or only studying a few hours. Others, I have spent months on because of the amount of material. I start by looking at the topics covered over on the MS Learning site, get an idea how much I will need to study, and work a plan backwards from my target test date. Often I am trying to meet a deadline such as a beta exam schedule or a second shot expiration and that keeps me on track.

I have passed 23 MS exams in the last 3 years, so I average an exam about every 6 weeks.

dmad53

earweed wrote: »

@Dmad- keep your head up and study the areas you did poorly on the first time.
Mainframes? The technologies you probably know can easily be shifted into other environments if you decide to ever change jobs. Your big problem is probably just the lack of experience with Windows 7. Have you labbed with it a lot? I've heard it takes labbing with a combination of Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 to pass the test unless you work with it everday. I've also heard that people with a lot of just server experience have an easier time with it. Just my $.02

Good luck on the retake!

Thanks. You bring up some valid points. I haven't labbed a lot, but trying to raise a 6 year old (I'm 57), and having a wife with health issues is pretty stressful. I also don't retain what I used to but I don't mean to make any excuses. I recently have gained 1 month of access to PrepLogic's entire knowledge library for only $1. The LearnSmart videos are helpful. Off hand, of the 4 domains I tested low on, Deployment was higher than the other 3. I'll work on those, and hit it as hard as I am able, for the next week. I appreciate your input.

N2IT

Anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months.

A lot determines on what I have to do other than studying. Am I on a big project? Do I have a lot of family obligations?

My ITIL Intermediate took me 2-3 months, that required a lot of studying.

Something like MS Powerpoint took 2 weeks lol.

I'm actually began reading the MS press book for 70-680. I am focused more on A+ at the moment, but I have been reading the 680 book about 4 hours a week.

chrisone

3 to 4 months depending on my life schedule at the time. If I can put 90% focus on studying 4 to 5 times out of the week I can nail any exam within 2-3 months. Usually I am pretty busy with life and my work schedule so it takes me more or less around 3 to 4 months to pass an exam. Just remember to balance life out with your cert dreams. Dont burn yourself out my friends.