How tough is 292?

Good day

In cruising the MS forums for MCSA and MCP there are a large number of posts from people who have failed this exam, and in some cases by a fair margin. Most commented they found the exam not that difficult and where surprised not to pass.

What is the experience of people on this board with this exam?

Thanks, Paul

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Webmaster

I think it was a pretty fair exam, not really more difficult than other MS exams I done in the past, just more to study for the exam as it is basically a combination of material from both the 290 and the 291 exam, and more to read during the exam, cause the exams are often a bit longer than the 2000 exam questions. For this, as well as basically all other Microsoft exams, it is important to get hands-on experience with all the topic mentioned in the exam objectives and especially with the new features in Windows 2003 (sus, shadow copy volumes, etc).

osprey

I really applaud those like Johan who passed without much difficulty, but I've found that it was a lot harder for most people than they expected. Those that pass, feeling that they did well, usually score a lot lower than they expected (700-800, with 700 being passing). Those that don't pass still often feel optimistic (or even confident) that they passed, but then are shocked to get a score typically between 500 and 650.

70-292 is different in that it doesn't really feel any harder than 2000 exams while you're taking it. I can agree with Johan on that. The material isn't that difficult. What I think is different is that the bar to pass is so much higher. You can't miss 1/4 of the questions and still pass like you used to.

Some people spend a really long time (i.e. months) studying for each exam, immersed in their test labs, only sitting for the exam once they're super-confident that they'll pass. These are the people that, I think, do pass on the first try. The rest (the majority, I believe) study only as much as they think that they'll be tested on, and take the exam once they feel "pretty good" about the test. That worked for 2000, but those people (myself included) often get a shock when they take 70-292 and fail (and with such a low score, too).

My advice is not to under-estimate the exam. It'll bite you hard if you do that. Also, I recommend reading through my study notes that I posted to the forum a few days ago.

Good luck.

NPA24

I just took this test yesterday and my score was so low and I was just in shock. I was passing all the win2000 tests with high scores. When I clicked finished and saw my test score I was so amazed in how low it was. The test didn't seem difficult at all and I thought I knew everything but I guess I was wrong. I'm glad they have the 2nd shot promo because i'm definately taking the exam again within the next month.

I do know my weakness now and I have a lot of studying to do.

A tip I would give people is to know and memorize every screenshot involved with setting up and configuring the different scenarios like SUS, DNS, etc.

Best of luck to anyone who will be taking this test!

clarv02

I took this exam two days ago and passed with 775. I studed for 3 months and knew the material so well that I should have passed with a much higher score, in my opinion. I studed the MS press book that covers both 292 and 296. I thought it was a really good book. I also used Self Test Software to prepare. Between the book and the Self Test, I really did think I was well prepared. I was testing out in the 90%s on self test.

I thought the exam was very difficult and that I was not nearly as prepared as I could have been. I was really prepared for all areas of study that have been mentioned in these forums. (SUS, DNS, RDC, etc). However, the questions and answers seemed to come out of a different book than what I was studying. I don't mean that I was expecting the exact same questions/answers, but I was expecting the same concepts. I would read through a question, then look for the answer below and NOTHING was even close to what I was looking for.

I felt that this exam tested me on how well I can give an educated guess, rather than on my knowledge of the material. I'm ecstatic that I passed, because I was doubting that I would throughout the test. But it was a real bear. I've been taking cert tests since 1994 and have never failed one (Novell, Cicso, Microsoft, CIW). I believe that this was one of the hardest. I think Microsoft's attempt to trick the exam taker is not very fair.

Good luck to anyone preparing for this. Study hard and don't understimate it!

clock43401

osprey wrote:

Those that don't pass still often feel optimistic (or even confident) that they passed, but then are shocked to get a score typically between 500 and 650.

How many people actually read these forums ?

jmc724

Not really as tough as CCNA or 70-216 aka 'The Beast,' though there is a lot of concepts you need to know. Generally speaking, if you know AD inside out (2000/2003) you should do well.