Thinking of going after the 70-685 or 70-686 before it expires, thoughts?

seth479

So I passed the 680 back on the 1st and have been thinking of doing a self study of the 685 or 686 and trying to take it before it expires. With my next term coming up in November and the Net+ and Sec+ workload I'd like to do something that I can essentially brush up on or not have to cover as much as I did for the 680 and pass. So would the 685 or 686 be the way to go for that?

I'd really like to get an MCITP cert under my belt before they go away. I'm kind of nervous trying three certs like this along with a new job but I think I can do it.

Chitownjedi

The MCITP certification designation retires July 31th 2013, but you still will be able to earn the MCSA:Windows 7 designation which if you got the MCITP right now, you would be awarded anyway. If you have passed the 680 My suggestion would be to get either the 685-686, then go back for the Comptia if you still choose or consider them worth it. Having your MCITP/MSCA 2007 would benefit you more than Security+ and Net+. While those two still have value, and you should still try to attain them if you want to stabilize your foundation even more, with the best energy you have I say try to achieve the certification 685 or 686 that will best help you in the short term and long term... once you have your MCITP, your Network+ and Security+ loses some value, even though it's still good value, it will lose some, while I believe your MCITP will increase in value because of those.(Speaking to your foundation and overall computer knowledge and understanding being fleshed out on an entry level.)

Obviously getting anything is better than getting nothing, so as long as you are gaining knowledge then you end up coming out better than you were before, but for maximum efficiency sake, you have already gotten the 680 out the way... so you reached the level you would need to pass an exam in this series, why not finish it off? I think network+ and security+ will be cake after getting your MCITP, and they aren't going away anytime soon.

lsud00d

I passed the 70-686 recently and if you did good on the 70-680, the 70-686 will not be a big deal.

nosoup4u

I agree with lsud00d very similar to the previous tests, took my 70-680 last month along with 685.

Just got back from prometric and now have 686.

seth479

Thank you Chitownjedi, the reason I was going to do Net+ and Sec+ is because it's part of the WGU curriculum so I have to get those. So I figured I'd try those this coming term but also do a self study and pay for the 686 out of pocket. I really want to get at least the Net+ out of the way just to get a better grasp on things.

lsud00d, I made an 800 on the 680 so that kind of eases my mind if they're similar I think I could definitely be able to pull off a pass by July lol.

Congrats nosoup4u, I think I'll go ahead with the 686.

antielvis

If you pass 680 annd 686, you can go forward and fast track to the MCSE 2012: Desktop.

My own personal opinion is that the enterprise desktop along with SCCM (or SCE in small shops) is going to become far more common. Given the push toward cloud, this may be the direct desktop support heads to.

In the enterprise computing world, I can definitely see a future for this stuff, as can I at consultant firms (larger ones). This is a buzz job of the future.