Am I being (un)realistic?

Hi All, new here so please go gentle...
I passed 70-680 back in May on the second attempt and my former employer has already paid for the 70-685 exam.
I'm using Windows 7 daily and have a reasonable home setup with Server 2012 running VMs on Hyper V.
I'd ideally like to wrap up 70-685 before Christmas so I can start the new year with some new goals.
My question, is this realistic? I can commit to around 5-8 hours a week of study, I've got the MOAC book and have seen the many resources on here that have kindly been shared by other members.
Advice is very welcome, thanks

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ptilsen

I haven't taken 70-685, but from what I've seen on it, this sounds completely reasonable. That's a solid chunk of study time for what should be an approachable exam.

403Forbidden

From what I have seen of the exam objectives and have gained from discussions from other MCPs that have taken and passed the 685 it is all about troubleshooting Windows 7 and a little of 2008r2 (Namely VPNs/Direct Access/Branch Cache)

Normal day to day USAGE of Windows 7 will NOT prepare you for this exam, you must go through the OS and break it in various ways. Everything from installing a program that does not work with Windows 7 and trying to get it to work, messing with TCP/IP settings and setting up/breaking your own small network as well as encryption and back up and recovery.

(Back up and recovery is disproportionately largely covered in comparison to what the objectives say it is.)

If you have passed the 680 then a lot of the material for configuring is already covered.... the 685 however is all about FIXING what you have previously configured... assuming you configured everything using best practices.

It is not a test to be taken lightly. That being said, with hard studying and a concentrated effort passing the test before the end of the year is certainly possible. Just don't get discouraged if you don't pass the first time, I'm sure you'll do fine though.

srabiee

If you passed the 70-680 then you're well on your way. Keep studying and labbing.

devils_haircut

The 685 was much, much easier to me than the 680, and it covers similar topics. I think finishing the 685 before the end of the MONTH would be reasonable.

Judderman88

Thanks for your replies, and well done to those who have passed. I'm feeling pretty positive now!

Further to this, where should I go next? I'm thinking 70-689 or 70-410... Thanks

lsud00d

devils_haircut wrote: »

The 685 was much, much easier to me than the 680, and it covers similar topics. I think finishing the 685 before the end of the MONTH would be reasonable.

I agree with this. Good luck Judderman88!

fadeinthemix

I passed with about 3 months study.
A lot of labbing and reading