MTA/MCSA advice for this year

smguthrie

I've been reading this forum for a few days now and would really appreciate any help/advice concerning typical length of time to complete MTA/MCSA cert path. I'm wondering how close the following scenario is to being realistic for someone with a full-time job and a lot of family responsibilities. I'm planning on setting up a home lab to get some hands on time and should be able to study at least one, sometimes two, hours/day. I have mostly mainframe datacenter experience. I've been in my current position for just over a year and my manager and I were going over goals for the upcoming year. I asked him what he would recommend with the direction of the work and he said "Windows...Windows...Windows". That is why I want to start out with the MTA, just to get some type of formal training (even if it is on my own), before moving on to the MCSA. My Windows experience is only as a personal user and what I need to do my job, which I would consider basic use.

May/June/July: Exam 98-349

July/August/September: Exam 70-680

October/November/December: Exam 70-685

I showed my manager a rough draft of my goals and dates (349, 7/31) (680, 9/30) (685, 12/31) and he asked if I was sure. I felt like maybe he thought I was being a little too ambitious. Are there any other certs or training I should look into between 349 and 680 or should I be ok with the above schedule and 1-2 hours/day? I've heard 680 is a difficult cert and don't want to get in over my head.

SweenMachine

I was in the same boat as you in January... Now I have my MCSA in Win 7, and a couple other ones. In less than 3 months. I actually studied for 6 MTAs in one month.

You definitely do not need to spend 3 months working on the single MTA -- I would give it 2 weeks probably, since you have technical experience. The MTA in OS is considered one of the easiest certification tests you can take.

If you read the book cover to cover, with you current personal user experience and technical experience, 2 weeks maximum. If you wanted to be uber-safe, maybe a month. MAYBE. But that is probably huge overkill.

The 680 and 685 are night and day compared to the MTA -- but I don't think 6 months for the 680/685 is out of reach. I just wouldn't spend 3 months on the MTA. If you got a book, read it, and used the other resources avail (such as the certiport study guide, and the gmetrix practice tests) you could get that knocked out, increase your fundamentals in 2 weeks. Then you could move on to the 680 and start studying for that in mid-May to speed up your process.

I liked the MTA 349 -- there are many on here that think its worthless, but for you it is probably a good one to start with. But it is super beginner.

2 weeks. I am telling you, couple hours a night? 2 weeks is all you will need.

-scott

smguthrie

Thanks for the reply SweenMachine!

Just to clarify a couple of things...

My datacenter experience only consists of an operator position, which has included tape mounts, batch processing, JCL changes, incident reporting/tracking, and generating/printing reports. I do not have any server experience. I just wanted to make that clear.

The dates I provided my manager will be set in stone once I make it official. That's the main reason I took the 349 out to July. I do have a couple other things going on and wanted to play it safe with these dates, which is why I posted here to begin with. If I don't make these dates, I "will be dinged". I'm sure that is in reference to my next performance review, so it does add a bit of pressure to meet my stated dates.

SweenMachine

smguthrie wrote: »

Thanks for the reply SweenMachine!

Just to clarify a couple of things...

My datacenter experience only consists of an operator position, which has included tape mounts, batch processing, JCL changes, incident reporting/tracking, and generating/printing reports. I do not have any server experience. I just wanted to make that clear.

The dates I provided my manager will be set in stone once I make it official. That's the main reason I took the 349 out to July. I do have a couple other things going on and wanted to play it safe with these dates, which is why I posted here to begin with. If I don't make these dates, I "will be dinged". I'm sure that is in reference to my next performance review, so it does add a bit of pressure to meet my stated dates.

Well, the three tests you mention have little to no server. They are operating system only. If you are looking for Server certifications, those are completely different animals.

The MCSA you referenced, the one comprised of the 680 and the 685, is essentially and end user/configuration certification. It has nothing to do with Servers, Server Admin ect ect.. It is strictly end user Windows 7. I mean, there are some high level mentions of the functions of servers in relation to setting up, troubleshooting end user issue, and working within an enterprise (which inherently has some server things) but it is really directed towards supporting users.

Brandonm2

Hey man!!
As far as your timeline.
The MTA. I took mine in August last year after just finishing my A+. I studied for a around 3 weeks and I passed it very comfortably.Everyone has different speeds they can take it all in but that is how long it took me. It is a very easy test compared to the MCSA tests. I would go over the official Microsoft MTA book and then take the practice test that comes with it, and the go take the test. I would try to burn that one out fast.
680......
It is a tuffy.. I've been studying since I finished the MTA. So like 6-7 months.... Like I said everyone can take it in at different speeds. You may be able to take it in faster. I spend 3-4 hr a day. I am a beginner too with no on the job experience so you may have a slight advantage.
advice...Build your own home lab. It is the only way to get your hands on some of this stuff. also.. (it is not enough just to have used win 7 for years. Microsoft expects you to know all the new technologies in Windows 7 that do not get used all the time. Also... Practice all the different ways to deploy win 7. There are alot!

For me the 685 is next after I pass the 680 in a couple weeks. Hopefully that one will be easier.
Hope this helps ya man!!

SweenMachine

Brandonm2 wrote: »

Hey man!!
As far as your timeline.
The MTA. I took mine in August last year after just finishing my A+. I studied for a around 3 weeks and I passed it very comfortably.Everyone has different speeds they can take it all in but that is how long it took me. It is a very easy test compared to the MCSA tests. I would go over the official Microsoft MTA book and then take the practice test that comes with it, and the go take the test. I would try to burn that one out fast.
680......
It is a tuffy.. I've been studying since I finished the MTA. So like 6-7 months.... Like I said everyone can take it in at different speeds. You may be able to take it in faster. I spend 3-4 hr a day. I am a beginner too with no on the job experience so you may have a slight advantage.
advice...Build your own home lab. It is the only way to get your hands on some of this stuff. also.. (it is not enough just to have used win 7 for years. Microsoft expects you to know all the new technologies in Windows 7 that do not get used all the time. Also... Practice all the different ways to deploy win 7. There are alot!

For me the 685 is next after I pass the 680 in a couple weeks. Hopefully that one will be easier.
Hope this helps ya man!!

very solid advice.

smguthrie

SweenMachine wrote: »

Well, the three tests you mention have little to no server. They are operating system only. If you are looking for Server certifications, those are completely different animals.

The MCSA you referenced, the one comprised of the 680 and the 685, is essentially and end user/configuration certification. It has nothing to do with Servers, Server Admin ect ect.. It is strictly end user Windows 7. I mean, there are some high level mentions of the functions of servers in relation to setting up, troubleshooting end user issue, and working within an enterprise (which inherently has some server things) but it is really directed towards supporting users.

That makes me feel a little better! For some reason, I was thinking some server background was somewhat necessary to grasp these exams. That's why I asked about any other possible certs between 349 and 680/685. Just trying to play it safe with these dates. Worst case...I should have 349 done in June, giving me six months for 680 and 685. I keep hearing that 680 is quite difficult. How does 685 compare with 680?

smguthrie

Brandonm2 wrote: »

Hey man!!
As far as your timeline.
The MTA. I took mine in August last year after just finishing my A+. I studied for a around 3 weeks and I passed it very comfortably.Everyone has different speeds they can take it all in but that is how long it took me. It is a very easy test compared to the MCSA tests. I would go over the official Microsoft MTA book and then take the practice test that comes with it, and the go take the test. I would try to burn that one out fast.
680......
It is a tuffy.. I've been studying since I finished the MTA. So like 6-7 months.... Like I said everyone can take it in at different speeds. You may be able to take it in faster. I spend 3-4 hr a day. I am a beginner too with no on the job experience so you may have a slight advantage.
advice...Build your own home lab. It is the only way to get your hands on some of this stuff. also.. (it is not enough just to have used win 7 for years. Microsoft expects you to know all the new technologies in Windows 7 that do not get used all the time. Also... Practice all the different ways to deploy win 7. There are alot!

For me the 685 is next after I pass the 680 in a couple weeks. Hopefully that one will be easier.
Hope this helps ya man!!

Thanks Brandon!

Sounds like your situation may be pretty close to mine. Maybe I should back off a little and tell him I'll do the 680 by the end of the year and move 685 to first half of next year. That would probably take a lot of pressure off. I definitely want to learn the material and not just "get it done". I'm the type of person that would definitely like to over-study for these things and make absolutely sure I'm prepared for the exam. I also have some business-related training I would be able to knock out this year.

SweenMachine

smguthrie wrote: »

That makes me feel a little better! For some reason, I was thinking some server background was somewhat necessary to grasp these exams. That's why I asked about any other possible certs between 349 and 680/685. Just trying to play it safe with these dates. Worst case...I should have 349 done in June, giving me six months for 680 and 685. I keep hearing that 680 is quite difficult. How does 685 compare with 680?

I would personally do the 680 first. It is a robust exam, but it covers all the fundamental installation, configuration, setting up, and meat+potatoes of the OS..

Most people thing the 680 is harder, but there are others who think quite the opposite.

I thought the 680 was more difficult, but I have years of help desk on Windows 7 so the 685 felt more natural to me

-scott

Brandonm2

One quick thing...
As far as server expirence...It is hard to explain. I would say you don't need tons of server experience because that is not what Microsoft is testing on but... In order to set up and lab some of the newer technologies ex. WDS,Branchcache,Direct Access,Bitlocker DRA's,Group policy you need to at least play around with it to get the desktop side of the technologies to work. That is why your own lab with a server is so important. Remember.. You can do almost everything in virtual machines. That has been huge for me!
Hope this helps too.

smguthrie

Brandonm2 wrote: »

One quick thing...
As far as server expirence...It is hard to explain. I would say you don't need tons of server experience because that is not what Microsoft is testing on but... In order to set up and lab some of the newer technologies ex. WDS,Branchcache,Direct Access,Bitlocker DRA's,Group policy you need to at least play around with it to get the desktop side of the technologies to work. That is why your own lab with a server is so important. Remember.. You can do almost everything in virtual machines. That has been huge for me!
Hope this helps too.

That makes sense and is something I'm not really looking forward to...other than the learning experience. I don't want to run into a lot of problems just setting things up to study the material I need to learn.

smguthrie

My manager is asking everyone for a 3-year plan to go with the current year plan. So far I've committed to 349 (July 31) and 680 (December 31). I'll also be taking one business-related course each quarter for the next couple years so those will take up some of my time as well.

I have a few questions regarding this extended plan.....

- Which is the better option for moving to the 689 Windows 8 upgrade cert.....685 or 686?

- I'm wondering if I should take the A+ before moving to 685 or 686 and how long I should take for each of these (combined 801/802 and 685 or 686). Without knowing too much about these exams, I'm thinking six months for the 801/802 and six months for either 685 or 686.

- If I knock those out by the end of next year, what would be the logical path from there?

Any help is greatly appreciated!