MCSA vs. MCSE

fjhesq · April 2008

So, I got my MCSA on March 21. I'm so burnt out b/c I started in November and got my MCDST by December and MCSA by end of March. I then went ahead and passed the 70-293 last week and looking at attacking the 70-294 by the end of the month but I am burnt out. I'm thinking now is it really worth it. Maybe I should learn how to do some programming or go for my CCNA but it's hard to turn down Microsoft's Second Shot offer. Plus after reading the forum on 70-297 and the case studies.....it seems a little rough. What should I do?

cacharo · April 2008

If a break is what you need, take a break. There is plenty to learn out there. Find something new and exciting for you. Use and apply what you have learned in MS for a while and when you are ready, go back and finish it up.

Slowhand · April 2008

cacharo wrote:

If a break is what you need, take a break. There is plenty to learn out there. Find something new and exciting for you. Use and apply what you have learned in MS for a while and when you are ready, go back and finish it up.

This is good advice. If you feel like you need to pass these exams only because the second-shot offer is there, you'll definitely end up burning out. Take a break, some time to figure out what you want to do, and go from there. Maybe all you need is a little while to breathe, then get back to the MS tests. Maybe you do need a change of pace, and going for the CCNA might be the change you need. Either way, take the time you need to figure it out.

dynamik · April 2008

I agree. Don't pressure yourself into cramming the last two in before the end of the second shot offer. Just take a little extra time and pass on the first try.

If you want to take a break and do the CCNA or programming, do it. Just remember that the MCSE is significantly more valuable than the MCSA, and since you're only two exams away, you should make a point to wrap it up at some point.

Turgon · April 2008

fjhesq wrote:

So, I got my MCSA on March 21. I'm so burnt out b/c I started in November and got my MCDST by December and MCSA by end of March. I then went ahead and passed the 70-293 last week and looking at attacking the 70-294 by the end of the month but I am burnt out. I'm thinking now is it really worth it. Maybe I should learn how to do some programming or go for my CCNA but it's hard to turn down Microsoft's Second Shot offer. Plus after reading the forum on 70-297 and the case studies.....it seems a little rough. What should I do?

There is something else to consider. Take a whole year off certs and plough that time into excelling at your job, in your family life and looking at ventures elsewhere. Sometimes you need to come off the cert mill completely for a time.

cacharo · April 2008

Blasphemy.

arnerm · April 2008

No way don't lose the momentum. The weather is still not great enough that you aren't missing anything. Take 294 it isn't all that hard. Active directory exam. I would say get the 294 done while you are in the groove.

Now the design exam 297 or 298 that is a whole other nasty beast of its own. Not hard just a lot of rules and being able to analyze what is being asked. With it being testlets vs questions I say read the questions first then go look at case study for the answers.

Take 294 then maybe some time off. but why put it off? You can hit the books for 3-4 weeks and be ready for 294 if you have experience with AD. Good luck.

My boss gave me the incentive to get MCSE with dangling a 10% raise effective immediately after getting my MCSE.

HeroPsycho · April 2008

Gotta agree with arnerm. You know the materials for the Microsoft exams now better than you will six months from now. The reality is MCSA is not nearly as recognized as MCSE. Finish it, then move on.

ajs1976 · April 2008

Plow through the rest of the MCSE then take a break, but set a time to start back into it like 6 months or a year.

I burned myself out and found that once I stopped it was hard to get going again.

danclarke · April 2008

Yes - I found 297 tough and I thought during the exam that I was going to fail. However, its overcoming challenges like this that make the certification worth while - not just in its difficulty but in what it is actually testing.

Having said that, witness the number of people that do actually pass it - maybe some pass on the 2nd attempt - but they keep at it.

The sims in 290/291/293/294 allow you to show that you know your way around Windows 2003: if someone tells you to make a particular user a DHCP admin, you know how.

However an exam like 297 (I can't speak for 29

is meant to get you to thinking about more complex scenarios and understand the design decisions which need to be made in those situations.

Speaking as an engineer, its that focus of the design exams which provides justification of the "E" in MCSE.

MCSA vs. MCSE

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