Failed 70-685

ashbotashbot Member Posts: 11 ■□□□□□□□□□
Glad I have the Second Shot, definitely have exam anxiety about taking it again.

I read the MS Press Kit Book cover to cover and took the practice exam and chapter questions multiple times until I was passing with an 87%. While this book is great at explaining underlying technologies, the book is old and leaves out a lot of information pertaining to these new exams, Web Probe URLs anyone?

Darril Gibson's book seems a bit outdated, but I will refer to it for some of the areas I missed.

I am looking into Measure Up, but I really do not want to shell out another $75 bucks to take this exam.

Microsoft expects you to scour multiple TechNet articles in order to really get the information you need for these exams (which I hate because having the information I need consolidated into one area is why I purchase a training kit in the first place.)

It also expects you to know a lot about R2, GP, and of course DirectAccess and BranchCache in which I agree with others, is rarely used. Rather than focusing on troubleshooting methodologies applied to its product, it expects you to memorize configuration details and learn the Microsoft way of answering a question.

Just like the 70-680 the wording is vague, but I found this particular test to rely heavily on white noise and the "hinging" detail which will lead you to the answer. They should have a certification on learning how to take their certifications.

Hopefully I can pass it in a week when I try again after much studying. I can say the difficulty relating to the wording of the exams and the lack of training materials steers me away from taking any further MS certifications.

Comments

  • PseudonymPseudonym Member Posts: 341 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Man, I have this in a couple of weeks and I've heard nothing but aggravation over stuff being included in the exam that wasn't in the training materials. I'm quite worried about it. What was your score if you don't mind me asking?
    Certifications - A+, Net+, Sec+, Linux+, ITIL v3, MCITP:EDST/EDA, CCNA R&S/Cyber Ops, MCSA:2008/2012, MCSE:CP&I, RHCSA
    Working on - RHCE
  • PseudonymPseudonym Member Posts: 341 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Just found this and thought it might come in handy.

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/confirmation.aspx?id=29031
    Certifications - A+, Net+, Sec+, Linux+, ITIL v3, MCITP:EDST/EDA, CCNA R&S/Cyber Ops, MCSA:2008/2012, MCSE:CP&I, RHCSA
    Working on - RHCE
  • ashbotashbot Member Posts: 11 ■□□□□□□□□□
    I got a 554.

    I've been reviewing some things I missed due to the wording, found some technologies that weren't mentioned in the training materials, and am also noticing scenarios in which you would never ask an end user to perform a task yet for some reason the test makers seem to think end users can perform tasks such as configuring system files or registry edits.

    I'm hoping to take it again this Sunday with the Second Shot and pass while it's all in my brain. I agree with another thread that Microsoft does not incorporate ITIL into their certifications at all, and expect Desktop Support to perform System Administrator duties (whatever shops run like this, I hope they get the pay!)

    Hope this helps.
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