advice on MCSE? 3

[bonsky]

boss,
Quite late though, but still im planning to take MCSE certifications for resume purposes. I know most of you have taken these exams, please help me advise which book should i buy for reviewing that would greatly contribute for my exams. Theres a lot of review books out there, but i dunno wether which one is worth buying..
THANKS!

 

[edlcsre]

Hi Bonsky

Good decision! Its good to be thinking about making yourself more marketable in the current market conditions. If the world and their dog has MCSE, and you want to play the game, you have to as well; thats certainly what I've found, my CV won't get considered for most of the jobs I really want as I don't have MCSE!

I did my second MCP (W2K server) this afternoon, and passed, after spending a week revising solidly. Its AD next, in a weeks time, and, whilst its hard work to be studying so much (12-15 hours a day) I am not presently working so i have the time. Did my first exam beginning of Feb, and am aiming to do 2 a month, working full time on studies!

Book wise, I have been using the Coriolis Exam Cram books Core Four, and these were great for revision, but not really enough to learn the material to start with, and, as its a MS exam, you need to be learning things the MS way, and I've used their study books.

I'd also suggest you check the web for information about free tests and study guides, there are plenty about. Up to a point, you need to find something you can work with and find useful. Sybex seem to be well respected, but I found them hard work (but useful!) Ultimately, only you know if you can spend 12 hours in front of a screen reading, or whether the escape of a book is what you need.

IF you're a risk taker, I'd say book your first exam (would suggest W2K Pro (70-210) first), and study for it, and see how you get on. There is no substitute for hands on, so make sure you're using W2K at home, as it does make a difference and XP isn't the same.

The biggest step is booking the very first exam and seeing how it goes. Once you've done that, you will know if what you're doing works or not, and can adapt your study accordingly.

Very best of luck whatever you decide to read!!

edlcsre

 

[DaveNamou]

Bonsky,
One other non-book item that will help you a great deal is Transcender. It's an expensive item, but if you can get your hands on it, you'll pass those tests hands down.
By the way, many questions for the MCSE tests are derived from the Microsoft Resource Kit (RK). You could read the resource kit, but the only problem with that is that there is an abundant amount of material in it. It’s a huge overkill to read all that.
Transcender will ask you questions that are derived from the RK and then point you to where you can find the explaination of why the answer is what it is.

Here is a URL to the online version of the Microsoft Resource Kit.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/en-us/default.asp

Good Luck!
Dave Namou, MCSE CCEA

 

[bonsky]

ed and dave,

thanks alot for your advise, i really appreciate it. Ill try to look for that books as well, im planning to take 1 or 2 exams by next month. but i really have no time, so i need to get the feel of the test. I saw the transcender, its quite expensive though, so im looking for anyone who have access and just pay for it for the copy.. hehehe..third hand, may i say.... hehehe. do anyone have that...heheh... well.. thanks a lot!

 

[bonsky]

question,

i believed the xp certification or .net certification os already out, do you think dudes, should i rather take it one step forward instead of win2k certifications so that i wont take any upgrades anymore in the future? what do you think?

 

[DaveNamou]

Go for the XP and .Net if they have been released.

But trust me... this does not meen you "wont take any upgrades anymore in the future".

Some new OS is in the works as we speak! Dave Namou, MCSE CCEA

 

[algernonsidney]

I got my MCSE on the NT 4.0 track back in the spring of 2000 and then found it to be almost worthless in the job market. I haven't done anything on the next track at all. I may do something on 2003, but it's hard to tell. I am looking at Cisco possibly with the hope that it might have some value in the job market.

"A Microsoft Certified System Engineer is to information technology as a McDonalds Certified Food Specialist is to the culinary arts." --Michael Bacarella

 

[DaveNamou]

To Michael Bacarella:

It’s sad to see that you did not gain any value from your certification.

It may have been worthless to you...but there are more success stories than failure stories.

The Certifications has done wonders for me...Let's just say I owe my house, my Lincoln Navigator, my Boat, my furniture, many vacations and loads of other toys to my Certs. And that was within the first 3 years.

So please don’t discourage others from trying to learn or do good for their self.
Dave Namou, MCSE CCEA

 

[tdenitti]

Thank you Dave! I'm just starting classes to get my MCSE in Win2k and a Cisco CCNA cert. I have waited so long because of all of the negative things I have heard about their worth. It is refreshing to see that there are success stories that derive directly from the resume and knowledge upgrade. Thanks again!

 

[algernonsidney]

Actually my certification has never been worthless to me. It was just worthless to all the people I interviewed for jobs with.

I wish I could owe something to my certification, but I am making the same as I did four years ago.

Chris

 

[SMoarbes]

Hi All,

- First a suggestion for the guys starting a new certification: I've passed more than 15 microsoft exams being and MCSE on NT 4.0 then MCSE on W2k then MCDBA, I never failed an exam. what I used is the Microsoft training kits and the transcender exam. and lots of testing and hands-on.

- For those who are still thinking about the value of a certification, I just want to say that when my company downsized the IT team form 8 people to 2, the only thing that saved my job is my certifications.

 

[algernonsidney]

SMoarbes,

It sounds like to me that you really knew your stuff when you took those tests. That you have never failed is quite an accomplishment. If the certs saved you, that is good to know.

And yes, the Transcenders are very good.

Based on what I have heard, Cisco does seem worth pursuing.

Chris

 

[SMoarbes]

Chris,

You're right about the Cisco certification.
Actutally, I bought a training kit from cisco, and I hope I'll have the time to start soon. and there is an upgrade to windows 2003 also....

the never ending story....

Sam

 

[jtb]

sometimes, keeping the certs current just helps you keep the job you have...

...says the guy with a Book-O-Certs and 70-215 tomorrow...

Wish me luck and don't be afraid of getting certs...

The cheap way is to buy 3 pentium 166 boxes for $50 each, a hub and some utp cables for another $50, the eval W2K Pro and server disks for about $20, and some $5.00 W2K books at your neighborhood discount places (lots of these in the Dallas and Denver areas... (total cost to me was about $650.00 because I bought one "big" pc, a Celeron 1.3GHz in pieces and assembled it to cover the A+/Server+ requirements)

Good luck!! JTB
Solutions Architect
MCSE-NT4, MCP+I, MCP-W2K, CCNA, CCDA,
CTE, MCIWD, i-Net+, Network+
(MCSA, MCSE-W2K, MCIWA, SCSA, SCNA in progress)

 

[lefty78]

If you are still looking for copies of an MCSE studt track, or the transcenders...let me know...I have quite a collection.