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Exam difficulty: Your opinions 2

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Wishdiak

Wishdiak

Technical User
Mar 7, 2004
1,787
US
Since there are so many people in this forum who seem surprised that they didn't do better on a particular exam, it might help to compare the relative difficulty of each exam that we've taken. This might help some to anticipate the difficulty of a particular exam and to spend extra time studying.

I'll go first, with the exams I've passed in the MCSE: Security on Windows Server 2003 track.

Difficulty ratings below are from 1 to 5 stars, with one being the least difficult and 5 the most difficult.

70-270: *
70-290: ***
70-291: *****
70-293: **
70-294: ***
70-299: *****


Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
70-270: *
70-290: *
70-291: **
70-294: *****
70-298: *****
70-228: **
70-229: **
70-431: *
70-235: ***
70-447: **

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000) / MCTS (SQL 2005) / MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)
[noevil]
 
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mrdenny,

I plan to take 70-298 next, to finish up my MCSE: Security. I'm curious why you rated it 5 stars. Was it because of the range of material you were expected to know, or because of the difficulty of the test itself?

I'm aware that it's scenario based. I just wonder if this is what makes it so difficult, or is it the scope of the material.

Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003
 
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yeah same here, I've just finished the book, onto the CBT NUgeets over the weekend.
Any advice appreciated

Paul Thomas
Network+ - Passed
70-210 - Passed
70-290 - Passed
70-291 - Passed
70-293 - Passed
70-294 - Passed
70-284 - Working Towards
 
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As I don't deal with Windows security on a regular basis to me the material was quite difficult. It was difficult enough that I only scored in the 600s. I'm hoping that when I get around to retaking it, I'll do better.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000) / MCTS (SQL 2005) / MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)
[noevil]
 
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Oldies but goodies:

70-210: *
70-215: **
70-217: **
70-218: ****

On the 218, I got lots of DNS questions. Out of 50 questions, I think, like 12-15 of them where DNS. Since I rarely use DNS, only what I studied and configured in the lab, this was one of my weak points.
 
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jvmcse,

Thanks for adding your feedback. I think that this topic could be useful to people preparing for a particular exam.

Compiled information so far:
70-210: * (1 vote)
70-215: ** (1 vote)
70-217: ** (1 vote)
70-218: **** (1 vote)
70-228: ** (1 vote)
70-229: ** (1 vote)
70-235: *** (1 vote)
70-270: * (2 votes)
70-290: ** (2 votes)
70-291: *** (2 votes)
70-293: ** (1 vote)
70-294: **** (2 votes)
70-298: ***** (1 vote)
70-299: ***** (1 vote)
70-431: * (1 vote)
70-447: ** (1 vote)

Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hey all,

This is a very useful post and if people continue to post opinions, will be a very good reference.

Anyway, wishdiak – I noticed you have passed the 70-293 exam which I failed a week back, I got a score 600. I was surprised to see questions on SMB signing and NTLM (windows 98/NT compatibility) !! did you get any Q’s of this type? and what preparation material did you use

Any feedback will be appreciated.

thanks
 
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Smooth23,

Honestly, I took the 70-293 well over a year ago, so my memory of the specific questions is somewhat rusty.

I used the MS Press book, the Readiness Review CD that came with it, and possibly Transcenders as well.

As far as I remember, there was little on the 70-293 exam that I didn't study for 70-291, but I couldn't say for certain what those topics were at this point. At least you know what to expect from the exam the next time around!

Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003
 
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70-270 *
70-290 **
20-291 ****
70-293 **
70-294 **
70-297 *
70-282 **

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.
- Mark Twain
 
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Paul T,

How is the 284 coming along, and what material are you using to prepare for the exam? Just curious, as this is one I'll be taking in a few months.

jvmcse
 
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Thanks for your input, pagy! The more information we have, the more useful this data will become.

Compiled information so far:
70-210: * (1 vote)
70-215: ** (1 vote)
70-217: ** (1 vote)
70-218: **** (1 vote)
70-228: ** (1 vote)
70-229: ** (1 vote)
70-235: *** (1 vote)
70-270: * (3 votes)
70-282: ** (1 vote)
70-290: ** (3 votes)
70-291: *** (3 votes)
70-293: ** (2 vote)
70-294: *** (2 votes)
70-297: * (1 vote)
70-298: ***** (1 vote)
70-299: ***** (1 vote)
70-431: * (1 vote)
70-447: ** (1 vote)

Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You can add 70-445. May that was tough. Give it 5 stars.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000) / MCTS (SQL 2005) / MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)
[noevil]
 
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great thread! i'm going the mcsa route and this is very helpful to prepare me for the road ahead of me. thanks, everybody!
 
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I took a straight path to MCSE. Here were the exams I took and the difficulties I would assign to them:

70-270: ***
70-290: ***
70-291: ****
70-350: **
70-293: ****
70-294: **
70-297: ***

I base the difficulties on the scores I earned. 700s were 4 stars, 800s were 3 stars, 900s were 2 stars. If I had failed any I would have put it at 5 stars. 1 star would be if I was absolutely sure I'd passed before I saw my score. As you can see, there weren't any. My 900s were just as much a surprise as my 700s. On the 4 stars I was pretty sure I'd failed, but I didn't.

I hope that makes sense.

Keep in mind that your experience will change this. I've you've actually worked with Server 2000 or 2003 and have a working knowledge of Active Directory, these exams will be MUCH easier. I went into these with no real server experience. I only had classroom labs and practice tests.

Ian
 
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You can add 70-445 to the list. 4 stars.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000) / MCTS (SQL 2005) / MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)
[noevil]
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks chpicker and mrdenny.

Compiled information so far:
70-210: * (1 vote)
70-215: ** (1 vote)
70-217: ** (1 vote)
70-218: **** (1 vote)
70-228: ** (1 vote)
70-229: ** (1 vote)
70-235: *** (1 vote)
70-270: ** (4 votes)
70-282: ** (1 vote)
70-290: ** (4 votes)
70-291: *** (4 votes)
70-293: *** (3 vote)
70-294: *** (3 votes)
70-297: ** (2 votes)
70-298: ***** (1 vote)
70-299: ***** (1 vote)
70-350: ** (1 vote)
70-431: * (1 vote)
70-445: **** (1 vote)
70-447: ** (1 vote)

Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I've just been informed by Microsoft that I've passed 70-630 and 70-631 (the waiting for 6-8 weeks after taking a beta test is just a killer).

You can add 70-630 and 70-631 to the list. They were both very hard. I'd give them 4 stars each.

Denny
MCSA (2003) / MCDBA (SQL 2000)
MCTS (SQL 2005 / Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: Configuration / Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: Configuration)
MCITP Database Administrator (SQL 2005)

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)
[noevil]
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks for your feedback, mrdenny and GeertVerhoeven.

Compiled information so far:
70-210: * (2 votes)
70-215: ** (1 vote)
70-217: ** (1 vote)
70-218: **** (1 vote)
70-228: ** (1 vote)
70-229: ** (1 vote)
70-235: *** (1 vote)
70-270: ** (4 votes)
70-282: ** (1 vote)
70-290: ** (4 votes)
70-291: *** (4 votes)
70-293: *** (3 vote)
70-294: *** (3 votes)
70-297: ** (2 votes)
70-298: ***** (1 vote)
70-299: ***** (1 vote)
70-315: * (1 vote)
70-316: * (1 vote)
70-320: *** (1 vote)
70-350: ** (1 vote)
70-431: * (2 votes)
70-445: **** (1 vote)
70-447: ** (1 vote)
70-630: **** (1 vote)
70-631: **** (1 vote)

Wishdiak
A+, Network+, Security+, MCSA: Security 2003
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
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