~~***~~ I'm Lost: How Do I Go About Getting My MCSE? ~~***~~

[Arsynic]

I need to know what's the best and most cost-effective way to get my MCSE. I already have two years experience managing a network with more than a half-dozen Windows 2000 Servers and I have piecemeal knowledge in Active Directory, Exchange and various other aspects of Windows 2000 along with a BS in Computer Science. I just want the certification to round out my resume and get paid a bit more.

 

[aftertaf]

i went from zero MCPs to MCSE 2003 in one year straight.

I had experience with AD, networking, W2kserver , SQL Server admin & client OS...

I had 4 x 1 week classroom session to prepare for 210/215/216/218/228

and i used mspress books & transcender throughout.

exams 1-4 sat in a 6 week period just after my classroom sessions : got me mcsa 2000
then summer hols kicked in and a change of job too.

6 months later, sat an exam to upgrade to mcsa 2003, then 3 in 3 months to get mcse 2003.

each passed 1st time.
everybody's level and path is different, painfully obvious to say so..., you need to sit an exam first, get a feel for it, see how you get through. But, sit it when you feel more or less ready, otherwise you may have to resit.


Aftertaf
Last time I checked, i wasn't Mike Lacey

 

[ladato]

My company needed me to get 4 certifications very quickly in order to meet vendor partner requirements for discounts. I had to get MCSE 2003, CCNA, Unity and something called "CRSD" (customer response solutions developer). All together it was 10 exams in less than a month.

I say this to underscore my need to get things done fast.

I have 15 years experience in IT - started off as a classroom trainer doing DOS, wordperfect, etc (Windows wasn't even on the market yet except as a pre-install in order to run Excel, and then it was just file manager).

I had already gotten my CNE back in 97 and my MCSE NT4 in 2000 so I had a pretty good concept of what testing was like.

To get my MCSE, I went to a boot camp. I cannot recommend them highly enough (at least the one I went to - Ambilogic - and you can read my experiences at

http://leonadato.blogspot.com

). Overall value is great when you consider the cost of the books, the cost of your time and the cost of exams (both the ones you have to take and the ones you might have to retake without that kind of guidance.)

Barring that, I would check your knowledge against any of the practice exams that are out there. I know there are folks here who eschew the use of practice tests. I'm not one of them. I believe there's a difference between knowing how to do it (which is really important overall) and knowing what Microsoft (or Cisco or Novell) deem to be the "right" answer.

My observation is that TestKing has examples that are closest to the real thing. Transcender (I've only used their online material) has examples that are LIKE the exam, but materially different from what you will see on the test.

Hope that helps.

Leon Adato (adatole@yahoo.com)
Measure what is measurable,
And make measurable what is not so.
- Galileo