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MCSE - Is it worth it and how to study ...

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PGPhantom

PGPhantom

IS-IT--Management
Nov 4, 2002
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I have been doing NT Administration now for over 10 years, have installed and configured over 1000 servers in NT4 and 2000. I have taken a class on almost every area of W2K but have still not bothered with my certification for MCSE.

Is it really worth it writing exams when practical should count more than a piece of paper or "Bragging" rights?

If it is worth it - Where do I start with training materials for overviews etc. I do not need to do everything as I have dealt with W2K since it's inception.

I heard that Transcender exams are good? Any comments?
 
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PGP,
I have 5 years experience between NT and 2K and have been looking into getting my MSCE. Personally I think experience and good business references are far more valuable than any cert. Unfortunately, whenever I look at the want ads plain experience doesn't seem to cut it. It seems like no matter how much experience you have a cert will get you noticed even more. That is what got me started towards taking my MSCE. I have the win2k track on transcender and like it alot, but I also bought some books (examcram) to go along with it. I just dont feel safe trusting my test fees to just one source.
 
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I wouldn't worry too much about the tests. With the experience you have, they should be a breeze. I got mine to help get a job, and it actually helped me land the one I have now. I read the Sybex books for each test. Anything that didn't seem right or I didn't quite understand I tested on a test machine.
Though beware. They look for the M$ answer, not always the right or most efficient one...

Thanks,

Matt Wray
MCSE, MCSA, MCP, CCNA

 
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some places want a cert to get past the hr gaetkeepers...

is it worth it?

like everything else in IT (in life?), "it depends"...

certs worked for me, ymmv.

Setnaffa is an MCP-W2K (working on W2K) with a few other certs, too...
 
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it increases your negotiating value, companies like to see a lot of experience *and* certs.
I've installed win2k server hundreds of times too, a lot of them were with norton ghost though :)
only about 1-2% of the mcse covers installing windows, the majority is maintaining it and utilizing all of the features. (even the deepest darkest hidden ones that no one will ever use)

I'd think of it as an investment, every little bit puts you that much further ahead of your competition.
You wouldn't want to be considered for a job and let the other guy with slightly less experience land the job just because you didn't get a couple certs and he did.. would you?

Nick
Computer Support, no not just hardware.. I support everything :)
 
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That was my general consensus - It is HR that wants the paper more than IT as people in IT know that nothing tops experience. I have been a systems administrator for many years, have migrated 200+ servers over from NT4 to AD etc etc etc. I think that the etc never ends :)

What would you consider good "Revision" materials for getting certified, not certifiable as I think the majority of IT staff are considered certifiable.

I heard that transcender was good, Sybex e-trainers, Troy Technologies - Anything work for you folks out there as I take actual experience with materials to count for more than clever advertising
 
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with a little searching you can get the exact same questions as you will see on the exams with answers and explanations why they are the answers. average 30$ per test. These will get you certified, but leave people who don't have the experience with just a piece of paper.

transcenders are ok, not my first choice though. With the experience you have, i'd go with microsoft press exam books, or the exam cram2 series.
braindumps are good too, but there are a lot out there with the wrong answers.

whichever route you take, invest in a highlighter and read/highlight anything that seems like key information.
then when you read it again, just read the highlighted stuff, and write notes in the book on what you do/don't understand.
I see too many people who have all these books, and they read them, but they don't write down their thoughts as they read, and don't comprehend the information as well as they could.

best advice i can give is don't think you know everything about any of the exams, they delve deeper into more features than any one company could possibly be using.
I passed the first 3, 210, 215, and 218 with ease, and got cocky and 216 walked all over me :p
well it was probably close, but still wasn't expecting all of the questions they asked.
 
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Personal experiance dictates that certs and experiance don't mean squat. It's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know.

MY company has hired 3 folks in the last year because I know them and know what they are capable of. Experience they have, certs they do not have. Certs they can get.
 
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Sometimes I just can't understand this certs, I have a colleague working under me who got limited experience working with servers and she passed MCSE within 2 months together with one 17 years old who just graduated from high school. They attend a lesson 2x a week from a local school, pay US dollar equivalent of 1000. She told me that she even took 2 tests on the same day. I don't know what are they doing in their school but I saw her certs so I believe her. Anyway she tried looking a job for another company but she cannot land any because besides HR interview, IT people will also interview her wherein as expected she's not experience enough to get the job.

So my conclusion, you still need both. Certs is for HR. Experience is for your future Boss/IT people. Now I'm considering taking the certs, what can I do it's a "no choice" trend. My purpose is to keep my job because my pay is not really realy bad:).
 
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take the MCSE 2003. buy a mspress or a sybex book, study then take the exam. don't get transcender.
 
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If you have the experience then you will just need some brush-up stuff like a exam cram. I agree that you will not need the Transcender unless you just want a double check of your self. But stay away from some of the website study guides. I have not found any of them that are worth the download time or even the web page opening. Keep in mind though that the new 2K3 certs will be live the beta just finished and consider going that route unstead of getting one and then having to upgrade. Just food for thought.

A+,NETWORK+,MCSA,MCSE,CNE,CCNA,CCDA
 
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Actually MCSE exam is really easy to get. Since you all having the working experience and i'm assuming that you already understand all the theories. Go to and buy the whatever paper you want to take the exam. Study the question and memorize the answer. Of course, by doing that you will really fuck up yourself if u don't understand the theory. I have friend that doing in that way. Two days before the exam, he downloaded the TestKing and memorise it. He didn;t study any text book just memorise the answer from TestKing.
 
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Actually i don't encourage that method that my friend using. As mattwray said, someone might accidentally learn something from the training.
 
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Well, I'm taking my 210 exam Sunday at 1 PM. I've been using the Self Test and the Mike Meyers book. I've read the Mike Meyers book twice and I'm nailing the Self Test every time.

I also have a copy of the Test King and Actual Tests exams. Sometime Saturday night and Sunday morning I'm gonna glance over them just to see how many questions I can answer.
 
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You'll probably find that you worried for nothing. I was a nervous wreck going into my first M$ exam. The CCNA was a bear for me and I didn't know what to expect. I've found most of the Microsoft exams are pretty easy, with the exception of 216, watch out for that one...
Good Luck on Sunday!

Thanks,

Matt Wray
MCSE, MCSA, MCP, CCNA

 
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Thank you all for the helpful information - A real good starting point to be sure.

What soe of the audio products I have seen out there - Has
anyone used any before and what are your thoughts?
 
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UPDATE!

Well, I took my 210 exam this morning and nailed it! No numerical score, just a pass/fail grade.

As I said before, I read the Mike Meyers book twice and played with the Self Test until I was hitting 100% every time. I also have a copy of Correct Exams that I looked over last night just to see how many questions I could answer......I was amazed to see how close the Correct Exams is to the actual test questions......furthermore I can't believe that's even legal.
 
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