MS 70-646 - too easy?

  Just went trough my 70-646 today ... a little late according to some, but I wanted to get some experience on Server 2008 & Server 2008 R2 before taking the exam.

  What can I say ... since this is a PRO exam, I was unpleasantly surprised about how easy it was (a little harder than 70-649, but still ...). At least I had about three scenarios to play with, not just the standard multiple choice questions.

  I would have expected this to be a lot harder than the TS exams, or maybe have more scenarios than questions, but for that I might have to wait until the MCM ... maybe MCA? :-)

How to train for Microsoft Certifications

It all started about a week or two ago ... I was reading some posts on an LinkedIn group, when I came across a debate about TestKing materials. It was all about how the braindumps (TestKing being one example) basically equals cheating.

So I've decided to do a little bit of research about which materials and methods would be right for somebody to use to get certified.

Easier said than done ... I've been doing a bit of reading on the Microsoft website about the approved methods & materials that an IT Pro could use to train in order to take their exams and the information provided is rather vague (to say confusing would be a little harsh, but comes in a close second).

According to Microsoft, all braindumps are considered cheating and if a certified professional is caught using them, his certifications will be annulled and he will be forever banned from taking another certification exam. 

They only list their own materials (MS books, E-Learning, etc.) and certified learning providers as the way to properly get certified.

However, not even one mention of online training providers, for example TestOut, which I found it a little bit odd since they are providing training videos and simulations, just like an instructor-led course. I have been using TestOut lately and it is a good learning tool, especially since the student can control the pace of the training.

Back to the debate … I agree that the best way to learn is by doing a course (either instructor-led or online), a lot of labs & sims, using the MS books and E-learning tools AND have at least 1-2 years of experience. The TestKing Q&As are just too riddled with wrong answers and they will also not teach a student anything (besides how good is he at remembering multiple choice answers). Again, I would definitely recommend having some experience in systems / network administration before taking any course.  Without that experience, a student will only know how the theory can be applied in a best practices scenario and that rarely happens in the real world.

Aaargh … almost 7.00AM … time to go to work.

IT's Biggest Money Wasters - CIO.com

A very interesting article:

http://www.cio.com/article/633879/IT_s_Biggest_Money_Wasters 

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Finally ... a blog !

Hi there and welcome to my blog!

Pretty exciting! I write stuff in here, you read it and you like it ... at least I hope so.

As the description says it, it's all about systems / network engineering and administration, infrastructure, storage, ICT support, training ICT certifications and how they are or can be applied so that they can make the life of the overworked and often unappreciated IT guys a little bit easier.

That being said, hope this was sufficient as an introduction.

Cheers

Alex