May 10, 2007 at 7:40 am
Gail Shaw,
Thanks for giving me an idea about the simulation...this is was i was looking for..not the actual question..!!!
May 10, 2007 at 8:02 am
Ah, OK. I've had people ask me for actual questions before.
A few things about sims that I picked up from my windows server exam -
You can reset the sim, so don't be afraid of fiddling around. You can always reset and do over from scratch if you have the time
Even if there are normally multiple ways of doing something, the sim will probably only allow one. They are cut down versions of the tools. eg, with Active Directory sim I didn't have the option of running a command window and using the NET commands, I had to use the MMC snap-ins
Make sure you know your way around the tools. The sims can be massive time wasters if you're hunting for the correct option.
Hope that helps.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
May 10, 2007 at 10:44 am
I passed the test by using Transcender for the Multiple Choice pieces, and failing the first round (ya for exam insurance) and researching the simulation questions that I had in order to better learn the pieces I was not as good on.
560 the first time, 859 the second time.
Personally I thought just learning all the differences between the ways of doing things was the most difficult, as well as making sure that I read through each question to understand exactly what was being asked and didn't make any type of assumptions about the question itself.
As most have said, it was a hard, but ultimately a fair test. And now, I'm on to the 443 and 444 ones.
However, I would also recommend the exam insurance. If you've got the material down exceptionally well and are planning on additional testing, you end up only "losing" ~$15 for the difference between cost of the insurance compared to the cost of the next test.
May 11, 2007 at 12:39 am
Hi Terry,
Thanks for your post. I am very interested in how you were able to research the simulation questions?
I also failed my first test with a similar score to yourself, I am now using transcender which seems much more relevant to the exam content than the MS Self Paced Training Kit was.
Also how does the exam insurance work?
Thanks.
May 11, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Exam insurance is (at least for the one I took) $45 per exam on top of the normal cost of the exam. IE instead of the 70-431 costing me $125, it ended up costing me $170.
However, if I fail the test (which in this case I did) it kicks in and I don't have to re-pay the $125 for the re-take.
If I would have passed the first time through, I could apply some sort of voucher code to get 25% off the cost of the next take I take. Or 25% * $125 = $94 for the next test.
As for how I studied on the simulations, I just journaled the questions I wasn't comfortable with in regards to what they were asking, and really dove deep into those particular subjects to the point where I felt I was confident enough to pass (plus I only gave myself 1 week between re-tests to force myself to buckle down and get it done).
As I said before though, the exam is exceptionally fair. It's not necessarily easy to pass, but if you have worked with SSMS and understand the concepts provided via the transcenders, you shouldn't have a problem overall.
And if you're the least bit skeptical, pay the extra $45 and be prepared.
(Plus MS was running a promotion where if you took an exam and paid for the insurance before Apr 30, you would receive a one year subscription to TechNet direct, so at the end of the day, it was a win-win-win situation)
May 21, 2007 at 12:27 pm
OK I have done a lot of work with the Transcender software and I'm now at a point where I am consistantly getting around the 90% mark each time.
I still need to hammer SSMS in prep for the simulations but I feel I am getting much closer to passing the exam this 2nd time around.
I wanted to gain an understanding from you guys how valuable you thought the Transcender software was and what the recommendations are from taking this knowledge and using it against the exam...
Thanks
June 7, 2007 at 12:45 am
Yes, down but certainly not out. I passed the exam yesterday at the 2nd attempt!!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this post. I just hope Eddiez passed his 2nd attempt last month?
So now it's onto 70-442 towards MCITP database developer. Has anyone taken this exam already??
June 7, 2007 at 12:53 am
I was supposed to be writing 442 at the end of this month, but it's been postponed to next month due to time constraints.
I wrote 441 a couple months back and I found it very difficult, not so much because of the material, but because it's case-study based and requires a lot of readng and thinking in a very short period of time.
From the requirements of 442, it doesn't look that hard, but maybe that's cause I do most of that stuff on a daily basis.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
June 7, 2007 at 12:56 am
I was supposed to be writing 442 at the end of this month, but it's been postponed to next month due to time constraints.
I wrote 441 a couple months back and I found it very difficult, not so much because of the material, but because it's case-study based and requires a lot of readng and thinking in a very short period of time.
From the requirements of 442, it doesn't look that hard, but maybe that's cause I do most of that stuff on a daily basis.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
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