August 1, 2012 at 2:13 am
Thanks for advice Gail.
There are so many questions in my head now whether to take the exam remotely or at Prometric office. If anyone has taken the lab exam remotely, maybe they could provide some comment on their experience.
Simon Liew
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
August 1, 2012 at 2:23 am
I wrote at a prometric office, but that office is 15 min from my house. If you have to fly to another country to write, the remote option will likely work out cheaper.
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
August 1, 2012 at 7:57 am
Simon,
when I read your experiences I remember my LAB-Test. It was the same nightmare as your Knowledge-Exam.
The software was knocked out for over 60 min. I got so deep onto presure because I had to catch my train back to Frankfurt.
Now - after app. 60 days i've got an email from Bob that I didn't pass the lab!
But I will retake it asap - it's for free because of the technical disaster!
All your personal experiences are completely mine.
Congrats if you passed 88-970.
Prepare good for LAB and expect the "supernatural" 😀
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
MVP - Data Platform (2013 - ...)
my blog: http://www.sqlmaster.de (german only!)
August 1, 2012 at 8:20 am
The exam says it is still in beta because of the way the Prometric system works. It will say it is still in beta as long as we delay the scoring. It is the way their system works, unfortunately.
the way the scoring works is that they officially score all exams for the month on approximately the 15th or 16th of the month. The process requires that someone at Prometric starts the process running, so the data may vary if the usual date falls on the weekend or holiday. So if you take the knowledge exam shortly before the 15th, you will have a short waiting time. If you take it right after teh 15th, you will have a long waiting period.
Then the eligibility table is populated with those who passed 2 or 3 weeks after the official scoring. Officially, Prometric says that you should be able to schedule the lab exam about 2 weeks after you receive your scoring report in the mail. I recommend that you start checking to see if you can schedule it yet after the first of the month after you receive your results.
If you still can't schedule by the 2nd week of the following month, contact Prometric directly. If you don't get results from Prometric, contact the MCM/MCSM program directly at sqlmcmexam@microsoft.com.
August 1, 2012 at 6:44 pm
I took the exam on 10-Jul-12. No wonder I could see the Passed on my Candidate History in the first week already. I discard the result thinking it was an error because I couldnt believe the result would appear so soon, not to mention Microsoft web site mention there's a 30-business day wait for the result.
Oh well, its all due to my unfamiliarity with the process. There are not much info I can find on internet as well about MCM exam process, etc.
I have started gathering details for Remote Delivery Options for the SQL MCM Lab Exam in Sydney, Australia. Only available Prometric centre in Australia is Perth. It'll cost me ~$500 return flight and ~$200/night hotel. I think its worth it to fly to Perth, but considering possible issue, remote exam seem to be a more stable option. Thinking of missing my flight or getting stranded somewhere is no fun.
I will start checking my eligibility since its been 3 weeks now. Thanks for all the advice given. I would've been still waiting "patiently" for my official result (although I sometimes feel impatient everytime thinking of the 30-business day wait). I'm thinking of scheduling my exam somewhere between mid-Sep and mid-Oct.
Simon Liew
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
August 1, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Don't underestimate the difficulty of the lab exam, it's significantly harder than the knowledge.
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
August 1, 2012 at 10:24 pm
Absolutely Gail. I dont think I'll underestimate the lab exam.
Simon Liew
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
August 2, 2012 at 12:50 am
I've not taken the MCM exams, but I have had numerous problems at Prometric venues before - and it has never been the venue's fault.
Things were much better when Microsoft had exam delivery contracts with both Prometric and Pearson Vue. Now that no alternative providers are available, we're forced to endure whatever trials Prometric put us through. I've found their helpdesk staff vary from helpful to rude.
Good luck with your lab exam, and I hope you've passed the "written" exam.
Mike.
August 2, 2012 at 8:01 pm
mike.mcquillan (8/2/2012)
Good luck with your lab exam, and I hope you've passed the "written" exam.Mike.
Thanks Mike.
It seem the Passed stamp in Prometric > Candidate History is the confirmation of passing the knowledge exam. The result has also been updated to my MCP transcript. I'm still awaiting for the score to arrive to my letterbox.
I'll definitely write a post after my lab exam. Hopefully my experience can help someone in someway.
Simon Liew
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
September 17, 2012 at 11:28 pm
I got tested yesterday in Moscow. I took 88-970 exam.
It looks like disaster, testing PC was slow (may be because of internet connection) and test terminated twice.
Finger scaner doesn't work.
In prometric my exam is in two states "Tested" and "Canceled", is it OK?
September 18, 2012 at 12:19 am
Hi Evgeny. Sorry you had problems at the testing center! The two entries for the test indicates that they had a problem getting the exam started at the beginning. When this happen, they will cancel the existing exam and reschedule a replacement. Often this fixes the problem launching the exam. It won't affect the scoring process.
September 21, 2012 at 1:09 am
Robert Davis (9/18/2012)
Hi Evgeny. Sorry you had problems at the testing center! The two entries for the test indicates that they had a problem getting the exam started at the beginning. When this happen, they will cancel the existing exam and reschedule a replacement. Often this fixes the problem launching the exam. It won't affect the scoring process.
Funny it seams I passed... Prometric support said that it's ok. But I still can see that exam is passed and canceled in the same time. I didn't got any score report. Anyone got it after exam?
September 21, 2012 at 3:03 am
The score report comes in the post. Eventually. Mine took over a month to arrive.
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
October 5, 2012 at 1:33 am
Hi,
I'm taking the MCM lab exam in London, 2 weeks from now, and used the same center for the knowledge exam a couple of months ago. There were builders in who were obviously under instruction not to make too much noise but the drilling was still audible and distracting, fingers crossed they have finished.
I'm not overly optimistic on my chances but will give it my best effort. I can write a quick report on the quality of the test center/experience but obviously not the subject matter.
Regards
Paul
October 5, 2012 at 8:37 am
Best of luck Paul! Get a good night's sleep the night before. That's more important than trying to get in a few more hours of studying.
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