Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 1:35PM ;)
As I mentioned earlier, I completed my MCTS: Exchange Server 2007 certification. That's another item crossed off the 101 in 1001 list (24. Get MCTS: Exchange certification).
2 down... 99 to go.;)
Exchange, MCTS, Microsoft in 101 in 1001 Sunday, July 4, 2010 at 9:02AM Last week I checked another item off the to-do list. Now, along with my MCITP: Enterprise Administrator I'm certified MCTS: Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. I used the self-paced study guide from Microsoft Press and some practice exams. In all, I prepared for about 10 days before sitting for the exam. I have no background with Exchange and it showed when I took the test. I didn't score as highly as I would have liked and I don't feel like I was adequately prepared for the test. I think spending a bit more time with a couple of other sources would have been helpful. However, the important thing is that I passed and can move on to my next goal... CISSP.
My Certs
Exchange, Microsoft, certification in Tech Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 4:19PM MCITP
It just occurred to me that while I had been posting udates as I took each Microsoft certification exam, I forgot to post a final update. I passed. That means I'm now certified MCITP: Enterprise Administrator. What does it mean? It means I studied my ass off and passed a bunch of tests that were mostly about Active Directory and DNS. What does it mean beyond that? I don't know. I'm hoping that I can somehow incorporate that knowledge into my professional career... we'll see.
What's next?
I'm already thinking of getting some more certifications to demonstrate a broader knowledge base (and improve my marketability, of course). I'm considering some Apple certifications, but I'm not even really sure where to start. I'll have to do some research to see what feels like the best fit. Right now, I think the next cert will be MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator 2010.
Finally
And finally, my goal for this year is to get my CISSP. Wish me luck.
Friday, February 5, 2010 at 1:21PM Today's the day. I scheduled my final MCITP exam for this afternoon. I was torn between today or sometime next week. Yesterday I knew I wasn't ready, but was hoping I could be ready by 2:15 today. The alternative of thinking about the test all weekend and studying every night until then to keep it fresh in my mind wasn't something I was looking forward to.
So. Here I am. I just finished my sushi (6 pieces of tuna nigiri) as part of what has become a pre-test ritual. I'm sitting in the cafe at Whole Foods staring out the windows into the cold rain. I'll get to walk in the cold rain... the test site is in a building just across the street. I'll walk from here rather than parking at the actual building. That, too, has become part of the ritual and I don't want to deviate from the plan.
Wish me luck. I guess I'm ready.
~keith
Friday, January 29, 2010 at 8:03PM Wednesday marked the completion of my fourth exam in my ongoing quest for MCITP certification. The test du jour was MCTS 70-643 Configuring Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure. Seriously... that's the name they came up with. As I had done with the three previous exams, my primary study material was the Microsoft Training Kit. This book was even more to-the-point the than those that I read for the other exams. I think that's what I like most about this series of books; They're direct and focused, while still giving an overall broad view of the subject matter.
As of test time I was consistently scoring in the mid to hi 90's on the practice exams that came with the Training Kit as well as some 3rd party study guides I acquired online. As such, my confidence was pretty high going into the test. It was quickly shaken when the very first question threw me for a complete loop. Of course, I signed an NDA when I took the exam so I can't discuss the question, but it was something that I had not encountered in my many hours of studying. Fortunately, it got much smoother from there. The next 4 or 5 questions were right in my comfort zone. I marked 12 (of 40) questions to go back and review. The others I was 99.9% sure I had right. Of those 12, several were just oddly worded and I wanted to make sure I thought them through logically before committing to an answer. And finally, there were about 5 questions that I was unsure of the answer for. So, like before, I eliminated any ridiculous answers and tried to make an educated guess from the remainder. It worked. I passed the test with a score of 953/1000.
That means it's time to prep for my fifth and final exam... MCITP 70-647: Windows Server Enterprise Administrator. I've got the Microsoft Training Kit sitting in front of me now. Time to study.
