MCSE

[triggmiester]

Sorry if this dragging up old posts again!

School have agreed to pay for my MCSE

Just want to know that if I do it myself what books are best to get and also where can you go to take the exams?


Thanks in advance

[bars1]

here is a site you can go to to find the nearest exam site to you.

Pm me if you would like to look at different ways to take your MCSE and how you can get access to all the books you need

http://www.register.prometric.com/Index.asp

B

[mattx]

Waste of time, I would just take the money, get yourself a server of E-bay and a few oldish PCs and set them up, break it, fix it and learn that way....

[triggmiester]

@mattx I would generally agree with you, but you can't really put that on a CV!

My old NM was of the ilk that quals did'nt matter, he'd rather have a good person with people skills and the ability to learn quickly. Unfortunately when it came to trying to get an interview for his job when he left, I was told I did'nt have enough experience, maybe an MCSE qual would have stood me it better stead.

Plus the fact, I am working with server 2003 every day, so I can get the experience of using the kit that way.

[ajbritton]

I'm 6/7ths of the way through my MCSE. I've just got the Exchange course to finish and exam to take.

I have studied with Thomson NetG (recently bought out by SkillSoft). This material is OK for the most part, but certainly not aimed at total novices. If you don't have quite a few years of experience, then you will find it hard going.

When you finish each course, you are NOT ready to take the exam though. You need to do a few practise exams first. The NetG practise papers are nothing like the actual exams and are not that much help.

I can recommend the ExamCram series of books, which focus more closely on the material that the exams cover and come with practise questions for each section of the course as well as two full practise papers. They also have lots of good advice on strategy for studying and how to approach the exam itself. Regardless of how you study, these books could well be useful.

Finally, I would say that experience goes a long way (I have 20 years myself), but the chances are that most people will not have used all the features of Windows Server or even XP for that matter. All the stuff you learn on the courses is, of course, freely available on the Internet with a quick search. The difference is that if you don't know a certain feature exists or has certain limitations, then you don't know to look. That's what doing the courses gives you over just playing around with the stuff. You learn what you need to know.

I used to be very sceptical of certifications like MCSE because I had met several people who had the qualification but because the had little experience, where not particularly effective.

The bottom line is, you need the experience AND the training to be the best that you can be.

(sorry for long post!)