{"id":668,"date":"2015-02-20T10:36:36","date_gmt":"2015-02-20T00:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/girl-germs.com\/?p=668"},"modified":"2015-09-27T15:06:09","modified_gmt":"2015-09-27T05:06:09","slug":"getting-certified-my-experience-getting-my-mcsa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girl-germs.com\/?p=668","title":{"rendered":"Getting certified – my experience getting my MCSA"},"content":{"rendered":"

I lurk on Reddit. A lot. I mainly sit in the \/r\/sysadmin<\/a> subreddit, because there are quite a number of interesting articles and discussions that come out of it.<\/p>\n

One discussion that appears to come up far more often than most is certifications. What are the good ones to get, how to get them, good study materials, how to ensure you pass, what’s worth more in the industry, what looks good on paper, what’s easier to cram for. It’s amazing the number of questions that get asked regarding this.<\/p>\n

I can only speak from the experience of having done my MCSA. I did it because:<\/p>\n

a) I wanted to prove I could; and
\nb) Getting my MCSA gave me the final 12 credit points to graduate from my degree (B.IT)!<\/p>\n

With that in mind (and being mindful of the NDA regarding the exams I sat) I thought it might be helpful for others to put down my experiences with my studying preparations and at least some information regarding the sitting of the exams.<\/p>\n

Choosing the right exams<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you’re planning on sitting any exam, you need to choose the right exams for you and your situation – as well as keeping in mind the current market trends and current technologies. While my current workplace is predominantly (or was at the time) Server 2008, I chose to sat for a 2012 R2 exam because it would be more relevant moving forward and it would\u00a0stay<\/strong> relevant for longer.<\/p>\n

Take a look at what you’re currently doing in your\u00a0current role – or if you’re not in a job, what you’d\u00a0like<\/strong> to be doing. Work out from there what’s the best way to proceed with your certifications. Don’t just do it because your workplace wants you to – that will make it ten times harder to do the study required.<\/p>\n

Studying for the exam<\/span><\/h3>\n

This section is specific for MS exams. Will probably be vastly different for other exams e.g. REdHat and Cisco.<\/p>\n

My main rule for studying for Microsoft exams – practice makes perfect.<\/p>\n

To expand – the Microsoft exams state, quite clearly, that the exam study guides that are available are\u00a0not<\/strong> <\/span>written by the same people who write the exams. Sure, they’ll give you a good grounding knowledge in the information you should need to know – but they won’t cover absolutely everything you’ll need if to pass the exams. For that, you need hands on lab time. There really is no other way.<\/p>\n

The way I personally studied was as follows:<\/p>\n