Re: Certificates (MCSE,CCNA,...)

From: Scotty Perkins (scottperkins@hotmail.com)
Date: 02/10/02


From: "Scotty Perkins" <scottperkins@hotmail.com>
To: "mmcgillis" <mmcgillis@inline.com>, "Frederik" <frederik@padjen.de>
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 18:06:19 -0800


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I completely agree with the point below. The key to book learning
being useful is if you personally can learn effectively that way. If
you can't you may need the classes, which is OK too. I'm fortunate in
that I can read the books and get use from them. I have passed 9
Microsoft exams on 10 tries, and the one I missed was due to a really
horrible choice of books. I got another book on the same exam, read
it, and passed two weeks later.

The moral of my story, for the benefit of others, is that you need to
research the study guide you buy before you pick it off the shelf.
That first book I used for the SQL 7.0 Admin exam, the one that I
failed with? It turns out it was written mostly before SQL 7.0 was
out of beta but published about the same time as all the others. I
found out that the book didn't even cover half of the eventual exam
objectives, and if I had taken a quick trip to Amazon.com for
reviews, I would have seen dozens of horrible reviews on it. So, I
wrote it off to experience, bought another book with good reviews,
and passed the next time.

I would also recommend strongly that if you are going to use a study
guide, get the MS Readiness Review as well. They're well worth it.
They are unique in that they provide sample questions from MS
directly, and you know you'll have sample questions for each exam
objective. They also take the time not just to tell you what the
right answers are, but WHY they're right and why the others are
wrong. That's not something you can get from all study guides, and
makes all the difference IMHO.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

scotty
MCSE+I

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "mmcgillis" <mmcgillis@inline.com>
To: "Frederik" <frederik@padjen.de>
Cc: <security-basics@securityfocus.com>
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 9:31 AM
Subject: Re: Certificates (MCSE,CCNA,...)

> The books only save you money if:
> -They cover all the need to know content
> -You have good reading comprehension
> -You have free time to study them
> I know a lot of people who go read the books and then fail the test
> 3-4 times. In this case, they may have been better off with the
> class. Classes are great because (you hope) the instructor has both
> realtime experience and experience with the test. If you use the
> instructor properly you get much more than a passed test out of the
> deal. I think cheaper methods for the most part depend on the
> individual.
> just my thoughts!
>
>
> On Thu, 7 Feb 2002, Frederik wrote:
>
> > Greetings earthlings,
> >
> > Following the discussion on certificates going on here, I myself
> > am in no doubt that they will help you on finding jobs
> > whatsoever.The question I have is: How can you obtain
> > certificates and probably save money?
> > I have talked to an admin at our company who is currently trying
> > to get an MCSE cert, and he told me when learning from the books
> > instead of attending courses you are able to save a lot of money
> > (only 1500-2000$ for an MCSE).Is anybody out there who knows how
> > much I would need to spend at least for certificates (any kind)
> > and give some hints on how to save money on obtaining them?
> > Especially links in Germany would be very helpful.
> >
> > Thanks in advance
> >
> > Frederik
> >
> >
>

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