Beginning July 1st the cost of most Microsoft exams (essentially all MCP exams) in the United States will rise from the current price of $125 to $150. The prices will NOT be increasing for the MCM, MCA, MTA, or MOS (Master, Architect, Technology Associated, and Office Specialist respectively) exams. It’s been a while since the prices were last raised and it’s probably due, Microsoft exams have been amongst the cheapest in cost for several years. The prices for student exams will also go up, however student discounts (usually 40%) will still be in place. Additionally the discount structure for MCTs will also change, the exams price will go up but the previous structure will be replaced with a flat 50% off. Continue reading ‘Cost of Microsoft certifications increasing’
Archive for the ‘Certifications & Training’ Category
Test Taking Skills
There is a great post over on the Born to learn blog about choosing the ‘most correct’ answer on exams. Specifically the author is addressing the sometimes confusing multiple-choice type questions often found on PRO level Microsoft certifications. These are often preceded by a lengthy scenario describing some type of business requirements, of which some or none may be relevant to the actual question at hand. For someone taking their first PRO level Microsoft certification exam this can be quite stressful. I remember taking the 70-646 MCITP: System Administrator exam and having covered both sides of my two pieces of note paper only 5 or 6 questions in. I firmly believe that the path to successfully passing ANY exam is about 33% knowing the material, 33% exam preparation and about 33% test taking skills. If you figure Continue reading ‘Test Taking Skills’
Lync 2010 beta cancellation
Has anyone else noticed that their registration for 71-665 has been cancelled by Prometric? Earlier this morning (around 10:30 AM EST) I received an email from Prometric stating that my “testing appointment scheduled with Prometric had to be cancelled due to technical issues. Microsoft is aware of the issue and are currently in the process of resolving this matter.” The email goes on to say that beginning January 5th I can re-register for the exam. At the time I received the email Prometric was still showing my exam as scheduled. However I just re-checked the website (3:30 PM EST) and found that it now shows as “cancelled” Continue reading ‘Lync 2010 beta cancellation’
VCP4 Certified!
This past Friday, after a bit of delay, I took and passed the VMware Certified Professional (VCP) 4 exam. VCP certification has been a goal of mine for a while but until now hadn’t been possible. VCP is one of the only ’common’ IT certifications that I’m aware of that you’re required to attend a class for. For any other IT certification it doesn’t matter how you study or prepare, as long as you can take the exam and pass it – you gain the certification. With the VCP you’re welcome to sit for the VCP exam without attending one of the classes but you’re not awarded the actual certification until you complete the class. Continue reading ‘VCP4 Certified!’
Certifications and Experience
My background in IT comes from several years of general helpdesk / break fix and system administrator experience. My most senior position has been as a Sr Network Engineer jockeying routers and ap’s all day long. I usually tried to spend as little time in front of a Windows server as possible – and my exposure was usually related to on call incidents and hardware problems. So it’s a bit ironic I find myself as a systems analyst specializing in web technology. I’m now knee deep in Windows server, IIS, .Net, SQL and some strange thing called SharePoint (or maybe it’s MOSS.)
Continue reading ‘Certifications and Experience’