Took 290 and passed

I’ve been working on some MCP exams since I started my latest job. I studied for a while when I took 70-270 which is Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional and I was quite prepared for it. I also took 70-271 which is Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Microsoft Windows XP Operating System just because I figured it was close to 270 and I get a raise for having any MCP pretty much. I also passed 271. Now came 70-290, Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment, which I also studied for and thought I was prepared for. When I took the test though, it was pretty tough. One different thing about this exam was there were some questions as simulations. This means they give you a simulated computer desktop and you have to configure it to achieve the desired result. I didn’t find them too difficult but the exam as a whole had things I had never done and some I hadn’t even read about. I just chose the answers that seemed to be the correct choice and apparently I was correct enough to pass!

Reall, I was quite surprized to see a Congratulations screen at the end of the test. I’m not upset that I passed of course but I feel I don’t know enough yet based on the questions I was asked to really deserve the title. This is what annoys me about certifications. Just possessing a piece of paper doesn’t show that you know how to actually do what the exam was about — it only shows you can pass a test. People say they know this but it was certainly a requirement for a lot of jobs I applied for and received no response from when I had no certifications.

So my plan is to keep learning about Server 2003 and take 70-291, Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure, sometime in the next several months. Work should be getting a bit more hectic soon so I won’t have as much time to study as I have. Feels weird studying for 2003 when Longhorn is just around the corner but hopefully I’ll get my Server 2003 MCSE and start to learn Longhorn and eventually upgrade. Until then it’s the 2003 MCSE track for me.