MCSE/MCITP self study material

[close001]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to get my hands on some of the self study books, just wondering if some one has any that they want to get rid of before I buy brand new.

Cheers.

[Knight Of Nih]

if you look hard enough there is pdf versions around.
if you want hard copys amazon is your best buy.
i would suggest the mcitp ea back containing the 70-640,642,643,647 books + win7 70-680.

i also recommend the cbt videos.

[close001]

Yeah, I'm after hard copies, had a look at the uni book store, $110 a book :O Did see them on Amazon, was just wondering if any one had copies that they no longer required, and wanted to offload.

[jimmy]

the MS self study books are crap imo. unleashed books are ok - they have a bit of narrative and are more interesting to read.

cbt nuggets + technet + mvp/community blogs and labs are the only way to get a real handle on the products.

[Knight Of Nih]

i dont like the unleashed books, they go far too much in depth about topics. its already touch enough for someone to learn this stuff for the exam let alone learning extra. that and there brain dead boring. the pracs in the MS books are very worth going through also.

[jimmy]

I would say the complete opposite. Unleashed have narrative and explain why things are done, how things have evolved etc. MS press book are dry and too tech focused.

I guess the question is, are we trying to learn how to pass an exam? or do want to actually know about the products and be a useful sys admin?

If its 1) braindumps are your friend. if its 2) you should be learning the in depth stuff...

[close001]

What do you guys think about the seek.com.au online training? some ones offered me one of these with MCSE, MCITP, CCNA, and a few other courses, for much cheaper then the normal $5k price tag..

[Knight Of Nih]

its crap , there just giving you the information online that you can buy in the book store or source from the internet.
dont bog yourself down with wanting to take on several qualifications. do 1 exam at a time because in my experience each exam takes 2-3 months to study.

[jimmy]

Don't. Pay. For. Instructor. Lead. Courses. They're the biggest rip in history.

If you work for a company that is willing to put you on some training, then O.k. Even then, I find them mostly a big waste of time and the instructors are usually teaching you how to pass the exam, not how to use the technology .For MS/Cisco I wouldn't bother with paid training. VMware/NetApp/etc are the exceptions - they have the prerequisite of attending training to become certified. The only time I would suggest attending training for Microsoft, is if it is run by Microsoft themselves and that is usually only for MS Partners to attend

Self study is the most effective (and cost effective) method of learning. Even when you pay for courses/online training etc. you have to study yourself. You're just paying someone thousands of dollars for the privilege of studying yourself.

My recommended (and proven) approach would be to get a vmworkstation/vmware/hyper-v box that you can run up some labs on. Get your hands on the CBT Nuggets for whatever tech you're doing. These are always a good place to start because they explain the fundamentals. Run through the videos and build lots of labs. Once you have a good handle on the tech, refer to Technet/MVP/community blogs for more advanced info.
Get your hands on some pdf's on some text books *if* you need them. I personally find reading through a big textbook a waste time and consistently find them to have incorrect information. Although as I said previously, I don't mind the Unleashed books. I usually use these when I'm learning a brand new tech that I have no understanding of.

When you're getting close to sitting an exam, have a skim over some Testkings. I don't condone brain dumping but they're a good study aid and will prepare you for the types of questions you're likely to be asked. They will also highlight the areas of knowledge that need improving.

FYI I'm a MS Consultant w/ MCSE/MCITP in Server, Exchange, Lync and SQL and all of these were achieved with the above self-study methods. If you have any questions during your studies feel free to hit me up.

[jimmy]

its crap , there just giving you the information online that you can buy in the book store or source from the internet.
dont bog yourself down with wanting to take on several qualifications. do 1 exam at a time because in my experience each exam takes 2-3 months to study.

Knight is 100% correct. Pick a single exam and study for it. When you've completed that one, then look to the next one.

[morge]

Disagree on the instructor lead training but it does depend on the trainer/organization.
It does depend on your base knowledge level however.
I had a very good knowledge of hardware and fundamental OS (due to working with a lot of embedded systems and highly tuned desktop systems), however I didn't really know where to start with active directory and Group policy.
Started with CBT nuggets but it was the initial server 2003 training I took with dimension data that gave me a big kick in the right direction.
Once I got that basic training everything I do now is combination of CBT nuggets and on-line MS training you get a couple of causes included with Technet.

[morge]

Although the should mention I'm the only IT admin at my organization so there was no really opportunity for me to learn the basics of AD and GP from a senior admin.

[jimmy]

I knew very little about AD before I started my CBT nuggets. That was my "big kick". I guess its fair to say the learning process is a very individual thing and different approaches will suit some better than others.

I would place extreme caution on any paid IT based training, mainly because there are a lot of spams and scams out there. When you consider most of the courses last four or five days, and only really teach you the basics/how to pass the exam, 5k is a lot of money to spend for an individual. For an organisation that wants to upskill their employees quickly, it might be an ok approach.

Ultimately all it is going to give you is a piece of paper. Its also a piece of paper that a lot of people don't hold in the highest regard. For this reason I would be recommending you invest time in really learning the products and not just passing the exams. That way when you land a job interview and people ask you a question, you can answer it Something that training institutions pedal is the idea you will get a job once you have an MCSE/MCITP/CCNA/A+ etc. You won't. It's going to be all about your knowledge, work/project experience and your soft skills/personality. From a recruiters p.o.v, certs are really just a method of filtering candidates when you're shuffling through 100 CVs.

[Knight Of Nih]

My recommended (and proven) approach would be to get a vmworkstation/vmware/hyper-v box that you can run up some labs on. Get your hands on the CBT Nuggets for whatever tech you're doing. These are always a good place to start because they explain the fundamentals. Run through the videos and build lots of labs. Once you have a good handle on the tech, refer to Technet/MVP/community blogs for more advanced info.
Get your hands on some pdf's on some text books *if* you need them. I personally find reading through a big textbook a waste time and consistently find them to have incorrect information. Although as I said previously, I don't mind the Unleashed books. I usually use these when I'm learning a brand new tech that I have no understanding of.

When you're getting close to sitting an exam, have a skim over some Testkings. I don't condone brain dumping but they're a good study aid and will prepare you for the types of questions you're likely to be asked. They will also highlight the areas of knowledge that need improving.

totally agree and follow this method also. cbt videos are easier to get through and a great overview, use the book for your practical examples and for further reading on weak topics. im emphasis to do the pracs they are very very important. do some tests using old questions, dont use dumps as you will end up relying on them and not learning the required info.

[close001]

hrm, didnt think thered be so much hate on the seek training course. I just got offered one for cheap (~$500) so thought it might be a decent way to go.. Just checking out the CBT vids now. I'm just wanting to get back into IT after being out of it for a while. Win7 came out since i havnt worked in IT, and whilst ive had it on my home PC, i havnt learnt all that much about it..