How many MCSE's out there?

[RAB]

Well, its finally happened. I just got laid off from my job of nearly nine years in a "corporate downsizing". But don't worry about it, its probably the best thing that could happen and has given me a golden opportunity.

I was fortunate enough to work for ABN Amro Bank here in the U.S. (You Dutch guys should know the bank) and their severance package is very generous basically allowing me to take off enough time (at full pay) to get my MCSE certification. So my question is this. How many of you are certified and how long did it take you to complete the course you needed?

I'd like to get some stories about how you guys got though it.

Thanks,

RAB

[This message has been edited by RAB (edited 07 April 2000).]

[Gurm]

Step 1: Downloadd books (not entirely legal, as you might imagine).

Step 2: Read books, destroy multiple machines practicing.

Step 3: Sign up for test. Take test. Pass test.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[This message has been edited by Gurm (edited 07 April 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Gurm (edited 07 April 2000).]

[Bixler]

You've got the right attitude, man!

If you know how to make these infernal machines *really* work...you'll be fine.

I got confidence in ya, guy.

PLEASE keep us posted on your progress...MCSE has been attained by lesser than ye...I keep several of them going, and I haven't got a clue (or an inkling).

[Helevitia]

Rab,

It will take you about 6 months or so if you've got the time and the energy. If you are really serious let me know and I'll send you Microsoft's official MCSE training. If you really want an opinion, don't get the MCSE but get a CCNA(Cisco's Certified Network Administrator) or CCIE(Cisco's Certified Internetworking Expert). The former is much easier to get but the latter is worth much more in the long run and is extemely hard to get since you have to pass a written exam and then take a 2 day lab. Anyway, whatever you decide to do, it's all good. Here are a couple of sites for you to look at and don't forget to let me know if you want the books. They also come with interactive CD's as well.

http://www.cramsession.com

This site has some cool info and don't forget to sign up for the free daily questions they email to you.

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/10/wwtraining/

CCIE and CCNA info

http://www.microsoft.com/mcp/mktg/mcse.htm?RLD=54

MCSE, MCP and others.

Good Luck!

Dave

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I can never think of a good signature...~

[Jammrock]

A lot of it depends on how much you used Windows NT 4.0 in your previous job. If you have been using NT Workstation for 2-3 years and have used NT server before, you can probably get away with 2 or 3 test by reading an Exam Cram and taking some practice tests.

I have not started my MCSE yet due to financial reasons, but I know a lot of people who have. I have taken 2 other certifaction tests and passed them with flying colors, so I know at least something about the subject. Here is a run down on some of the more common tests to take, and what other people have said:

NT Workstation: If you have at least a year experience in installing, configuring, using and administrating it then this test should be rather easy. Get a book, read it, take practice tests, test and you get your MCP right away.

NT Server: From what I hear, it is Workstation with a few more networking and domain user questions. Not much harder than Workstation, get a book, play with it for a while, test, half way done with the core.

NT in the Enterprise: I hear this test is big ol' bitch to pass. If you can afford a class at a local community college or training center, you might want to take a class. Then read a book, take lots of practice exams, test and pass.

Network Essentials: Memorize the 7 layer OSI model, netowrk hardware types and LAN topologies and your pretty much there. I hear this is probably the easiest one to take. Read a book and take a few practice exams.

TCP/IP: Everyone seems to take this test, eventhough it is supposed to be one of the hardest. Lots of memorization is involoved in this, but studying a good book or two and taking a lot of practice exams should get you by.

IIS 4: A lot of people take this test because it gets them 2-3 tests away from the MCSE+I. Definately need some hands on with ths one. A class would be nice for this.

I am hopefully going to start taking the tests soon, so I can tell you more about them later. One of the keys for any certification is taking practice tests. You have no idea how much they help. The other thing that will help even more is hands on. Get the OS's, install them, setup domain controlled networks, run it all to the ground and then fix it.

Good luck!

Jammrock

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Athlon 650, Biostar board, 128 MB PC133 (Crucial), G400 32 MB DH, SB Live! w/ Digital I/O, 10/100 NIC, lots of case fans, etc...

[RAB]

Thanks guys. I've found a school nearby that will give me all the classes to pass the six tests for $2500. Pretty expensive, but if I'm going to do it in six months then I thought that would be the best way. It comes with textbooks, so thanks Dave but I won't need your kind offer. I've tried the practice exams for A+ Certification and I'm scoring about 75% to 80% so I'll try that test first without a class. Its about half Win 3.1 and its been years since I've used that.

The bank I worked for used an NT workstation / Novell server environment which was set up to keep prying minds like mine from screwing things up (or learning much either). But I was the office computer geek even though that was not my "real" job. I was a financial analyst full time and computer god part time.

Since I've been involved with the office LAN in one way or the other for about six years, I think I can understand everything a little more easily than most of the people in my class. But I've still got a lot to learn.

Jammrock, I think I'll take the MCSE first and then either CNE or the Cisco route next. Along the way, I'll try to teach myself webmastering. That ought to keep me busy.

RAB

[This message has been edited by RAB (edited 07 April 2000).]

[R-u-Ready]

Rab,

I took the A+ certification and it was soooo easy!! after seeing a lot your posts I would guess that you will have no problem whatsoever in getting that certification. I kinda got luck too a week after I took the exam I had a job...I work in wide area networks. Its not as good as having an MCSE or CCNA but it is something to put on the ol resume. GOOD LUCK!

[Jorden]

Hiya Rab,

This Dutch guy does know ABN Amro

And I'm starting my study MCSE in May, Windows Core Essentials first, Windows 98 Essentials as second. It's a home-study I got, so I don't know how long it will take, but a guess would be about 4 months for those 2.



Jord.

[RAB]

R-u-Ready,
I keep missing the questions about the hidden system files for Win 3.1, but I keep practicing. I know I only need a 67% to pass, but 75% is still too close for comfort. I'll practice until I can consistantly get an 85% and then take the A+.

Jord,
Well its nice to see I'll have a fellow traveler on the trail to MCSE. My classes start on Monday and start with NT Server and Network Admin. It doesn't look too difficult - its just an overwhelming amount of material.

RAB

[Helevitia]

Rab,

How old are you dude? Do you still live on the East Coast?

btw-I too have my A+ and based on the answers I've seen you give to help others, you should have no probs passing the test.

Dave

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I can never think of a good signature...~

[RAB]

Dave,
I'm one of the old guys here. I'm, shall we say, in my late 40's. But I don't think that will hurt too much. I'll probably be the oldest guy in my class, but that's alright. I live near Atlanta.

Thanks for the encouragement about the A+ exam. I think I can pass it without too much trouble. But I'm really taking it because all the computer people I've talked to have said that they have hired new MCSE's without A+ and they just don't have the hardware knowledge they need to handle everyday problems like installing a new video card. So I hope it will enhance my employability when I finish the MCSE.

RAB

[billko]

I don't care too much for paper.... just show me that you know what you're doing. If you take your MSCE, please make sure you take it to learn as much as you can, not to just get some piece of paper that doesn't mean anything. I implore you. There are too many "paper tigers" out there that don't know what the hell they are doing.

Case in point:

There's someone I know who is A+, MSCE, CNE, and I had to tell him that you can't copy things to a floppy disk if it's write protected. I had him work on a Pentium Pro, putting the processor in. For those of you who don't know what one looks like, it's rectangular, and if you bisected it along it's short axis, one side has a different pin arrangement than the other. I could see a rookie trying to place it in backwards, where the pin patterns didn't match, but he tried to put it in cross-wise in the socket! Commone sense would tell you to at least put it in line up in the same direction as the socket. And when it didn't fit, he tried to cram it in! I just grabbed it away from him before he could do any harm and told him to go do some paperwork. Other stories from other techs that work with him suggest I'm not unfairly judging him. One tech told me he had to show this guy which part was the floppy drive and which was the hard drive.

Moral of the story... PLEASE don't be a paper tiger. Study the hard way. Use the study guides only to help you prepare. Don't swear by it. I don't want to work alongside another paper idiot.

Bill

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People call me a computer god; I remind them that I am merely a minor deity...

[Jorden]

Don't be frightened I don't know the difference between a floppy drive and a harddrive, bilko. I might screw up my system now and again by forgetting a crucial reboot after partitioning with fdisk, but that's just me, and it helps starting with a clean system

I won't say I know it all, but I will say I know something of the insides of my PC. And whoever says he knows exactly what's going on inside his PC is lying as well, for who knows exactly what goes on on the microscopical level inside his CPU??

LOL, Jord.

[This message has been edited by Jorden (edited 08 April 2000).]

[RAB]

I didn't mean to imply that all I was after was a piece of paper, Billko. I've been around this stuff long enough to know that the only way to install a Pentium Pro is to place it in the trash can diagonally and get a new motherboard and processor. Seriously, the paper is only to give na indication that I know a little about the hardware as well as the network setup.

A case in point. At my former employer, the tech help desk was staffed by some quite capable MCSE's who knew a lot more about the network than I did. But when I mentioned that the next time I had the cover off my computer that I was going to find the multiplier jumper and overclock my P233 into a P300, I was asked "what are you talking about, what do you mean by overclocking?" Another time I said that I wanted to load Quake and they said "what's that?" I also reported that my video was corrupting at 1024x768 and they didn't know how to fix it. In fact, this same problem affected over a hundred computers they bought and they never fixed it. I downloaded new drivers and fixed my problem in ten minutes. Their way to fix it was to tell people to run at 640x480 at 60hz refresh rate.

So I know what you mean. There are quite a few MSCE's out there that are clueless about what really happens in the real world of computers. They only do what they are told to do. I promise I will not just get the paper. I will know what I'm doing.

RAB

[Rick]

Out of interest, which MSCE track are you all working on? The existing NT4 or the newer 2000 track. I'm trying to decide whether or not to do the NT4 track and then take the upgrade exam or to wait and do the newer exam. Any opinions?

Since we're swaping tech stories. I work in a organization where we've just combined 5 separate areas into a huge company. Some of the tech guys have been lacking. 3 software guys come out for a problem and 2 just watch. We needed a cable capped and they "couldn't" do it since they were "software".
Rab like you I'm the resident tech guy. We had a new network printer installed but the tech couldn't get the banner pages working. With 30 computers printing to it, it's kinda important. So with the admin password given by one of our kind tech support honchos I went hunting. Select printer, properties, separator page, correct file. Press ok 3-4 times and reboot. Kinda makes you wonder.
Good luck with the MSCE

Rick