Last week my company launched a certification challenge. Yes, they would be rewarding employees who passed certification exams, but they also asked if I would be able to teach a class. My pleasure... but before I teach it, I'd like to pass the exam. I decided that the best way to light a fire under … Continue reading Azure Fundamentals
I have a spreadsheet that I keep in my OneDrive that tracks the certification exams I have taken. Over the years (starting in December, 2011) I have written a great many of them, Mostly for Microsoft but also a few VMware exams sprinkled in there. Much has changed since I wrote my first exam (which, … Continue reading Golden Exam?
I was definitely a proponent of expiring certifications when the topic came up. Why? Because my value as an MCSE was diminished by others who held the same title… from Windows NT. By making professionals renew their certifications we obtained the ability to differentiate between someone with current value and skills and knowledge and someone … Continue reading To Recertify, or NOT to Recertify… THAT is the question.
Although it is not something I am proud of, I have failed a number (the exact number is quite secret!) of certification exams. I am not proud of this fact, but the reality is I have taken a number of exams that I have been unprepared for, and that is a sure-fire way to come … Continue reading Certification Exams: Is there a value to failing?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how tough I found Exam 74-409 was in my article Another Tough Exam. I also mentioned that Microsoft exams were meant to be tough, and going into an exam unprepared can (and usually will) come back to bite you. Last week I decided to bite the bullet … Continue reading The Harsh Realities of the Exam Room
I often tell people who are worried about taking Microsoft exams for fear of failing that I have failed more exams than most people have ever taken – to date over twenty failures, including one miserable exam that I only passed on my fourth attempt. Don’t worry, I do pass more than I fail. Something … Continue reading Does Microsoft Learning listen?
This is one of those situations I laugh at… because even great organizations like Microsoft Learning Experience is going to make the occasional mistake.. especially when it’s systems are all automated and unmonitored. I received the following e-mail today congratulating me on passing my exam yesterday: I was reasonably sure that I already had that … Continue reading Gee thanks…
I maintain a spreadsheet of every certification exam I take – pass or fail. Excluding the title line it currently consists of seventy (70) rows, dating back to my first failed exam in December of 2001. I don’t remember when I started maintaining it, but it goes back a while, and consists of the following … Continue reading Certification Planning
As a subject matter expert (SME) on virtualization, I was neither excited nor intimidated when Microsoft announced their new exam, 74-409: Server Virtualization with Windows Server Hyper-V and System Center. Unlike many previous exams I did not rush out to be the first to take it, nor was I going to wait forever. I actually … Continue reading Another tough exam…
Why do I say Just in Time? Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 exams are coming out soon, and there’s a good chance that you may still have to write a few exams to earn your MCSE! I don’t know if they are THE most popular promotions that Microsoft Learning offers, but if they are … Continue reading Just in time… Second Shot Exams Are Back!
This morning before I started teaching I came into the training centre early to sit an exam. It is not the ideal way to take exams – I showed up at 7:30, knowing I had to start teaching at 9:00 – but sometimes it is the only way that you can make it work, and … Continue reading MCSE Private Cloud… Not easy, but valuable!
I am excited about this. Tomorrow (Tuesday, April 3rd) I will be the guest on Microsoft Learning’s Tweet Chat. The topic will be what IT professionals should be doing to ensure they stay relevant in this day and age where so much of what we see in the IT industry is heading into the clouds. … Continue reading Tweet Chat – Cloud-proofing your IT career
I was so excited in 2003 when I passed my first certification exam and became a Microsoft Certified Professional. I immediately went out and printed new business cards with my new MCP logo, quit my (reasonably low-paying) job, and decided to make my own way as an independent computer consultant. It was, up to that … Continue reading Wow that certification exam was TOUGH!
I don't mind deadlines; they are great for enforcing discipline for tasks that I have to get done in order to get paid. However when it comes to taking certification exams I hate them. I do not like studying, and even though I have taken myriad of exams they are usually on technologies that I … Continue reading Under the Wire Revisited… Another exam deadline leads to success!
Yesterday a gentleman named Cameron wrote a very insightful response to an article I write back in July (Certifications Alone do not Make the Pro, July 20, 2011). He points out that as he has been in IT for 26 years, he actually pre-dates most certifications. Please read his comment, but this is my response. … Continue reading A response to a recent blog response
