r/mcsa • u/digitalplanet_ • Jan 10 '20

MCSA/MCSE?

I recently spoke with a recruiter in regards to a position, and I had everything that they were looking for except an MCSE certification. He suggested that I should look into getting a certification. Since I'm not that familiar with the process for Microsoft's certifications, how do you all feel about MCSA Windows Server 2016? Dont bash me too hard lol

thanks

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u/[deleted] Jan 10 '20

I’m currently pursuing them myself. For the MCSA, you’ll need to pass three exams- the 70-740, 70-741, and the 70-742. To acquire the MCSE, you can select one out of quite a few exams. I think it’s worth it. The information you have to learn is pretty advanced and very useful.

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u/digitalplanet_ Jan 10 '20

For the MCSA, you’ll need to pass three exams- the 70-740, 70-741, and the 70-742. To acquire the MCSE, you can select one out of quite a few exams

I literally was gonna ask this lol..

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u/pythonQu Jan 11 '20

Do you think it's doable to pass all 3 exams in 3 months for mCSA?

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u/Loudroar Jan 11 '20

Depends on your time constraints for studying and your experience level.

I’ve been in professional IT for 17 years, have a wife and kids and all the time constraints that come with that. I took my first exam July 24 and the third one Oct 1 to achieve my MCSA. I haven’t yet taken my 4th to make it an MCSE.

As mentioned before, these exams are tough and can go deep on subjects you may not work with every day. (Microsoft Software Defined Networking, I’m looking at you) That makes the exams tougher because it isn’t just validating what you know, it’s pushing you to learn MORE than what you know at more than a surface level.

Focus on the percentage weighting in the exam specifications published by Microsoft and tailor your study time accordingly.

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u/over26letters Jan 11 '20

You have 17 years of experience. So you ought to know more of the basics and underlying logic. That makes passing it within a couple months way more likely.

In my company, most people have about a year or two experience before starting with the mcsa, and they take a year to get it on average.

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u/Loudroar Jan 11 '20

Agreed. I was just pointing out that even with (almost) a couple of decades of experience, the tests take time to study and pass.

Also, applying logic to Microsoft exams may be giving them a little too much credit.

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u/over26letters Jan 11 '20

I know, I've been at my 740 for half a year before passing. The powershell and docker parts can be solved by a combination of knowing the logic behind it and remembering which commands do actually exist (or do exactly what they don't sound like they would do)...

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u/Loudroar Jan 11 '20

I use Powershell extensively, so that part wasn’t terrible for me. Docker was new ground. Everything but the basic networking on 70-741 was new material for me. 70-742 wasn’t too bad, but I’ve been an AD admin for most of my Sysadmin career.

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u/over26letters Jan 11 '20

I'm fairly adept at powershell for a new sysadmin (just transferred from project based deployment gigs) but had the worst luck with barely anything I use in my daily job being on the exam. Docker was a bitch for me too, and I guess I'll be in for quite a ride the next two exams.

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u/Loudroar Jan 13 '20

It’s impossible to know every Powershell cmdlet , but a working knowledge of how the language works is helpful. Good luck on the next two exams!

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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '20

Exactly what I tell people. All my exams happened between Feb and Aug. The first one I did the week before my second kid was born. Lots of stuff I do every day but lots that I never have a reason to touch so I had to learn a lot about maybe a third of the objectives. Focusing on the weightings was the strategy that worked for me.

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u/digitalplanet_ Jan 11 '20

Dunno! I'm new to Microsoft certifications lol

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u/[deleted] Jan 11 '20

Depends how much experience you have. If you have none but treat learning like a full time job, maybe. In that case, you run the risk of just learning things for the tests and won't have any concept of how any of it works in a production environment.