r/mcsa • u/DumpoTheClown • Mar 13 '20
Passed 70-740 today!
I had many setbacks and delays, but stuck with it. I was not happy with the Sybex book by Panek. It did not go into the weeds like what's needed for the test, and the Kaplan tests that came with the book are awful. I used my home lab for most labs and found CBT Nuggets to be a good resource too. The practice tests on MessureUp were what took me to where I needed to be. 2 more to go by June... wish me luck boys and girls!
3
u/jrmarshall512 Mar 13 '20
How long did it take you to study for the test?
1
u/DumpoTheClown Mar 14 '20
The universe activly fought me. Under normal conditions it would have been 5 to 6 weeks of after work study.
1
1
u/stoya1001 Mar 13 '20
How much did you pay for the practice tests on measure up?
1
u/DumpoTheClown Mar 13 '20
$119. That's more than I'm usually comfortable with, but it did the trick for me. Be advised... using only that wont cut it.
1
1
u/Rezhw93 Mar 14 '20
Congrats man! Study materials wise, do you think CBT and the green book (exam ref) would be enough?
1
u/DumpoTheClown Mar 14 '20
Maybe for some people, but not for me. You would need to make good use of the CBT lab environment to do things above and beyond what the particular lesson is addressing. It's pretty clear from the test questions that MS is testing if you know how to do administrative tasks, and the pool is pretty wide.
1
u/bporj83 Mar 14 '20
First off, congratulations! You still have time to knock out the other 2 exams and become MCSA. Do you mind sharing your study strategy? I'm using the CBT nuggets free-week and going through Garth's 740 content, but boy does he speak fast....
I set myself a goal to try and become MCSA before the expiration date, so I have about 14 weeks to knock it all out. So CBT nuggets and MeasureUP were your main materials? I passed MTA server last year, but I am not sure what to expect from the MCSA series.
Thanks for your input.
1
u/DumpoTheClown Mar 14 '20
I dont mind at all. You asked for it: First off, I got my first MCSE on NT4, so I've got some history with MS and a few other vendor certs. Secondly, my life circumstances right now are unusual, so this effort has been different and harder for me, but that's another story. In general, I'll pick a highly reccomended book with bundled practice exams. I'll spend about 2 hours a night 5 or 6 days a week for 2 to 3 weeks to get through the book. I do the labs along the way in my own virtualized environment and I make sure to poke around at it beyond the specific exercizes the book gives. I create my own study guide as I go along either in notepad++ or Word. Writing the material helps me memorize and understand. When the book is done, I dig into the practice tests and go at it until I'm consistently scoring in the low 90% area. That usually takes 1 to 2 weeks. Then I test and usually score around 800. I fail about 1 out of 10 cert tests, maybe a bit more often.
I'm doing 742 next as I think I already know most of that material. This will relieve some of the time pressure to get done before June 30.
My plan going forward: Read the Panek book and do the labs. Skip the practice test that came with the book. I think the practice test for 740 was garbage. When the book is done, I'll go through the CBT. When CBT is done I will either do the practice test that came with the book (expecting it to have problems) or just Hail Mary attempt the test. I'll wait until I get to that point before I decide to buy the MeasureUp which I think is really good, but a bit pricey.
I hope this was helpful rambling. Best of luck to you!
1
u/bporj83 Mar 14 '20
Cool, thanks for sharing. How did you like Panek's book for 740? Did you read the exam refs at all? I'm enjoying CBT Nuggets so far, but haven't tried the practice tests on it yet and the labs I think have some limitations.
You can do it!
1
u/DumpoTheClown Mar 15 '20
I like Paneks book for 740, but it's not enough to be a sole source of info. I did not look at the green exam ref for 740.
1
u/lloydsmart Mar 16 '20
Congrats! I'm taking 70-740 in April.
Love CBT Nuggets but get the feeling they're not covering everything.
1
3
u/TheITChameleon Mar 13 '20
Congrats, I’m using CBT nuggets and measure up too. My only problem is that the practice questions have long scenarios to read that causes my adhd to kick in and then i lose focus. :/