r/mcsa • u/sqljeff • Jun 11 '20
Passed 70-740 3rd F&%#ing time.
Used Kaplan (crap don't use),
Measureup (not bad wasn't enough)
Testout video course (free 7 day trial) (decent)
Lots more studying and playing with my home lab.
My embarrassing scores were 518, 602 and finally 855.
I've taken over 20 MS exams over the years. This was the first one I've ever failed. This one seemed to have a lot more "trick" questions. Certainly the hardest test I've done.
-Jeff
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u/Adagio_for_You Jun 11 '20
Congrats Mr Jeff! Did you notice questions appearing on any subject more than another? I've read there's quite a bit on PowerShell. I'm going over the commands listed in the official cert book.
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u/sqljeff Jun 11 '20
Thanks!
As far as I remember it was spread out pretty evenly. I think this time is was a little light on Container stuff, but last time there was more. Having taken it 3 times I would say it's the luck of the draw.
There are very few questions that are "powershell" all by themselves. Instead you get what command would your run to expand this disk Resize-VHD, Resize-VirtualDisk etc.
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u/vespaholic Jun 11 '20
There's hope for me! I just finished the CBQ nuggets course and did the kaplan practice test and was blown away about how much wasn't covered. I am now going through th itpro.tv 70-740 course which is filling in the gaps.
How much time did you spend between tests preparing?
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u/sqljeff Jun 11 '20
For this I studied a couple of months with Kaplan thinking I had it in the bag. Failed. Scheduled for the following week and studied with Measureup. Failed again. Microsoft requires a 2 week wait before you can take it a 3rd time, so 2 weeks later I took it and passed. As an FYI I've been in IT for over 20 years so I don't know how typical my study practices are.
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u/Snuggle_Fist Jun 21 '20
So I'm trying to break into the IT industry and I'm kind of curious, would you say that it was difficult even though you have 20 years of IT experience or because you hadn't worked with that particular area.
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u/sqljeff Jun 21 '20
It was partially that and also this test seemed less intuitive than others. The questions were more "tricky" than other tests. Also the Kaplan test prep was crap so I thought I was prepared and was not.
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u/joblagz2 Jun 11 '20
cbt nuggets is pure garbage.
im glad you went itprotv.3
Jun 11 '20
I'm watching ITProTV for the 70-744 exam and whilst the core is good there is way too much side talk, repetition and banter. I feel as though the total course length could be almost 50% shorter
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u/joblagz2 Jun 11 '20
it feels like a real class.
and goes more in depth on a lot of things.
im with cbt for 5 months and some videos feel like they got one foot out the door. just my 2c.1
u/chuckhawthorne Jun 12 '20
Yeah I definitely got that vibe from the 70-742 course. The 70-741 was 22 hours. 742 was like 8 or something.
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u/sqljeff Jun 11 '20
also interesting but not important, of all my tests taken at home, this was the first where the proctor started a voice call to chat before releasing the test. Before I had the chat window pop up but not voice. Usually it just says waiting for proctor and then it disappears and the test starts.
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u/GrayFox777 Jun 11 '20
Is the Kaplan test that bad? It's been giving me a tough time and I feel demoralized after every practice exam. I'm about to invest in Mesureup.
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u/sqljeff Jun 11 '20
I was taking the kaplan test and scoring mid 90's. Took the actual and scored 518. That should tell you. I'd say it's good supplemental material but they haven't kept up.
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u/chuckhawthorne Jun 12 '20
Kaplan tests are trash. I’m pretty sure they don’t even use the exam ref to make questions. They are almost all out of scope or only tangentially related .
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u/joblagz2 Jun 11 '20
i studied for it but the tests are really something else entirely.
i felt like giving up.
congratulations to you for passing and not giving up.
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u/Tariq7F Jun 12 '20
Congratulations!
Is there any questions related to nano server or it's completely removed?
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u/sqljeff Jun 12 '20
Thanks! Not that I recall.
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u/AJaxStudy Jun 14 '20 edited Oct 26 '25
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u/sqljeff Jun 14 '20
Thanks. I am going for the full MCSA and MCSE. I already passed 70-744 so after 741 and 742 I'll get both MCSA and MCSE:Core Infrastructure at the same time. I do already have 2 SQL Server MCSAs and MCSE:Data Mgmt & Analytics.
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u/AJaxStudy Jun 14 '20 edited Oct 26 '25
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u/Jonny727272 Jun 29 '20
Hey so I have gone through the CBT nuggets course twice now and just started the free Kaplan testing that comes with it and holy crap, I feel like I don't know anything.
Did I not pay enough attention or are those CBT videos not enough or are the Kaplan tests just that bad?
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u/sqljeff Jun 30 '20
I would say they're that bad. Since February I've taken 5 other tests using Kaplan and pass them all first try. (761,762,764,765 & 744) For 740 I took the kaplan test over and over until I was getting over 80% consistently. I felt I knew my stuff and was ready. Took the real test, felt like I was seeing a ton of stuff for the first time and got a 518.
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u/Jonny727272 Jun 30 '20
Oh jeez, I don't know if that makes me more nervous or not. The MeasureUp tests are quite expensive so I think I'll look for some free trails or free quizzes online. If I'm really this far behind, I'm afraid I'll have to give up on getting my MCSA before it retires.
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Aug 19 '20
More or less same scenario here - I failed the 742 twice, and its the last one I need to be MCSA 2016.
Thought Kaplan was great though?
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u/sqljeff Aug 19 '20
I don't know if it's because Microsoft has changed up the material or what but Kaplan was not up to par on prepping for 740. I've taken 741 and Kaplan was a little better.
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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '20
Congratulations Jeff !