70-462 Administrating Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases

Hi  all,

After being quite some time and studying for exam 70-462 I would like to tell you that I passed the exam on my first attempt.  I say first because I started studying while back and things at work prevented me to allocate more time during the week and I slacked over the weekends.  And before I ran out  of time to take advantage of free second shot promotion I said just cram for several weeks and take the exam and if failed schedule the second shot free and study harder.

I used the book from Microsoft Press to study and set up a lab environment.  I have to say it was a good book to use and helpful to learn the new features.  The CD has the sample exam to test your knowledge of the  material just covered in the book.  It also has the study mode as well.  The questions in the CD exam as far as I remember were close to real exam questions.  The exam tests the knowledge of the steps to execute to properly implement something as well as writing administrative type of T-SQL statements.

For somebody with no prior experience the book is not enough to pass the exam.  However, I have been  certified in SQL Server 2008 and working with SQL Server almost 7 years when I started the real exam I thought the questions were not as hard as I expected.

I definitely recommend everybody to study and take the exam since it shows an initiative on professional development.  I am sure we can argue about the credibility and if certification count for experience.  I think that it definitely does not count for the experience but just a reminder of one's professional development and willing to learn the product.

Regards,
Bulent

70-433 TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Database Development

Another period of time just passed very quickly and no blogs I was able to post. During that time I passed exam 70-433 TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Database Development and I got another certification under my belt.

So how did I prepare for the exam? I used this book and I think it's good book that covers the exam objectives. I have also used Transcender exam to prepare for the final week. I have to warn that you need to know the XML Query in SQL Server.

Good luck if you're preparing for this exam. Soon I will start preparing for 70-450: PRO: Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database Administrative Solution Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and if you have any tips for me please let me know.

HTH,

Bulent

Zemanta" style="border:none;float:right">

70-432 TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance

Hello all,

I have been pretty quite lately. There are many reasons for that. One of them is I was preparing for the 70-432 exam. I see a lot of questions in the net about the preparation and books. So I wanted to blog something around that.

Good news is I passed the exam and scored 833 out of 1000. It's not too high of a score but if you score 700 or above, you're certified.

Now the preparation part. I have used MS Press book by Mike Hotek. I like how each chapter is divided into lessons that are not too long to complete. From my experience standpoint the book pretty much covers the material in the exam. The study gave me a chance to look at the features of SQL Server that I don't use day in and day out. I have been working with SQL Server since 2005 including version 2000/2005/2008/2008 R2. I did pass the 2000 Admin and developer certifications back in 2007. At the time where I work we did not have anything but SQL Server 2000. Since then a lot changed. However I still wanted to grab a book and study. However I do think that this book is not just enough. The questions at the end of each chapter are quite easy so it may give you a false sense of confidence (at least for me it might have been). So I turned to practice exam by Transcender. When I started the practice exam it was a lot tougher than the questions in the book. Transcender exam practice really helped me tune more towards the exam format. I definitely recommend the exam practice since it also helps with the explanation of the answers for each question. I also kept the BOL (Books On Line) open.

So one exam is down and I am trying to decide which MS SQL Server certification exam will be the next. Let me know about your certification thoughts. By the way I don't work for Transcender.

Good day,

Bulent