Microsoft 072 Exams? Are they useful / worth anything?

Associate
Joined
2 Nov 2007
Posts
488
Hey Guys,

I was just having a look on the DreamSpark website and saw they were offering free 072 exams (https://www.dreamspark.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductId=24)

I have an internship over the summer working in the Infrastructure (focusing on virtualisation) division of a bank and was wondering:

a) Are these exams worth the paper they're written on?
b) If so, which / would any be useful for me to take in preparation for my internship
c) How much time should i expect to prepare for them?

I should probably mention i have no formal IT training. I have a reasonable (self taught) working knowledge of VMWare (workstation) and Windows Server (SBS 2003) administration (AD, DNS, DHCP etc)

Cheers
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Sep 2003
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5,319
Location
Adelaide, Australia
Definitely go for these! Reading up on the 72 exams it appears that they're exactly the same as the usual 70 exams, just for students so at a cheaper price.

Personally, I believe you'll get the most out of the following exams as they're the most versatile:

72-640 - Configuring AD
72-642 - Configuring Network
72-646 - Server 2k8 Admin

If you pass all 3 you'll be awarded your MCITP:Server 2008 Server Administrator. This is the 2008 equivalent of the MCSA, and is universally recognised. After these you can continue towards your MCITP:Server 2008 Enterprise Administrator, the MCSE 2008 equivalent by taking a further 3 exams, which is what I'm doing at present.

I've passed 640 and 642, and have my 646 next week. Each exam cost $180AU so if you can get them for free you're getting quite a saving!
 
Associate
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Preston, Lancs
IT certs are worth it regardless of what many people in the industry will tell you.

I normally find the ones who down talk them the most have few if any certs. And usually these people are sat on the 1st line tech support desk, bitter that younger and more ambitious techs are jumping on what they perceive to be their right to career progression.

Exams looks good on your CV, they will get you through the door for interview. Generally they teach you about 10% of real world situations and give you an understanding of what the really knowledgeable techs you meet are actually talking about.

So yes, in my opinion, go for it. :)
 
Associate
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Location
Dunbar
Definitely go for these! Reading up on the 72 exams it appears that they're exactly the same as the usual 70 exams, just for students so at a cheaper price.

Personally, I believe you'll get the most out of the following exams as they're the most versatile:

72-640 - Configuring AD
72-642 - Configuring Network
72-646 - Server 2k8 Admin

If you pass all 3 you'll be awarded your MCITP:Server 2008 Server Administrator. This is the 2008 equivalent of the MCSA, and is universally recognised. After these you can continue towards your MCITP:Server 2008 Enterprise Administrator, the MCSE 2008 equivalent by taking a further 3 exams, which is what I'm doing at present.

I've passed 640 and 642, and have my 646 next week. Each exam cost $180AU so if you can get them for free you're getting quite a saving!

Hi Trojan, Pretty much the route I'm going, any thoughts on this thread http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18258403 would be appreciated.

Sorry to hi-jack thread :D
 
Associate
OP
Joined
2 Nov 2007
Posts
488
Thanks for such a great response (especially Trojan - cheers. How did the exam go?)

I think ill try and start with:
72-640 - Configuring AD
which i can get for free and the following two at a discounted rate of GBP 42.00

I was just wondering, how long should i expect to take to prepare for these exams? The offer ends on June 30th - so hopefully less than a month?

Is it doable?

Cheers
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
20,929
They can look good on paper, but if you have experience already the exam is not going to teach you anything you either do not already know, know how to do better or will never use.

I've done managing and maintaining server and would not do another really 'just because'. If you can do it cheap and get some worth out of them go for it, it's never a bad thing.

As for preparation, depends on your experience already and/or how good you are at remembering what MS what you to say. I scan read the study book for my exam once, recovered a few key areas that required a little more time and passed easily.

My personal opinion is that passing an MS exam is not going to arm you with what you need to walk into a production environment and work away having had no previous experience. You are certainly in a better starting position for having done them however.
 
Associate
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Certs are definately worth it in my opinion.

I've been studying for the 70-680 (Windows 7 configuring) exam and what I have learnt from studies has no doubt assisted me in being better in my role at work, aswell as teaching me a fair new tricks. So I would agree that having them hand in hand with experience is kind of the best way.

I've also made use of one of those Dreamspark voucher codes too and actually have my exam in the morning :D.
 
Caporegime
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West Yorks
certs are only worth if if your prospective employer thinks so.

Some employers love them, think they are the foundation of any good IT professional and indicate that your dedicated, enthusiastic and hard working.

Others see them as all that's wrong with the IT world, symbolising the idiots who get qualifications after seeing it advertised on the telly, that they too can earn up to 50k a year, and despite having lots of letters on their CV, have no idea how to actually do the job because they only know microsofts way, which can be quite often nothing to do with how things are done in the real world.

The best IT professional, is one with lots of letters after their name, and a really good understanding of the real world. Theres no telling which group your prospective employer might fall into. Our local council for example, refuse to even reply to your CV unless you have an MCSA. Its a key requirement. Whereas some of the primary care trusts in the NHS couldn't give a damn about MCSAs. So all you can do is get as much of both as you can, and not attempt to rely solely on one or the other.

Best example of the difference between the microsoft world and the real world was an experience i had last week. And finding out that when microsoft says you need a tool to push printers onto windows XP clients using server 2008 group policies, that the tool that they tell you to use may quite possibly designed to run on 64bit only systems, because of course, microsoft recommends you run windows xp x64, so you run it through your entire business, don't you ? ;)

There is of course a 32 bit version of pushprinters available, but the relevant KB articles say just to grab it from your server 2008 install, completely negating to mention that version is 64 bit only !
 
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Associate
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295
Location
Munich, Germany
The best IT professional, is one with lots of letters after their name, and a really good understanding of the real world. Theres no telling which group your prospective employer might fall into. Our local council for example, refuse to even reply to your CV unless you have an MCSA. Its a key requirement. Whereas some of the primary care trusts in the NHS couldn't give a damn about MCSAs. So all you can do is get as much of both as you can, and not attempt to rely solely on one or the other.

FFS, Working for a local council IMO, would count as EPIC FAIL in the world of Computing careers. I would have toned down the comment MRLOL, but............. I cant and my advice still stands, EPIC FAIL 50K.
Learn to program computers, eg, assembler, C, C++ especially on an embedded system: ARM, OMAP and microprocessor architecture. Actually its all there in an ebay BBC micro or any 8 bit computer.
Then you will earn a lot more than 50k.............................................

But you need at least a Masters degree as well in a hard subject.
 
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Ev0

Ev0

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
14,152
Sadly they don't do a BSc in say SQL 2008 maintenance :p

You can't really compare a vocational, specific technology certification to a degree.

I'm not knocking a degree, or opening that can of worms here, but they are just different to technical certs.

I have both, although with only the 1 ms cert as personally I couldn't really care about them.

I've no doubt that the degree whilst helping was probably bottom of the list of importance when getting my current job, and also my new job that starts in a couple of weeks.
 
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Associate
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Munich, Germany
Sadly they don't do a BSc in say SQL 2008 maintenance :p

You can't really compare a vocational, specific technology certification to a degree, that's just silly :)

My advice still stands,, for what it is worth; get a degree and a MSC/PHD. Learn to program....................................... I cant SHOUT it enough:

LEARN TO PROGRAM.

There is an EXPLOSION, in communications systems, your computer in your pocket; mobile phone.

The big players, will pay big bucks for those that can contribute.
 
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Soldato
Joined
10 Mar 2003
Posts
6,743
Then stick your worthless MS cert on the wall, and precisely as discussed; you might, if you are "lucky", get a "worthless" job, in a "worthless" council, counting beans for other bean counters.

Worthless? Just because you want to be a programmer doesn't suggest everyone does and when your PC goes **** up, the networks down, you can't upload your code to TFS, etc. then who do you call? Oh no-one because everyones a programmer.

The great thing about IT is that there are lots of different areas for different people. Programming, for me, is very, very laborious. Going over the same lines of code again and again trying to find a mistake coupled with the fact that I can only do enough to get by means I don't want a job in that area.

Microsoft certs are not worthless. They have gotten me interviews for which I've gotten jobs. Some employers won't actually interview you without the certs.

I also don't work in a council. But in a global corporation.



M.
 
Associate
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I also don't work in a council. But in a global corporation.
M.

Global Corporation.........................ROFLMAO.

All your servers and "experts" are being outsourced to Bangalore. IT is just button pressing. Real skill comes in programming, designing architecture and systems.
That is why in the global corporation, I do business with (note: not work for), pays buckets of cash for 21 year old c/c++ linux gurus, who turn up for work, half stoned, at 1pm and bash a keyboard for 100 euro an hour. None of them have a certificate, but they all have Phds in real tough subjects such as Maths/Physics etc.

Show me an "IT" expert with a Phd in Maths/Physics.???????????????
 
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