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Sunday, August 15, 2010 2:03 PM
Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Database Administrator 2008
I’ve now passed both Microsoft certification exams for the MCITP: Database Administrator 2008 :
- Exam 70-451: PRO: Designing Database Solutions and Data Access Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008
- Exam 70-432: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Installation and Maintenance
As preparation for the 70-432 exam I got the following books:
I read all the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit and actually enjoyed it (as much as you can enjoy reading a technical book – but it wasn’t as painful as Gallbladder surgery!) – I have to agree with some of the comments on Amazon that there are a few mistakes, but who hasn’t released code/documentation that didn’t need a few tweaks after it was released?
I have to make a special mention of SQL Server 2008 Administration: Real-World Skills for MCITP Certification and Beyond (Exams 70-432 and 70-450)
- it’s the only book I found that covers the 70-450 exam!!! In the appendix, there is a mapping of chapters to exam objectives so you only need to read the appropriate chapters.
After leaving the test centre having passing 70-432 with 960, I thought this exam felt much easier than the 70-433 exam.
I was (quickly) convinced (by my wife – Hello!) that I should just try and take the next exam straight away. The odd thing about the Microsoft exams is you only need to get 700 – it doesn’t matter how well you do, you still get the qualification in this case ‘just enough is good enough’ .
So, just a few days after passing 70-432, I took 70-451 and passed with 929.
I was surprised by how easy the MCITP: Database Administrator 2008 was compared with the MCITP: Database Developer 2008. There were (in total) 84 questions for the Database Administrator and 128 for the Database Developer – a big difference.
It’s not the number of questions, although the more questions, the more sweating you do. It’s the breadth of the content. There was so much to learn and remember. I think Brent Ozar conveyed it really well in his blog post: MCM Prep Week: Microsoft Exams 70-433 and 70-451
There is only the MCITP: Business Intelligence Developer 2008 to go, then I’ll have the whole set! :-)
Friday, July 09, 2010 11:23 AM
MCITP: Database Developer 2008
70-451 . Which means I can call myself a Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP)!!!
I started in Feb/March working through two books;
MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-433): Microsoft SQL Server 2008 - Database Development Book/DVD Package
and The Real MCTS SQL Server 2008 Exam 70-433 Prep Kit: Database Design
The books cover a huge range of subjects; the MS press book covered more areas and was in some ways better but was also tedious at times - often sending me off for a good nights' kip! The Prep Kit was written in (my opinion) a nicer style for the user, but didn't cover nearly enough of the exam.
I read the Prep-Kit book first, took a practice exam and scored very low! I bought the MS Press book and found this filled-in the gaps and reinforced what I learnt from the first book. I found the different writing styles very useful as it didnt feel like I was reading the same book twice.
I took 70-433 and scored 1000.
There is no official exam prep for the 70-451 exam, so I took it 2 weeks after passing the first exam. The exam was tough, very tough! I thought I'd failed. When I clicked 'finish' I closed my eyes as I really thought I would have to tell everyone at work I'd failed.
But to my amazement, I passed with 865! I spent the next 4 hours in shock. I had a hospital appointment later that day and my resting heart rate was over 100 bpm!
Now for a little rest before I start on the MCITP: Database Administrator 2008!
Thursday, July 08, 2010 6:01 AM
Website updates...
Friday, February 12, 2010 10:13 AM
SQLBits (episode) VI - Westminster Strikes Back...
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 11:55 AM
Format T-SQL as HTML and more...
Monday, November 30, 2009 12:50 PM
SQL Source Control
Monday, November 30, 2009 11:26 AM
SQL Server Version List update (part 2)
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