My first experience with a uCertify Exam

So I decided to download, install and register the complementary uCertify exam. I chose 70-291, Implementing, Maintaining and Managing a MS Windows 2003 Network Infrastructure. That took about five minutes. It was easy to install and get started. The opening screen presents a series of tests, beginning with a fifteen question pretest. I took the pretest.

Immediately I was transported back to the last time I took a Microsoft exam and was reminded of why I hate them so much. The exam questions make you wade through a bunch of introductory verbiage that is totally superfluous to the question being answered. uCertify has done a great job of making their questions just like the real ones.

The pretest covered each of the areas that are covered in the final exam: IP addressing, RRAS, DNS, infrastructure and security. With fifteen questions and thirty minutes you have about two minutes to read the question, understand it, review the multiple choice answers and make a correct choice. Some questions have more than one correct answer.

The diagnostic pretest had some of the drag and drop and 'click on the correct spot on this screen' type of questions. It didn't seem too hard but then I hadn't studied or reviewed the material in over a year. You can configure the test for a learning mode which allows you to see the correct answer right away and adjust your answer accordingly.

Feeling brave, I chose to do the full test simulation and get my score at the end of the test. As I went though it I had to review in my mind if some of the acronyms were valid and what function some of the server utilities were designed to accomplish. DHCP, DNS, subnets, SAP, GPO (lots of GPO questions) reminded me that being an MCSE is really learning a new language.

So far, my impression of uCertify is similar to using TestKing or Transcender, two other test preparation companies that I have used in the past. Would I recommend the product? So far, yes. Will it help me pass the test? I'll tell you after I pass it. Right now I'm going to go back and take another diagnostic pretest since I failed the first one with a score of 533 out of 630 required.

Have you had any experience with uCertify? Is one test prep company as good as any other?

How do you prepare for Microsoft Exams?

I started managing networks before there were certifications. Novell Netware was the defacto server OS back in the day. Yep, 1983 was when I was first exposed to Netware, which had just been announced. Did you know that Netware used to be called Sharenet? We installed ARCNet topology in those early days.

In 1995, after more than ten years of managing Netware servers on 10-Base2 (thin coax) and Token-Ring networks, it became clear that Novell was losing ground quickly to Microsoft with NT 3.5 on 10-BaseT. I started installing and supporting NT just when I was getting serious about pursuing certification on Netware.

Instead I began to prepare for Microsoft certification. This was back in the days when there was only one Novell cert - CNE, and one Microsoft cert - MCSE. Even though there are millions of Microsoft Certified System Engineers now, becoming an MCSE is not an easy thing. There are six major exams at $125 each, each one with 40 to 60 difficult questions.

After supporting NT for about five years, I received over 200 hours of Microsoft Approved training from a Certified Technical Education Center (CTEC). After long days at work, I took classes almost every evening for three months which cost thousands of dollars. The only problem is that it did not prepare me for the exams like I thought it would.

Microsoft exams are a tricky mixture of academic and real-world scenarios. I had the real world experience but could not always explain the academic reasons behind why something worked a certain way. My learning style is hands-on and always has been. Put me in front of the console and I'll figure it out, but ask me to explain it, especially in non-technical terms and I sometimes struggle.

So I started looking for some tools to help me pass the MCSE exams. Any Google search will reveal dozens of websites offering study guides and practice exams to help you pass the MCSE tests. I confess that I used 'braindumps' to pass my NT 4.0 exams. Braindumps are web sites where those who just took the exam will post the questions they remember and their answers.

Of course, the disadvantage to braindumps is that the questions are not always remembered accurately and the answers will sometimes be wrong. When I updated my MCSE training in 2005-2006 I very much appreciated the fact that in addition to the additional 200+ hours of classroom training, the instructor would use questions from TestKing training materials.

I started taking the Server 2003 exams last year and have been thinking about investing in some TestKing test preparation material. That's why I was pleased to respond to an offer from uCertify to evaluate their study guides and test exams. I assumed their questions would be like Testking questions, many of which come right from actual exams.

According to Roger Stuart at uCertify, "We do not provide actual exam questions, instead we encourage the users to learn and practice with lots of challenging questions in an environment that simulates the actual exam. Our PrepKits consist of study notes, articles, how tos and exam tips besides the questions. So I think that they should not be compared with Testking, but they will definitely help you pass the exams."

I'm contemplating whether to invest the hours in using their materials. What do you think?