| Dave Mateer 2004-03-20, 8:24 pm |
| Up to this time, I have been a silent observer to this newsgroup and
appreciate all the helpful tips and advice all have shared; they were quite
helpful as I prepared for my first certification exam, C# Web apps. Figured
I'd share study tips I found useful and hope others can benefit.
My two major goals were: (1) to really learn the subject material to be
better able to perform in my job (not just learn enough to squeak by the
exam and forget it two minutes later), and (2) to do this on a limited
budget.
I used the following resources:
- Microsoft Press Self-Paced Training Kit book for 70-315
- Kalani's Exam Cram 2 for 70-315
- Tim's 70-315/70-305 exam links:
http://www.codeclinic.com/70-315skills.htm
- Self Test Software practice test
To save money on books, I checked them out from the local library using
Interlibrary Loan. Most libraries can check out books from any other
library in the country, and you can usually keep them over a month.
(Obviously, this will depend on the policies of both your local library and
the lending library.) You may need to wait a week or so before the books
come in. To give fair warning, I did try to borrow Kalani's 70-315 Training
Guide and was never able to find a library willing to loan it (not sure
why--perhaps it was too new?)
The online 30-day version of Self Test was $79, and well worth it. The
difficulty and scope of the questions were VERY similar to the actual exam,
and the interface mimicked the actual exam as well. This being my first
Microsoft test, that was very helpful.
It wasn't the fastest study period; having a busy job and not wanting to cut
into too much time with my family, I could only put in a few hours per week.
From start to finish, I probably put in about 60-70 hours study time over
the course of three months.
End result: passed with a 941.
Hope some of this is helpful to others out there!
Dave Mateer
|