Eh.. I taught a bootcamp once, and I felt the curriculum was geared towards passing the test. The tests (in my opinion) have sucked for many years, and I have no reason to lie about that. The one I can remember best is Exchange 2010, and the context of the questions were not only tricky, the "true" best answer was not actually in the answers for half of them. So I would sit there, stare at the question and ask myself "what would MSFT do?".. because realistically (for some of the questions, not all) I would not have done any of the answers in a production environment ;) That could also mean I am a horrible Exchange administrator, but yea... lol.
I think boot camps are good for folks who know nothing about Exchange (but are familiar with windows core services, such as AD, DNS, ect) and want to start learning about Exchange, or they want to get certified for a business requirement (such as MS Partner status). Some of the books below are a bit tough to read (my favorite was the architecture book) but make a great reference. ... you know what else is a good reference, the Exchange 2010 best practices book. It would be nice if MS Press finally released one for Exchange 2013. *HINT HINT ms press!* From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Exchange] Microsoft certifications Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 19:04:47 +0000 Therein lies the crux – are you looking to get a cert or actual experience. Passing an exam is fine but it really doesn’t substitute for experience – I have no Exchange certs but I’m pretty proficient. What about boot camps? John W. Cook Director of Network Operations Partnership For Strong Families 5950 NW 1st Place Gainesville, Fl 32607 Office (352) 244-1610 Cell (352) 215-6944 MCSE, MCP+I, MCTS, CompTIA A+, N+, Security + VSP4, VTSP4 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Adam Farage Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 2:55 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Exchange] Microsoft certifications Pass4Sure = not the way to go if you actually want to learn the content. Not knocking you John, but Pass4Sure as a company was sued back in 2008 (ref?) by MSFT for stealing exam answers, which is why if you go to there official website (I think it is still pass4sure.com) they do not have MS listed as a vendor. Its a common mistake, as my first IT job ever was at a IT training institute (back in 2005ish) and well, the MCT's (Microsoft Certified Trainers) would actually go over these with students. *Sigh* As a past MCT (I refuse to pay 1,000 for a renewal fee) I feel the MOC (Microsoft Official Courseware) is good if you have an instructor with real life experience, who can expand off the pretty ridged content they provide to the MCT. You can tell a good MCT from a crappy one when they basically read off the slides, don't elaborate on the labs / bullets provided and cant go into too deep of detail. Moving onto self study, I would recommend the following: Mastering Microsoft Exchange 2013 (a good top to bottom of Exchange 2013): http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Microsoft-Exchange-Server-2013/dp/1118556836/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407955814&sr=8-1&keywords=Exchange+2013 Microsoft Exchange 2013: Design, Deploy and Deliver an Enterprise Messaging Solution (book is more geared towards architecture and a deeper book than the one above): http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Exchange-Server-2013-Enterprise/dp/1118541901/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1407955814&sr=8-9&keywords=Exchange+2013 Inside Out books (really good for deep dive content outside of the interwebs): http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Exchange-Server-Connectivity-Clients/dp/0735678375/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1407955814&sr=8-5&keywords=Exchange+2013 AND http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Exchange-Server-Mailbox-Availability/dp/0735678588/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y If you are just looking at certification, I think the first book above is more than enough + some hands on homelab fun (just take a semi-crappy pc, throw hyper-v 2012 on there and build out some Exchange servers). The hands on experience helps all in its own, as you will know the interface and get to interact with the commands to see what switches are out there. From: [email protected] Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 14:38:04 -0400 Subject: Re: [Exchange] Microsoft certifications To: [email protected] Just FYI because many people don't realize this who aren't involved often in the world of IT certification: Pass4Sure is a BRAINDUMP site. Braindump sites are cheating because they use real questions/answers and you COULD have your certification revoked by Microsoft. See MS blog link below. John, with a title like "Director of Network Operations", you may want to be careful who you tell that you used Pass4Sure for anything. Could be embarrassing. http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/btl/b/weblog/archive/2013/01/02/why-brain-dumps-are-bad.aspx http://www.certguard.com/ On Tue, Aug 12, 2014 at 7:49 PM, John Cook <[email protected]> wrote: Last ones I used was pass4sure John W. Cook Director of Network Operations Partnership for Strong Families Ryan Finnesey <[email protected]> wrote: It has been at least 14 years since I had to sit and take a Microsoft certification test. I need to take a few tests. I was wondering what study guides people are using. Cheers Ryan CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT: The information transmitted, or contained or attached to or with this Notice is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain Protected Health Information (PHI), confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, transmission, dissemination, or other use of, and taking any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient without the express written consent of the sender are prohibited. This information may be protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), and other Federal and Florida laws. 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