Customer Reviews

MCSE Training Guides: Core Exams (Covers Exam #70-067,70-068,70-073,70-058,70-063)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These books are very well written, making them easy to read and understand. The content layout is well layed out with reference to the exam objectives, making it easy to see exactly what is required for the exam. The content I found to be sufficient for the exam but they do have minor bits of information missing. The practice exams usually identified these bits of information to me, so overall I consider the content to be adequate. The practice exams were a valuable aid in preparation for the exam, and were not too far away from what the real exam is like. These books are far better than the Sybex books that I used for the elective exams (they too have information missing). The Sybex books were difficult to understand and each exam objective was not clearly explained.

This book covers all aspects of the NT side of the MCSE quite well. It is written in a clear style and comes with lots of labs and exercises.

The sample questions at the end of chapters and the exam prep questions on CD are NOTHING like the actual exams. They provide no help. I found numerous factual errors in these books. Many questions on the real exam could not be answered even using the book as a reference. Do not count on these books as your primary study guide or source of information.

This product helped me pass the SQL Server 7 exams, some of the more difficult Microsoft exams, and I got certified. Right away, I'm going to confess that after going through all the trouble of getting certified, and it was a lot of trouble, I never worked with databases again. Changes in the economy favored my working in another direction as I am a CPA and a CISA, among other things.

Although this item helped me to get certified, I did not find that the materials were actually covered in the database administration or database design and implementation exams. This item was marketed well, leading me to believe that actual questions and answers from it would be included in the exam, but none were. Still, it was great although arduous preparation. I wouldn't do it again.

My only complaint, other than the promotion that didn't live up to the expectations it created, was that there were numerous errors in this product. As I studied using this item, I discovered errors, and this helped me to maintain a "professional skepticism" that allowed me to eventually answer problems on the exam using my own judgment. That's what pulled me through those tough exams. In defense of the authors, the actual Microsoft exams also had errors. That really knocked the stars from my eyes. I came to realize that passing exams and getting certified were not as important as I had originally believed.