Another Pulse Needed – Exam Prep Guides

Published 30 October 06 12:12 PM
If you go to one of our exam preparation guides (ex: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-540.mspx), you’ll notice a big table at the bottom of the page.  This table maps Microsoft Learning courses to specific content sections of the exam.  Here’s my question.  When preparing for an exam, do you use the circle icons in the table to help decide on what training material to purchase?  If so, have you found the mapping to be accurate in terms of how well you were prepared for the exam?
by hdierking
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# Stefano Demiliani said on October 30, 2006 3:20 PM:

The Preparation Guide is always the first resource that I check when preparing for an exam.

The last ones are more accurate than before because they lists all the arguments in details. The answer to your question is yes, personally I use the preparation guide to know what are my lacks.

# Mathias said on October 30, 2006 3:42 PM:

I don't use the circles, because I don't use the courses. I usually prepare for exams with online resources and MSDN.

However, I use the table as kind of "checklist" to see what I have to learn for each exam. It's really useful to see what the exam covers. So far I was successful with that strategy: MCPD, MCTS, MCITP, MCAD, MCSD, MCDST :)

# Alfred Myers said on January 12, 2007 7:26 AM:

I rather use books and MSDN so it would be nice to see circles about books - not only the prep guide, but the additional literature.

Although I don't take courses, I'm planning on becoming an MCT. MCTs have access to MOC's (do they have another name now?) and then the circles would become valueable to me.

# S.Y. Paul Lai said on April 1, 2007 9:48 AM:

I don't use the circle.  I am an MCT and I have access to all the courseware.  However, I don't use the Learning Product Coursewares to prepare for development exams.  One of the reason is that I usually take the beta exams before those courseware release.  Instead, I will search MSDN for preparation.  I will suggest Microsoft add a link pointing to online MSDN Library under each topic listed in the Exam Preparation Guide.

For example, in exam 540, I have problem finding information for the following 2 topics:

• Encrypt and decrypt the contents of a file created on a mobile device.

• Encrypt and decrypt a value stored in the registry of a mobile device.

No related topics found in MSDN.  Instead, I could only find a related paper:

http://msmobiles.com/news.php/5474.html

It will be best if there is a link in the Exam Preparation Guide that points me to the right direction.

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About hdierking

I am currently the Editor-in-Chief for MSDN Magazine. I joined Microsoft in 2006 as a product planner with the certification team at Microsoft Learning. Prior to that, I spent my career as a developer and later as an architect. My main technology passions include pretty much anything on language theory, agile development, and service-oriented architecture.
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