Velocity Reviews - Take a class or study on my own?

"Kevin" <Kevin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4F8117C9-AA04-41B2-B7B0-7C7EBEF0D7A7@microsoft.com...
> I'm looking to get my MCSE (might go for my MCSA first) to help find a
> job.
> How hard is it to get the certificate without doing a class or bootcamp?

That depends on:
[a] Your relevant experience with the product(s), and
[b] Your ability to self-teach and comprehensively absorb the material, and
[c] Your discpline in properly setting up and working through *all* of the
exercises contained in the training materials.

> I don't really have a lot of extra cash right now so I was thinking about
> going
> at it the cheaper way and just buying the books and studying from there. I
> have 7 years experience as a Systems Administrator so I think I should be
> ok
> but just wanted to get other opinions.

Seven years is a big chunk of change. Truth is, the majority of cert
candidates go the self-study route, in fact, I might be so bold as to
suggest taht those who invest in classroom training are the ones trying to
get a "quick cert", and don't actually have the experience to go with the
cert in the first place. (Actually, that's not entirely fair, as *some*
people do learn better with instructor-led training rather than self-study,
and those persons should not be maligned for their choice of training
methodologies.)

Go for it!

--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP:EA, MCDBA, MCSA
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

My Blog: http://onsitechsolutions.spaces.live.com
Microsoft WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin