How difficult are each MSCD.NET exams?

Hi a group of workmates are planning to get the MCSD.NET
certification by taking the exams listed below. I would
like to help them by providing a strategy to choose the
exam taking order. Can anyone help me by providing
suggestions about that strategy? Is the relative
difficulty level (take easiest exams first) a good idea?
Has anyone taken any of these exams and help me to know
the relative difficulty level among them? Thanks a lot in
advance!

Exam 70-305: Developing and Implementing Web Applications
with Microsoft Visual Basic® .NET and Microsoft Visual
Studio® .NET
Exam 70-306: Developing and Implementing Windows®-based
Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
Exam 70-310: Developing XML Web Services and Server
Components with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and the
Microsoft .NET Framework
Exam 70-300: Analyzing Requirements and Defining
Microsoft .NET Solution Architectures
Exam 70-230: Designing and Implementing Solutions with
Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2000 Enterprise Edition

Rigoberto Calleja Cervantes

I have passed the C# version of some of these exams, except for 70-300
(failed the beta).

I would recommend you take them in this order:
306
305
310
300
230

The 306 Windows exam was the easiet for me due to my past expereince with
Windows Developer. Be prepared for new windows development features only
avaiable with .NET such as playing a window's Opacity setting.

The 305 exam will be tougher with questions on the web.config,
machine.config, security and internationalization. Besure you understand how
events are passed between user controls and the ASPX pages.

The 310 exam is tougher yet with COM+ component management and versioning of
..NET components. You also be asked about remoting - which is something that
is brand new and you may/may not have played with this yet. Apress has a
great book on this subject.

I enjoyed the 300 case study exam for the challenge. Taking this exam, I
would try an answer, realize it wasn't right, and fiddle with it until it
seemed right to me. The beta had a lot of bugs. This one will be fun (for
me) to take it again.

The 230 exam had a lower than average passing score but did not include
anything about .NET. It was entirely COM based and MSMQ based. I only used
the Help file to study for this.

Depending on how much test-taking expereince your team has, I believe taking
easier exams is the right move. The more important thing is to not become
discouraged if anyone fails. Study the weak areas and try again until you
pass them. Most questions come from MSDN or the associated help files. Study
them!

Another tip: if you guys want to see what the questions are like, buy
Transcender practice exams.

Good luck to your team.

Davin Mickelson
MCP+SB, MCAD (C#), MCSD (VS6), MCSA

"Rigoberto Calleja Cervantes" <rigobertoc@-no-span-istraining.com.mx> wrote
in message news:0b9001c3417d$04e352b0$...
Hi a group of workmates are planning to get the MCSD.NET
certification by taking the exams listed below. I would
like to help them by providing a strategy to choose the
exam taking order. Can anyone help me by providing
suggestions about that strategy? Is the relative
difficulty level (take easiest exams first) a good idea?
Has anyone taken any of these exams and help me to know
the relative difficulty level among them? Thanks a lot in
advance!

Exam 70-305: Developing and Implementing Web Applications
with Microsoft Visual Basic® .NET and Microsoft Visual
Studio® .NET
Exam 70-306: Developing and Implementing Windows®-based
Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
Exam 70-310: Developing XML Web Services and Server
Components with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET and the
Microsoft .NET Framework
Exam 70-300: Analyzing Requirements and Defining
Microsoft .NET Solution Architectures
Exam 70-230: Designing and Implementing Solutions with
Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2000 Enterprise Edition

FWIW, I thought 70-300 was the easiest of the five exams, as it is the least
technical. It's mostly just a test of reading comprehension. I agree that
you should take it after the other exams, so that you'll have the necessary
background technical info.

-- Kris


"James Severance" <> wrote in message
news:...
> I agree about taking 70-300 last, not because it's the hardest though. In
> taking the other tests first you will gain a lot of insight into what is
> really being looked for in the 300 exam.
>
> James
>
>
> "JoeLogic" <> wrote in message
> news: om...
> > Why not pursue the MCAD while on your way to the MCSD? Within the 5
> > exams required for MCSD are 3 exams required for MCAD.
> >
> > MCAD (3 exams):
> > 70-305 OR 70-306
> > 70-310
> > 70-230
> >
> > The MCAD is a subset of the MCSD. After you get the MCAD, take the
> > remaining 2 exams:
> >
> > 70-305 OR 70-306
> > 70-300
> >
> > I heard taking the 70-300 should be last, cause it's the hardest.
>
>

If 70-300 is the easiest than I wonder why more people have posted in
this group that they have failed (some more than once) this exam
whereas very few have posted that they failed the other .NET exams.
Any thoughts?

-Michelle

--
Posted via http://dbforums.com

While I found this exam easier than the others, I think it has a lot to do
with one's background and how one prepares.

I've been a real-life "architect" for about 10 years, so I've had plenty of
experience with analyzing requirements, drawing diagrams, creating database
schemas, etc. Somebody who has never done these things may have a lot of
trouble. If you have done these things, then all you need to know is the
terminology used in the Microsoft Solutions Framework.

In many ways, 70-300 is just a reading comprehension exam. For each
question, the answer(s) can be found by simply going back to the appropriate
part of the case study. I suspect some people fail because they just don't
read the case studies closely enough, or try to address issues that are not
contained in the case studies. There is not a whole lot of "thinking" on
this exam, nor any of the rote-memorization testing as found on other exams.

The Exam Cram 2 book for 70-300 was great. It focused exactly on things
that came up on the exam. In contrast, the MS Self-Paced Training Kit had
very little to do with the exam.

-- Kris


"mpopovits" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> If 70-300 is the easiest than I wonder why more people have posted in
> this group that they have failed (some more than once) this exam
> whereas very few have posted that they failed the other .NET exams.
> Any thoughts?
>
> -Michelle
>
> --
> Posted via http://dbforums.com

That makes sense. I've also been developing and designing applications
for many years (PowerBuilder, J2EE). Over the years I have done a
significant amount of study in the area of uml, process, and design as
well as have the J2EE Enterprise Architect certification. I have just
finished chapter 3 of the exam cram book and so far it's just review and
picking up a few new terms. I suppose the rest of the book will follow
a similar pattern for me. Had I read this book ten years ago my
reaction might have been different.

Thanks for your comments.

-Michelle

--
Posted via http://dbforums.com