Booking MCSE ExamDon’t start booking that MCSE exam just yet! First there’s a little matter of preparation that has to be addressed. You can either train in a classroom or online. Some like the group environment while others are “work at my own pace” kind of people. Being the latter, I personally like taking classes online. In either event I’m going to share with you one of the leading training options available in the Information Technology industry. You can get the necessary certification for MCSE (or other credentials like MCP, MCSA, and .NET). The company is called CBT Direct. CBT Direct allows you to get the job done online—which means you can work from a coffee shop, at work, or from your bedroom. For those who like group settings more, bootcamp training is also available. A bootcamp is basically a certification crash course training session. Courses offered are Microsoft Certified System Engineer 2003, Microsoft Certified System Engineer 2003 Messaging, and Microsoft Certified System Engineer 2003 Security. OK, so now I’ve completed the training classes…now am I ready to book that exam? Not so fast. We still need to get you booked for a practice exam. Depending on if you know where to look, you may be able to find free exams being offered. There was a 20-question practice test for the 70-290 exam available on About’s website (http://certification.about.com/cs/sampletests/a/mcse70290.htm). If you run a Google search on “free msce practice exam” you can find many more free or low-cost options. Once you’ve been properly trained and gone over a practice test, you’re ready to book that exam. There are two major exam providers: Prometric and Pearson Vue. There is an ongoing debate as to which exam provider has the best equipment and customer service. Some have had problems with system lock-ups with Prometric. Others have said they have had to wait 7-8 hours for a Pearson Vue center’s servers to come back up. It likely comes down to the specific test center you go to and not the providers themselves. By the way, many centers offer both Prometric and Pearson Vue. And if you’re not sure if you’ll pass or not, don’t forget to see if any MCSE exam insurance is being offered!
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