{"id":1334,"date":"2015-06-11T08:09:57","date_gmt":"2015-06-11T12:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/?p=1334"},"modified":"2015-06-11T08:09:57","modified_gmt":"2015-06-11T12:09:57","slug":"what-is-it-like-to-attend-a-software-training-boot-camp-at-ced-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/1334\/what-is-it-like-to-attend-a-software-training-boot-camp-at-ced-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is It Like To Attend A Software Training Boot Camp at CED Solutions?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Microsoft<\/a>

CED Students Attend Microsoft Certification Course<\/p><\/div>\n

Student review from a couple of years ago. \u00a0The same effort is still required – are you ready to obtain IT Certifications and improve your career in IT?<\/p>\n

So I decided it was time to expand my IT skill set and get some formal Microsoft training (and hopefully a few certifications in the process).\u00a0 I chose to enroll in a CED Solutions MCITP triple certification boot camp held just outside of Atlanta Georgia.\u00a0 I figured that this would be the most time efficient method to obtain multiple certifications.\u00a0 The boot camp consists of an intense 15 days of classroom lecture and hands on labs, combined with 3-5 hours of study time every night.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The three MCITP certifications that I am going for are as follows: Enterprise Desktop Administrator 7, Windows Server Administrator, and Windows Enterprise Administrator.\u00a0 In order to obtain all three certifications, a total of 7 exams are required, which will be taken throughout the course of the boot camp.<\/p>\n

I arrived in Atlanta on Friday March 4th<\/sup> and checked in to my hotel.\u00a0 The weather is about 25 degrees warmer here than at home so that is a bonus!\u00a0 Class is set to begin at 8 am the following Saturday morning.\u00a0 There was a two hour introduction\/orientation of how the program works, followed by lunch.\u00a0 After lunch the fun began\u2026<\/p>\n

First up is preparation for exam 70-680 Configuring Windows 7.\u00a0 4 hours of lecture, followed by 4 hours of study time.\u00a0 It was an exciting Saturday night\u2026.\u00a0 Sunday is the light day.\u00a0 Class starts at 12:30pm and ends at 5:00pm.\u00a0 Another 4 hours of group study followed.\u00a0 Monday (first exam day) 6 hours of class time, 1 hour of study time, then test time!\u00a0 I was surprised that the test took less than 30 minutes to complete.\u00a0 There were 50 questions.\u00a0 The minimum score to pass a Microsoft test is 700, 1000 is the highest score possible.\u00a0 I scored a 1000!\u00a0 Let\u2019s just say that this wasn\u2019t the toughest test that I have ever taken, but I guess it is a good idea to start off easy to build your confidence.\u00a0 This warrants a celebration!\u00a0 A few of us went out for a couple of drinks, before hitting the books again.<\/p>\n

With the first test completed it is time to concentrate on the material for exam 70-686 Windows 7 Enterprise Administrator.\u00a0 The material for this exam is quite a bit more difficult.\u00a0 I put in a couple of hours of review before calling it a night.\u00a0 Class for Tuesday and Wednesday are scheduled to be half days.\u00a0 This will allow for plenty of study time to get ready for the next test.\u00a0 I put in 6 hours of study time on Tuesday, and another 2 hours on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

I was able to take the 70-686 exam a couple of hours early on Wednesday.\u00a0 I felt very prepared and confident.\u00a0 I was able to breeze through the test with another perfect score of 1000!\u00a0 I am now a MCITP for Windows 7 Enterprise Administration!\u00a0 Two exams down, five more to go!<\/p>\n

Now that the desktop OS material is covered, it is time to get into the server side of things.\u00a0 This material is far more difficult and involved.\u00a0 This is the meat and potatoes of the boot camp right here!\u00a0 I put in a couple of hours of study time Wednesday.\u00a0 My brain feels like mush!<\/p>\n

Time to start preparing for the 70-640 exam Configuring Active Directory.\u00a0 This consisted of a healthy 9 hours of classroom time followed by 4 hours of studying on both Thursday and Friday.\u00a0 Can you say stressful?\u00a0 I don\u2019t even want to know what my blood pressure is right now\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 Saturday morning brought a final review; test time is at 2:00pm.\u00a0 Wow, this was one of the most difficult tests I have ever taken.\u00a0 I managed to score an 868 which is well above the minimum passing score of 700!\u00a0 I feel very fortunate, 7 people out of 20 people in our class failed this exam.\u00a0 Time to go out and relieve some stress!\u00a0 Several of us went out for a night on the town for a well-deserved celebration.\u00a0 Studying this night consisted of Miller Light and Jagermeister!<\/p>\n

The 70-642 exam is up next, Configuring a Network Infrastructure.\u00a0 I hope to God that this test is easier than the last one, I don\u2019t know if I can put my brain and body through that amount of stress again!\u00a0 5 hours of class on Sunday, followed by 3 hours of study time.\u00a0 A brutal 9 hours of class time on Monday followed by 5 hours of studying.\u00a0 Tuesday is test day again.\u00a0 I spent a couple of hours reviewing and preparing in the morning.\u00a0 I was able to test early at 1:15pm.\u00a0 BOOM, I scored a 950!\u00a0 Thankfully this test was easier than the last one.\u00a0 I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel with 4 exams complete, and only 3 more remaining!<\/p>\n

Next up is exam 70-646 Windows Server 2008 Administration.\u00a0 I put in a solid 4 hours of study time on Tuesday.\u00a0 Class time for Wednesday was only 6 hours, so I was able to get an early start on 4 more hours of studying for the exam\u2026.\u00a0 Thursday is a half day of class, followed by a final review, and then the test.\u00a0 The format of this exam is different that all of the others so far.\u00a0 You are presented with a fictitious company and are tasked with designing a solution that meets the company\u2019s goals.\u00a0 After these 5 scenarios, I had an additional 22 questions.\u00a0 I scored a 929!\u00a0 Whoohooo, 5th<\/sup> exam passed, I just earned an MCITP for Windows Server Administrator.\u00a0 Only two more exams to go, yea!<\/p>\n

No time for a celebration just yet.\u00a0 The two final exams are back to back, starting tomorrow.\u00a0 I have to get ready for exam 70-643 Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring next.\u00a0 I put in a brutal 6 hours of study time Thursday night, who needs sleep?\u00a0 Fridays lecture lasted until just past lunch time, which left time for a very short review.\u00a0 I started looking at the practice test and all of the words and terms were starting to blend together, my brain feels like it is starting to shut down!\u00a0 I said screw the review; let me get this damn test over with.\u00a0 To my astonishment I did surprisingly well, I scored a 904!\u00a0 Six exams down, only one more remaining.\u00a0 Time to take a short dinner break before studying for the final exam which is tomorrow.<\/p>\n

After a quick dinner, I put in 5 hours of study time on Friday night to prepare for the final test which is exam 70-647 Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator.\u00a0\u00a0 I woke up Saturday morning feeling both mentally and physically exhausted.\u00a0 As of now I do not feel prepared to take this final exam.\u00a0 The material is very difficult, and my brain is fried.\u00a0 I have time for a couple hours of review before taking the test.\u00a0 After about two and a half hours I couldn\u2019t take any more, at this point I am incapable of absorbing any additional information.\u00a0 I took a short break for lunch, and then it was test time for the final time\u2026\u00a0 This test was very difficult, combined with the fact that I have been going at this for two weeks.\u00a0 When I finished the test, I just sat looking at the monitor with a blank stare on my face waiting for my score to be calculated.\u00a0 At this point, I just want to be finished, I can\u2019t take it any longer, and then the screen lights up \u201cCongratulations you have passed this exam, the minimum score to pass is 700, your score was 718\u2033.\u00a0 Wow, I just barely squeaked by, but none the less I passed!<\/p>\n

So that was it, two weeks of hell was over and I earned a total ten Microsoft certifications.\u00a0 Seven Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS) certifications as well as three Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certifications.\u00a0 I have to say that this boot camp was one of the most difficult things that I have accomplished in my lifetime.\u00a0 I would like to thank my employer RoMan Engineering Services for making this possible for me.\u00a0 Now I am ready for a vacation J<\/p>\n

CED Solutions is Headquartered in Atlanta, GA and The Institute for Professional Learning is Headquartered in Ft Lauderdale, FL.<\/p>\n

www.cedsolutions.com, info@cedsolutions.com, (800) 611-1840<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Student review from a couple of years ago. \u00a0The same effort is still required – are you ready to obtain IT Certifications and improve your career in IT? So I decided it was time to expand my IT skill set and get some formal Microsoft training (and hopefully a few certifications in the process).\u00a0 I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[2,3,7,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1334"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1334\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedsolutions.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}