Passed 70-316 Windows Applications with C# Today!
Nothing quite like waiting 9 months between taking exams is there?
I passed the 70-316 Developing Windows Applications with Visual Studio.NET and C# with a score of 960! I didn't expect to pass with a score like that, so I was pleasantly surprised. I am primarily a Web Application developer.
First, thanks to all the guys currently or formerly at Abel for inspiring me to get this finished and thanks to Mr. Hy and Mr. Bondar from CDC, and to Mr. Moore for continuing to encourage me to keep going! You guys rock! If there's anything you need that I can help with, just let me know!
Most importantly, thanks to my uncle and my grandfather for their combined 80 years of programming wisdom (among many other types of wisdom). Without you guys as mentors, I would have done nothing ever,
period. Same goes for you guys too, just let me know.
For the company I work for, Abel Solutions, Inc, we must complete the certification this year to keep our Gold Partner status. I will get a bonus if I finish by May 1st this year :-)
That will mean now doing the original .NET MCAD and then two of the new 2.0 exams. So, if I still want to get MCSD, I'll end up taking 7 exams such that the first 5 complete the requirement for our company to maintain the MS Partnership status. I would like to take that big architecture exam because I'd like a refresher and an MS-specific version of some of the courses I took in college about systems analysis and design.
You can see the requirements on MS's site as to how the Gold Parntership has changed.
My next exam will be 70-320, XML Web Services and Components. This is by far my weakest subject of the three MCAD, so I'll have to really come up with a good study strategy.
Working all day in front of a PC doesn't leave me with a lot of energy or desire to sit in front of one at night and type in code samples, however. Here is how I studied for 70-316:
- Used a practice Transcender exam.
- Printed out the Transcender exam and took the practice once
- Reviewed the topics I did poorly on by using the Que book
- Retook the Transcender exam and re-reviewed questions I still got wrong
- Reviewed the 15 questions at the end of each of the Que book chapters.
- Created MP3 files using Second Speech Center that were based on a "Save as Text" version of the Que chapters.
- Listened to these like flash cards on my iPod in the car or when going for a walk in the evening.
I did very few code samples from the books. This is in stark contrast to how I prepared for 70-315. Since I was really refreshing my .NET knowledge for 70-315, I actually read the entire Que book and did all the code samples. That was exhausting. Despite that, I scored 943 on that exam. So, if I can get 960 with this other approach, I'm all for it.
I am going to use a slightly different approach for 70-320 as well. I'll do something similar to the steps above, but I plan to also make MP3 files of the 15 questions at the end of each of the Que chapters. Those questions tend to be much more difficult than either the Transcender or the actual exam, so knowing that material tends to put you in good shape.
When I first got into this, I thought just trying to memorize the material without doing the hands on labs was a cheap way to pass, but now I realize that was a foolishly prideful attitude. The fact of the matter is that I use only a subset of any of these things in everday code and design. So, while it would be nice to have time to do hands on practice with all the concepts, it's also good to have enough memory of a subject to know where to go when the time comes that I will need it. This will mean I have enough in my mind to tell me that I don't have to reinvent the wheel, just have to buy
some new wheel covers.
More to come soon.