Mitch Wheat - Treat the cause, not the symptoms!

Yesterday, I sat the Microsoft certification upgrade exam 70-454: Transition Your MCITP SQL Server 2005 DBD to MCITP SQL Server 2008 DBD. I followed Rob Farley’s advice:

“I always tell people to do exams during Second Shot season.

Reason being - it makes the first one a practice. Don't bother studying, don't bother stressing, just go and see how you do. Then you can sit it a second time for real.”

I’m not such a huge fan of the upgrade exams as they can be a bit hit and miss (after all, it’s hard to cover so much in a relatively small number of questions), but I passed. It was a very helpful experience; there were a few questions where I was unsure of the answers, so I came home and read up on them.

Microsoft’s Second Shot promotion, where you get a second chance to pass an exam, is on until June 30th 2009. In addition, if you register for second shot you can get any IT professional or developer e-learning collection for just US$35 (normally priced up to US$350).

You can also get 50% off Microsoft Certification exam for attending the sessions live on April 1st (today!): all TechDay attendees will be given a special URL and discount code to register for a Microsoft certification. You must take your exam by May 31, 2009.