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Benefits of MCM (Part III) - It Definitely Pays Off
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 10 Jun 2011
Benefits of MCM (Part II) - Community
Tech Ed Day 1: Meeting Career Factor
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 16 May 2011
Benefits of MCM (Part I) - Knowledge
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 4 May 2011
They Shoot Horses, Don't They
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 20 Apr 2011
Bojan's final video from the January MCM-Exchange rotation
Posted by erwinc on 8 Apr 2011
The Microsoft Certified Master Qualifying Lab
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 3 Apr 2011
Bojan's Second Video Post
Posted by erwinc on 31 Mar 2011
Bojan's first video update
Posted by erwinc on 25 Mar 2011
Microsoft Certified Master - Week 3
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 23 Mar 2011
Bojan's Story Starts!
Posted by erwinc on 18 Mar 2011
Microsoft Certified Master - Week 2
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 1 Feb 2011
Time to Dust Off and Move On
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 25 Jan 2011
Microsoft Certified Master in Figures - Week 1
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 21 Jan 2011
Mastering the Aspirations
Posted by Bojan Nenadic on 18 Jan 2011
If you read my previous post about MCM in Figures - Week 1 you would have probably calculated that we had approximately 80-90 hours of instruction and practical preparation covering two aspects of Microsoft Exchange. Not the whole of Exchange, that takes three weeks of such training, you see. You would have then been forgiven for thinking that either we are all a bit slow or would have accepted the claim that this is possibly the most intensive IT course currently around. And for those of you that insist on binary and Hex, let me help you - 80-90 hours represents around half the total hours in the week.
What did I get for those hours in return? Exactly that - 55% at this morning's exam! Apparently, not enough! At least not for me. The whole class did pretty well - about 70% passed at this, the first attempt. Congratulations to all of them. I am not putting their names here, as I don't know if they would be happy about it. But, trust me, they would all be worth mentioning individually.
So, what next? Well, next has already been and gone. Roughly thirty minutes after seeing that red line and facing the prospect of going over the 900 or so slides again, the next instructor walked in, said "aloha" and opened up with something called B+. I though it was going to be about how to get B+ at the next exam so paid close attention. By the time I figured out it was about something quite different, my brain was already reset and I forgot all about the morning's stumble. Next exam is in a week's time, but much more importantly, I have another five days of unique opportunities to learn new stuff from the best and bounce ideas with nearly (and soon to be) the best. Exam results will come eventually. In the meantime, I certainly won't waste my good fortune in thinking about temporary setbacks any further.
So, the exam you didn't do so hot on, was that just a quiz or one of the ones you need to pass to earn the MCM? Do you get to take it again or don't you need to?
@Tim Lorge: To achieve MCM, you need to pass three exams - of the same type as MCITP exams (albeit at a different level of difficulty) and pass the 6-hour qualifying lab at the end. There are retake policies on all.
You'll get it next time Bojan, just concentrate on passing the others for now. Good luck.
@Greg Taylor: Thank you, Greg. I really appreciate the support.
For the rest of you - if you are interested in Exchange, you are certain to have read a few dozen articles penned by Greg (Technet, Exchange Team Blog). He was the first instructor on the course, but it won't do justice to talk about him now, so please wait until I put together an article planned for the end of the rotation. In the meantime, I believe Greg deserves a nickname and although Green Ticky Monster came close, The Elephant Tamer wins for the moment. Any other suggestions are most welcome.
Bojan, I am sure you will do well in other exams, first one takes the toll especially when it's such heavy as elephant itself! :)
I am surprised you are finding time to write about it from rotation, I wasn't able to talk to my wife more than 5 minutes. :)
Good luck for what's to come in these 2 weeks.
Don't kick yourself too hard, week 1 is the hardest. (but then I would say that as I struggled with week one as well) Chin up & deal it when you get back to blighty. I was on the same rotation as Bhargav - like him I barely found time for a call home, let alone blogging! Best of luck with the rest of it.
As others have said, move on and get the next one nailed! You now know what to expect :)
Green ticky ticky is certainly an apt name, see here:
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php
Best of luck!
Cheers,
Rhoderick
Today was the start of the last week of the Exchange MCM course. Basically, that means we had our second
In order to be accepted for MCM you have to already be pretty good at what you do. Maybe not right at