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Erohann

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Can any industry veterans please comment on :Microsoft Exam 70-461

How difficult is it to pass and how relevant is it?
 
I failed this one not to long ago, the veterans's advice won't help that much either, all the certified legends (as in actually epically skilled dudes) who wrote their exams more than I'm guessing 3 years ago had a much different test. I was advised to do the theroy and get book smart as most is multiple choice. (Choose the most correct script) hence I did not do much practice in writing the queries.

Being the Mr #99 I tend to be when it comes to studies I decided the day before I write will be more than enough for the theory part, I script daily at work.....

To my horror from around Q#21 of like 50-ish there were requests to write scripts on a f#@king notepad having a couple of lines and words in random places on the notepad expecting you to write the script and yours then obviously needs to get to the same code they have pre- populated. (Estimated pre- filled script is like 4%/5 words in a 50 word query).

So I skipped all the scripting questions to go back to once all the others are completed. Guestimate the scripting is 50% of the total score...

Alas, I just started on the first script Q when time ran out. My end score was 46%, so probably got all my answered questions right.

PS, they take your phone and metal detect your ass before you enter the writing room @ Bytes.

So, my advice is practice your scripts till they are as drilled in your brain as 'select * from'

Having the ability to clearly picture the script in your mind's eye will also help with the speed in which multiple choice questions can be answered as many questions require you to page 3-4 pages, Wich you won't need if you know your querys well.

So, re-doing the test this month also.



Enjoy dude/tte
 
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Any time dude, PS, the relevancy is dependent on your end game, but I do think it's a + not to be able to bullshit your way through these, then you know the certified ones are actually Competent... Or able to be at least.
 
Well in terms of relevance, i wouldn't do it unless you are aiming to do your MCSA.

I passed my MCSA 1st time in 2017. LOTS of studying, took me a total of 8-10 weeks i think? I was unemployed at the time so was full time studying.
I took my test online using the PearsonVue program at home, fantastically efficient and easy to use, and no need to book times at a centre or anything.

As for the exam itself, it was hard and you definitely need to know the correct syntax for Selects, views , tables & constraints and what the outcome of a script will be. Pretty much everything they detail on their page is what you need to know. e.g XML, they'll give you an XML output and you need to know if that comes from XML PATH, XML RAW etc.

Study materials i used (Found it through torrents and stuff):
Training Kit (Exam 70-461) Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (MCSA) (Microsoft Press Training Kit): Dejan Sarka, Itzik Ben-Gan, Ron Talmage: 9780735666054: Amazon.com: Books
CBT Nuggets videos
and then basically anything else with the 70-461 tagline on torrent sites.

Had a thread earlier which might be of use too: Best place to Study MCSA SQL | Job Portal
 
Sooo... this was not easy...it did not go as I would have hoped.
Working through as many examples and questions as I can get my hands on and a training manual, but it is all still a bit overwhelming and I have two weeks to try and cover and somewhat master the material, with limited after work time at my disposal to study.
Please help
 
From what I recall, there's a little bit of everything in this exam, but the difficulty/complexity of each part isn't particularly high. So if you have any major gaps in your knowledge it's going to be pretty easy to drop a few questions, but on the aspects you're familiar with, you should be fine.

So it's really about learning the syntax to everything, even the things that are likely less commonly used: XML, Grouping Sets, Spatial types, Query/Table hints, etc..
 
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Sup guys. Who recently wrote 70-461? Im actually writing again next week but I'm confused, all the videos on YouTube states you have 3 hours and nobody has ever run out of time.... but my first attempt i only got 60min and did run out of time. WTF?
 
Sup guys. Who recently wrote 70-461? Im actually writing again next week but I'm confused, all the videos on YouTube states you have 3 hours and nobody has ever run out of time.... but my first attempt i only got 60min and did run out of time. WTF?
I wrote earlier this month. I think the 3 hours includes the instruction section at the start, the Q&A about your SQL experience and the survey at the end.
As for the actual questions, it was 2hours I think? Also ran out of time when reviewing questions after first run through
 
Confirmed, 2 and a half ours including time for NDA and Commenting afterwards. 2 hours Exam only. I got 42 questions. 5 of which were complete the code at the end. Missed it with about 1 question :( I will pass this bitch before April is over.
 
Proud to say I passed!
Next up is:
Exam 70-778: Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Microsoft Power BI
and
Exam 77-728 Excel 2016 Expert: Interpreting Data for Insights
 
How log do you get to write?
150 minutes for the questions, with additional 10 minutes before for instructions / intro and 10 minutes available after to provide comments on questions if you choose to (if you feel something was unclear or possibly even wrong). This time round I did get 6 questions to code though, opposed to the 5 of last time, still 42 questions total.

Where / how did you write your test?
I wrote at Torque IT at 5 Mellis Rd, Rivonia. It's the nearest centre to work, and work booked it anyway. Pretty standard PC exam lab there, facilities are nice, people are great and friendly. Would recommend them as a Pearson Vue Centre 10/10.
 

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