Background
I have recently completed my MCSE in Data Management and Analytics, and I wanted to share my experience of working towards and passing the exams that have led to me getting this MCSE. In this post I will cover some of the challenges I faced and provide some tips and advice, hopefully others following the same certification path, or other paths, will find this useful.
I am a business intelligence developer at Purple Frog, I have several years of experience working with data, I started off as a data analyst and then went into reporting and more recently have been working on ETLs, data warehousing and cubes. I have been working with SQL throughout my various roles and therefore the best place for me to start my certification path was with the exam 70-761: Querying Data with Transact-SQL. The path I’ve taken up to this point is:
MCSA: SQL 2016 Database Development
– 70-761: Querying Data with Transact-SQL
– 70-762: Developing SQL Databases
MCSE: Data Management & Analytics
– 70-767: Implementing a SQL Data Warehouse (from the Elective Exam Pool)
The learning material
Although the first exam (70-761) fitted in quite well with my SQL background (I probably knew about 75% of the material beforehand), there was still some work required for me to get to the stage where I felt I was confident in passing the exam. For me, the best resource and my primary resource for learning the material has been the Exam Ref books, so for example “Exam Ref 70-761 Querying Data with Transact-SQL”. These books are structured in a way that the content is split into the sections covered by the exam, for example the books contain a chapter for every skill covered in the exam.
The one downside to the Exam Ref books is that at times it can feel quite wordy if you’re relying on the book alone, so what I found really useful was to supplement this with videos and demos on the topics where I needed a greater understanding. In addition to this, practice and doing exercises helped me to further understand the different concepts as I was able to try what I had learnt and see where I was going wrong.
The final resource that I found useful was Microsoft Docs (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/), this is a really good reference point for key facts, for example I found the page on CDC really useful for my latest exam (70-767).
The exam
There are the obvious tips such as sleep early the night before, get to the exam centre with time to spare and so on, but I wanted to share some of the exam techniques I found useful while doing these exams.
My top tip is check that you have covered off and are comfortable with all the skills measured in the exam, the skills measured for each exam can be found in the “Browse Certifications and Exams” section on the Microsoft Learning website (example shown below for exam 70-761). The skills are also stated in the Exam Ref books and as mentioned before the chapters in the book are based on the skills measured in the exam.
What’s useful about the skills measured shown above is that it shows the weight of questions per skill in the exam. This is useful because you can work out if you need to focus on a weaker area if that area is a big part of the exam.
Time shouldn’t be an issue in the exam if you’ve prepared well, however some questions are not worded in the best way and can catch you out so do take the time to read each question properly, and do keep an eye on the time remaining after every 5-10 questions.
You have the option to flag questions and review them again later (note some questions cannot be flagged), make use of these flags for questions you are unsure of. This can be particularly useful if you’ve flagged a question and then a later question gives you a clue or reminds you of the answer for the question flagged earlier. Alternatively, you should be provided with a pen and wipeable board where you can make notes so note down the question number and topic so that you can come back to it later.
Next steps
I am currently studying towards the exam 70-768: Developing SQL Data Models, this will help develop my understanding and knowledge of data modelling and working with cubes and will also help me get the certification for MCSA: SQL 2016 BI Development. With these current certifications being retired in the near future the next plan is to work towards the certification Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate.
I hope you have found this blog useful and that you can use some of the tips mentioned in your study plans, all the best!
Having sat in the testing booth at least 99 times your readers may find a PowerPoint presentation that I created useful, “Strategies for Passing Certification Exams”, https://bit.ly/31zQNEm
So, is MSCE certification worth pursuing, given that they are being retired? I’m considering pursuing some sort of certification or degree given the very real possibility of becoming unemployed in the next year or two due to the economy. I have advanced degrees, but not in the analytical field. I could pursue an MS in analytics and/or certification. I already have skills in SQL Server (not Azure) and data modeling, skills gain on-the-job. Would you recommend MSCE while they’re still available, or jump ahead to Azure?
The MCSE certification is available until 31st January 2021, so at this point in time it gives you just under 6 months to get the MCSE. Remember that you’ll need to pass two exams for an MCSA and then a third for the MCSE, so you’re looking at under two months per exam.
It has taken me around 3 months on average to pass each exam, so personally I wouldn’t want to rush into the exams without learning the material properly. If you feel like you can achieve this in the time remaining then it’s definitely worth giving it a go, as there is a certification to be obtained as well as picking up very useful skills and knowledge.