I am currently studying to finish up my MCSE Exams (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer). I started attacking this the normal way I used to study, get the giant textbooks and work my way slowly from the front to the back taking notes as I go. I was around a quarter ways through the Windows XP book when I gave up the ghost (as it was covering everything I already knew) and decided to try my hand at a practice exam.

What the hell? It’s a polite way of saying that the exams bear little to no relation to real life. If you are administering to a Windows XP box or group you need to understand the basics, fine. But the incredibly obscure questions are so patently bizarre. The problem being these exams are multiple choice as they are all graded by a computer. Fine. However the questions do not judge how good you are at problem solving, if you can tackle problems from multiple angles, the ability to use related knowledge to figure out your problem. No, the exams are mostly questions of such an obscure nature that you never know the answer and you would never NEED to know the answer. Here are a few examples from the 70-291 exam that I am studying for right now:

You need to check the logs for the Routing and Remote Access machine. Where would you find these log files?

Followed by four different path names. Should I know this off the top of my head? Maybe, does this in anyway demonstrate my ability to work effectively administrator to a Server 2003 domain? Of course not.

The amount of these problems which are simple rote memorization is staggering. In real life if you were faced with needing to check log files or which snap in to use, if you don’t recall straight away then grabbing your handy guide book or hitting up google will solve your problem. If you deploy a new DHCP Server onto a separate subnet separated by a router and you do not have a DHCP Relay in place, can you google that? No. These are the sorts of things that should be tested, showing that someone is not only capable of understanding the network but thinking their way around problems.

Add in the fact I am half way through my MSCE and I learnt more on the job in two weeks than I will learning to pass 6 exams.

I wondered how other people handle this having to learn really precise, mostly useless information. So I started digging through the wonders of the internet and found what are called brain dumps. Basically they are collections of the current exam questions with answers. A glossy way of saying cheating. These message board are filled with people vouching for the authenticity of these exams by saying:

Used these collections, passed my exam today, all the questions were on it!

I know cheating has always been a (small) part of exams but this seems to make is it incredibly easy and add in the way these brain dumps are done up they almost seem legitimate.

Ultimately I will get my piece of paper but I don’t feel good about it. Can you tell I have an exam today…? /rant