Studying for the SQL MCM 2008 (Microsoft Certified Master)

This post will list the resources that I have found and that will hopefully give enough material in order to tackle the SQL MCM 2008. It will also provide an update every now and then with my progress. Anyone in the South West  (United Kingdom) preparing for this currently?

How easy is it to get a SQL MCM 2008?

Ha Ha, well yes indeed that is what I hope to find out. First off the initial requirements are that you have obtained the following MCITP certificates:

MCITP: Database Administrator SQL Server 2008 = 2 exams
MCITP: Database Developer SQL Server 2008 = 2 exams

Then you must pass:

Exam 88-970: SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Master: Knowledge Exam 318.00 GBP
Exam 88-971: SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Master: Lab Exam 1293.00 GBP

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/cert-sql-server.aspx

Goal

The goal for 2011 was to achieve the MCITP certificates which I managed…just.

It is difficult to really work out how big a gap exists between my knowledge now, and the knowledge needed to pass the next stage so I will be a little cautious in my goal setting.

Realistically I hope to attempt the exam in the summer and then take it from there.

Cost

The first 4 exams to achieve the 2 MCITP certificates are £99 GBP each, so £396 GBP to achieve both the MCITP certificates.

The knowledge exam + lab exam + 2x MCITP means that this will set you back £2000 which does not obviously cover any training resource that may be purchased.

I think ideally I would have liked to attend one on the workshops from http://sqlskills.com/ but I think the exam cost is going to blow a big hole in my budget as it is.

Time Frame

There is no retake limit, however there is an obvious cost implications. Microsoft how about a second chance voucher? Discount for being a forum lurker?  Seriously though the main point I want to highlight is that the retake wait period is 90 days so even if money is no object (…lol…) you still would not be able to take it that many times.

Resources

The first, and in my view primary resource is the SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) Readiness Videos which can be downloaded for free!

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/ff977043

Luckily I was saved repeated clicking when downloading them, when I stumbled across a powershell script from sqlvariant.com which will download them all for you.

Second stop is the primary resource area at:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/master-sql-path.aspx#mcm-microsoft-sql-server-2008-readiness

Twitter #mcmprep

2 thoughts on “Studying for the SQL MCM 2008 (Microsoft Certified Master)

  1. Pingback: Passed MCM Knowledge Exam 88-970 | Jon Gurgul's Blog

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