Lets start with the way I am approaching 2019 from a studying perspective. I carved out a series of exams out to September of 2019 with the hope of passing all the exams on the first try. My exam list is subject to change should I not pass any of these exams, and be required to restudy for any failed exam, but let’s not discuss that now. Going over what I have planned in the first 9 months of 2019 will be a long and grueling period for me. I plan to continue writing study blogs along the way every day or two that tracks my progress towards my goals. I took this year off because in 2017 I did my MCSA upgrade exam. 2019 has me taking roughly 6 exams in 9 months which translates to about an exam every month and a half. I anticipate the exams will cost me almost a thousand dollars for the 6 exams not counting the cost of the books and other resources I will need to purchase to prepare for them this next year.
So let me explain exactly what my plans are I am going to be during my exam studies in 2019. I am going to lay out the exam objectives for each exam I plan on taking on the first blog post of each exam. I will be blogging about the study materials I am using to pass each exam and what I think of the exam material I have. I will link to the material I am using in the initial post for that exam. I will be posting my lab environment for each exam whether it be just the surface or a laptop I have at the house to study all the way to my server rack that I use to study at home. I will explain each piece of equipment I am using and how it connects into what I’m studying, and how this exam or set of exams I am preparing for will be used in my career. I will break down my daily routine on how I study and how I approach exam objectives that may be different from other people’s approaches to exam topics. Bear in mind I am doing all of this and paying all my expenses for these exams out of my own pocket, no company is backing me in my studies, which makes this task more difficult for me as I have to balance taking exams and studying with a personal life as the year goes on. Failing exams, as much as I hate to admit it is always a possibility. I may not wish to take an exam should something happen during my studies. If I don’t feel I have made enough progress or don’t feel ready for the exam I’m preparing for I may be forced to put it off to a later date. However, I don’t like to talk that way here on this blog because I am a positive person, and I do feel I can pass exams if I put the time in to study for them. I’ve already taken 15 certification exams in the last 13 years so that says I’m pretty competent at taking and passing these types of exams.
So first up on the docket for next year is my Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician exam or the CCENT exam. The cost of this exam is $165 before the price of the book and any additional material that I deem necessary. Again, I will link the exam materials I use when I make the post about it when I start to crack open the books required for preparing for this exam. The plan right now is to start studying for this exam in December and take the exam before February 28th, 2019. That gives me roughly 2 months to study for it. It shouldn’t be that hard an exam. I’ve taken it once before and passed on the first try. This exam will only be valid for 3 years after I initially take it, so I will either have to have my CCNA by then or have taken this exam again in those 3 years to extend it.
Next up on the exam block is the Cisco Certified Network Associate exam or the CCNA. This is the second part of the CCNA exam also costs $165. II will follow the same process as I did with the CCENT exam, blogging about it and linking to the material I am using. I am going to note here that I do not have any Cisco hardware to practice on, but I plan on ordering what I need after I learn what version of IOS is being tested on these exams. It is important I match the test version with my home lab. I would hate to take the exam and have been working with an outdated version of Cisco’s IOS. My plan is to have this exam knocked out by April 15, 2019. Tight deadline but the CCENT and the CCNA exams are so closely intertwined, I think it’s a good idea to take them one right after another.
Now I will jump back into my favorite world and that is the world of Microsoft exams. I am taking the MCSA windows 10 exams. This is a 2 exam track, with each exam costing $165 each. It’s not that bad honestly once you start taking exams and get used to the format of these exams. Microsoft does post that a passing score on these exams is 700/1000 so you have a goal on what to shoot for in the exam room, however you don’t know how your questions are graded while taking the exam. Again, I will break down the equipment I used to take these exams and the books and other material I used to cover exam objectives. The plan for these 2 exams is to have them both done by July 31, 2019.
Let’s get to the last 2 exams I have currently planned on taking in 2019 and those are the MCSA office 365 exams. These exams again will run me $165/exam. I am planning to get these done by the end of September of next year. It’s a tough to doable time line for taking these exams every month and a half. Considering that I finished my MCSE on 2012 server by taking back to back exams in 2016 and passing both on the first attempt. My study plan for all Microsoft exams remains pretty straight forward and I will cover each exam and each exam objective in a post on my blog. I may also cover multiple exam objectives in a single post if I cover more then one in a day.
So let me recap. My goals for 2019 as it stands right now are to obtain my CCENT, my CCNA. And 2 more MCSA’s in the coming months. This will not be an easy task as I am looking at roughly $1500+ between exams and study material before I factor in my equipment I may or may not have to purchase for my lab that I run at home. I am financing this all out of my own pocket, so failure is not an option for me at this point. I am good at taking and passing exams especially these types of exams. I may or may not have a guest blogger on here while I do my CCENT and my CCNA studies, as I am more then likely going to study for them with a couple other people. I think it would be great for me and the guys I’m studying with for the Cisco exams if we all gave our feedback on what we thought of the exams and what we didn’t like about how we prepared for the exams. After each exam I take I will have a blog post giving my score and what my thoughts are on the exam. I will also examine which method of studying worked the best for me while preparing and how prepared I felt for the exams. This isn’t going to be the hardest year for me as I firmly believe that 2018 was my hardest year. 2019 and going back to deal with exams again will be a cake walk to beating cancer this year. It will also be a lot cheaper than the doctors’ bills I had to cough up for this year while battling cancer. Nothing is going to stand in my way of getting these exams done.
I will see you guys soon over on my study page where I plan on blogging my way through these exams.
Jason
