Original:
"Ryan" wrote:
I signed up for this when they offered it and registered for it at that time, now that i want to use it, i can't, whats up with that. I went and took the 070-271 today and failed it by like 10 points today, so, thinking that i had a free retake, I took it again after passing 070-272 exam. Failed it again, totally different set of questions and the second one's seemed harder than the first. I must personally say, i am not impressed with these exams, the way that MS fixes the problems is not the way that things are done in the field.
I am not happy with the fact that i failed this exam twice and couldn't even use my free retake. I work as a Desktop Support Technician and troubleshoot a lot of the same problems and some of those fixes i have never seen or never found even when searching microsoft's knowledge base.I am very upset, i was expecting to be able to retake one of these exams with the retake that i registered for back in the beginning of May. Now I have paid double for something that should have been free according to what I signed up for. Anyone know if there is a way to pull up that paperwork for that offer to see if you registered and when and when the time limit expired on taking an exam retake.
Its funny, there is Microsoft's way and then there is the real world way, guess in this situation you have know the MS way even though it doesn't work in the real world.
(My Reply)
You know Ryan, as someone who has been part of the exam creation process on other exams I have this to say about that:
1. You are dead right. There is a Microsoft way and there is often a 'real world way' as you call it. The bottom line is the real world is not certifying you, Microsoft is. The way it works is this: If you can do it the Microsoft way it usually means you understand the issue and the resolution. It also means you can probably take that knowledge and solve the problem in other ways. If you only know the other way then maybe you don't really understand the technology.
1a. "guess in this situation you have know the MS way even though it doesn't work in the real world." You prove my point... If you understood the technology you would know that the Microsoft way DOES work, you are probably just not doing it right.
2. Microsoft has had two 2nd chance offers, each expiring June 30th (2005 and 2006). If you signed up for it and did not use it in that time frame, and did we mention that when you signed up for it they gave you a code that you had to use when registering for the exam, then maybe your problem is not understanding the technology so much as you just do not like to read.
3. (possibly insulting statement withdrawn)
4. "I must personally say, i am not impressed with these exams..." Yeah, I feel for you. I have taken a few exams and some of them do not really impress me either. Others do. Might I add that I say that having passed the exam so I have earned the right to complain authoritatively about it. Until you pass the exam you are just bellyaching so please stop because none of us want to hear it.
4a. For the record it would seem that however unimpressed you might be with these exams that these exams seem to be less impressed with you.
5. (Wow... if I left #4 in can you imagine how truly insulting #3 must have been for me to withdraw it unseen?)
6. "Now i have paid double for something that should have been free" No, you have paid for an exam that you were not prepared for. Twice.
I will be reposting this post and my reply on my blog. Feel free to comment there because I read that more often than I read this forum these days.