Passed WSS App Dev exam :)
So I am officially now a Microsoft certified Technology Specialist in WSS 3.0. The formal title is "MCTS: Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 – Application Development"
Resources
I had used the following 3 resources
- Inside WSS 3.0 Book : I believe that anyone doing custom WSS development should get this book. Period.
- Ricks awesome post of his notes on the book and additional topics: http://rickenberg.net/blog/?p=45
- Me reading all the questions and answers in our company's Internal SharePoint email list whenever someone popped a question sort of helped(Thank you guys!)
I did not use any 3 party exam simulators or brain dumps for the exam. I was sort of forced to take the exam on this day.
Exam
Got up at 7.30, went to the office around 9.00 and spent my time going over my notes from the Inside WSS 3.0 Book before leaving to take the exam @ 11.30
The exam as such was not very bad. If you had worked with the WSS API and had done some decent development involving the Object Model, Web Part deployment, Solution Deployment to farms and dealt with Custom Security Policies you should be able to pass this exam without much preparation… There were a lot of questions about Web Parts (Of which I had limited experience as I had always used User Controls and Smart Parts), Security (That was pretty easy) and Features. There were few questions around Custom Security Policies, Timer Jobs…
I was happy to know at the end of the exam that I had passed the exam and that I had scored 800
Background
I cleared the exam last Sunday. I was actually not planning to take the exam on this dayJ. Just 2 weeks back I had postponed the exam as I had not really prepared completely(around 20%). For some reason I had thought it was 3 weeks and at 1.30 a.m on Sunday after enjoying an awesome dinner with my colleague at our house, Just when I climbed into bed I realized that I might have screwed up… And I did… The exam was for 12.30 p.m on the same day…
So I am really happy that I cleared the exam given the scenario under which I took the exam… If I had not forgotten to postpone the exam I highly doubt that I would have given it in the next 2-3 months..!
Congratulations!
Found your blog while googling for MCTS WSS info.
Thanks for all this info. I am working towards getting MCTS in WSS Application Development. I have working knowledge of C++ and only an overview of ASP .NET. I have helped setup my company sharepoint site and have also worked a lot with Deigner. For someone like me, is 6 months a good time frame to prepare and pass the exam?
Would appreciate your feedback.
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Hi Shilpa,
6 months is definitely more than sufficient. Even though SP designer might have helped you understand a little about SharePoint, it is definetely not enough. You really need some hardcore SP development involving the Share Point Object Model.
If you are able to study the "Inside WSS 3.0 " book that I had mentioned and also successfully complete all the examples in the book you have a good chance of passing the exam.
Good luck!
Hari
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Thanks a lot Hari. Appreciate it.
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