(no subject)

So...

Last week, on Tuesday, I took my first Microsoft SQL Server 2000 certification exam. It was rough, it was tough, I tussled, I fought... and I failed.

I went a little crazy; I hit the books hard enough to make us both bleed (books don't tend to bleed very easily, you know), and I re-took the test on Friday.

Officially, Microsoft has stopped giving exam scores, but thankfully, this testing center hadn't stopped. My re-take was 711 out of 755.

I think I would have hit a nasty despair patch if I hadn't known that I was close.

So, I put off the test I had scheduled for Friday ("Design and Implementation", versus "Administration"), and I broke down, and bought test-prep software. (It's $120, which is $5 less than the test, and twice as expensive as a book.)

I took D&I test today... again, they didn't give me a score. But, this time, I passed.

Next Thursday (You have to wait two weeks after your second attempt to re-take) I'll take - and pass, damn it! - the administration exam. Then I'll be very close to my Microsoft Certified Database Administrator certification. (I'll have to take an elective exam, but there's a really easy one (easy for me, at least) that I can take).

My only nightmare will be if this doesn't help my job search.

(no subject)

So...

Last week, on Tuesday, I took my first Microsoft SQL Server 2000 certification exam. It was rough, it was tough, I tussled, I fought... and I failed.

I went a little crazy; I hit the books hard enough to make us both bleed (books don't tend to bleed very easily, you know), and I re-took the test on Friday.

Officially, Microsoft has stopped giving exam scores, but thankfully, this testing center hadn't stopped. My re-take was 711 out of 755.

I think I would have hit a nasty despair patch if I hadn't known that I was close.

So, I put off the test I had scheduled for Friday ("Design and Implementation", versus "Administration"), and I broke down, and bought test-prep software. (It's $120, which is $5 less than the test, and twice as expensive as a book.)

I took D&I test today... again, they didn't give me a score. But, this time, I passed.

Next Thursday (You have to wait two weeks after your second attempt to re-take) I'll take - and pass, damn it! - the administration exam. Then I'll be very close to my Microsoft Certified Database Administrator certification. (I'll have to take an elective exam, but there's a really easy one (easy for me, at least) that I can take).

My only nightmare will be if this doesn't help my job search.