Rather foolishly, I set myself a challenge to study and pass the 70-761 exam in 3 weeks. (Initially, I set myself two weeks but it was too stressful, so I had to extend it).
I really enjoyed the exam (when it was over, and I’d passed). When I clicked to the End, I really didn’t know what score I’d got. Also, I clicked on review, so I had to wait an extra 10 minutes to get my final score, rather amusingly but annoyingly too. The result could have been 30, 60 or 70 in my opinion. Luckily, I passed with 810 so that’s all good. I did have some full days to revise this test, so it definitely wasn’t 2 hours a night.
The two main techniques I used to pass this exam.
Studying the official book;
then I purchased the accompanying Measure Up exam.
So I read through the whole book once, every word. I then skimmed through it again, looking purely at the T-SQL code. I took the Practice Exams (again and again) and where I didnt understand a key topic, I would re-read the book. The book is excellent and Itzik has always been a thorough and very technical writer.
The day before the exam, I finished revising at 5.30pm. I didn’t do any more cramming in the evening prior or the morning. If you’re ready that’s the time to relax, take a deep breath and do the best you can.
Here, at Sequallity, we take certification seriously and we think Microsoft do a sterling job in this area.