How to pass a Microsoft Beta Exam
In 2002 I wrote and passed 7 microsoft beta exams. The tough thing about passing a beta exam is that there are few resources available to help you study. The good news is that targeting your study and following a few simple rules on the day of the test can make passing a cinch.
How to target your study
The exam data is fast approaching and you only have an hour or two each night to study. How should you target your efforts? Easy. Microsoft tells you exactly what is going to be on the exam! For each exam you should go through the published “Skills to be measured” bullet point. Read an article or two (or as many as you can get your hands on) for each item. Yeah, it’s a lot of reading. But usually you can skim the articles and just pick on the major points of each article. If you have time, try out the code samples.
On the day of the examFollow these basic rules.
- Get a good night’s sleep before the exam. Do not try to take the exam after a full day’s work. Your brain will be fried. I like to take the exam on the weekends early in the morning.
- Ask for a quiet spot. As the exam monitor is setting you up don’t be shy to request another machine in a location that is more private. Stay away from the sickies – the people who are coughing and fidgeting. They will only interrupt your concentration. Also, don’t be afraid to switch chairs or computer equipment. Nothing is worse than trying to write the exam with a sticky mouse!
- This one may surprise you. You don’t have to know the correct answer in order to answer the question correctly! In other words, be an intelligent guesser. If the question has four possible answers and you make a random guess you have a 25% chance. If you can, use your knowledge to eliminate one answer that is definitely wrong then you have 33% chance. Finally, if you can eliminate two obviously wrong answers then you have a 50% change of getting it correct. You will increase your chances of passing the exam dramatically.
- Pick the best answer, not the correct answer. All the answers may solve the problem posed by the question but only one will be the best answer. Make sure you read all the answers before choosing your answer.
- Use the pad and paper! If it helps you to make a diagram with little arrows on it, or boxes or circles then do it. I am a visual person and I can think better about a problem when I can draw in up in a diagram.
- Keep track of your time! For a 90 minute exam with 45 questions on it that will give you approximately 2 minutes per question. At 30 minutes you should be at least through question 15. At 60 minutes you should be at least through question 30. Leave yourself enough time at the end to go back the recheck the questions that you were not sure about the first pass through the exam.
Good luck!