Hello all, I am new to this forum and got a question about the 70-680. Is it worth getting or is it not? I've heard people's unsuccessful stories of them failing 2, 3 or even 4 times studying like crazy. I've also heard that the amount of questions in the exam are random, like 45 on first, 85 on second. Is this all true? I'm 50/50 on this.

I took the 70-680 a couple weeks ago and (barely) passed on the first try. I studied and lab'ed my butt off, though. Mine only had 50 questions. It was not easy. I'm now working on the 70-685 while the 680 material is still fresh in my head.

Poulton's and Microsoft Academy's books helped, but just reading them would not have gotten me through the certificate. Had I not lab'ed again and again, and had I not gone into Microsoft's technet and read about new features in greater technical detail, I would have probably failed the first try.

Is it worth getting? I don't know. I suspect it is, all else being equal.

Only after beginning my 680 studies did I read the easier path might be to take to 70-640, 642 and 643 ... then the 680. Having done the 680 first, I believe taking the 64x series exams before the 680 would have made a lot more sense.

By the way, I believe the 64x series will be replaced in about a year. My advice is to choose the exam path that best suits your objectives and time frame.

I can answer that question with one work, YES. I wouldn't jump right on a MCTS. Best thing to do is take the MTA's that lead up to the MCTS. I made the mistake of going straight to the MCTS and had to retake a few times before passing it. The MTA's will help you get use to Microsoft exam style and give you a base to build on.

Look at it this way, if everyone could pass the exam on the first try it wouldn't be a good cert to have. IMHO