Microsoft certifications - they test unimportant stuff..?

Hey,

I just took a trial exam for a microsoft certification test (don't really know which type it was), for Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 for C#.

I noticed that they tend to concentrate on asking what properties are called etc for some types of questions. Why does it matter so much that you know that?
For example, I got a question 'What is the property called that allows drag and drop operations?'. Hardly ever using drag drop, I answered AllowDragDrop (I was confident it was something like that). The answer was wrong as it should have been AllowDrop... Who cares? Isn't the important bit that I need to know how to use it? Is the name that important? I can just look it up if I need it.

I know using the correct terminology is important, but I don't see how it's important to test this for a certification. That way you could learn the property names off by heart and (with a bit of experience in .NET programming) you can easily pass it... Or are they not supposed to be very hard? :p

Perhaps this is only on the trial tests? Or I took a very easy exam (I'm not really serious in taking one, just wanted to see what it was all about)..? There were a few questions on implementation but the majority seemed to ask the name of a property or attribute.

Anyone else noticed this?

It is important to understand the basics before going on to the advanced stuff. I suppose in the above case it is so that they can be sure that the person doing the test knows the ins and outs of what they can achieve with the programming language. This also includes the simplest way to do things, knowing how to code is useful but it doesn't help in every situation.

I sat the database developer module (can't remember that actual name) for the MCP several years ago and was quite taken aback at how pointless some of the questions were. I remember one question asking which versions of sql server supported indexed views. Do I really need to know that at the drop of a hat? Really? Is that really something I'll ever need to know without being able to check google?

I passed that module but decided I really couldn't be bothered to sit any more modules because it made me realise that the MCP wasn't really the qualification I was after. I want something that shows my ability to deliver solutions, not my ability to retain an enormous amount of trivial knowledge that I'll maybe use once every 5 years.

Nick,

Which trial exam did you do? Was it a Transcender exam, or a SelfTest, or a MeasureUp one. I have seen the quality of questions differ depending on the people who make it.

Gary

It was the transcender one I think.

Hmmm, that surprises me. I haven't personally used Transcender, but I have heard good things about them, and their sample exam questions. i.e. they are very much on a par with the type of questions that you can expect to see in the actual exam.

By the way, is there a particular exam that you are looking to sit?

Gary

Not really, I just saw a thread about these exams on a different forum and thought it was interesting. Had nothing to do for 30 mins so decided to just try one to see what it was like. I'm not seriously looking into taking an exam at the moment. Why would I do it? Is there any advantage for you if you have these certifications? Especially since I'm not even studying computer science (physics instead).

Hey,

It is really down to personal choice. Personally I see that these exams do serve a purpose. Firstly, my company is a Gold Partner with Microsoft, and having Certified People in the building helps with regard to what you can get/do as a partner. Secondly, I think it helps to keep you up to date with the new technologies. You might, in your job only work on a subset of the Framework, but doing these exams, opens up areas that you might not have used, but having seen them, could provide insight into how things can be done differently/better.

As you can see, I am a "fan" (if that is the right word) of these exams, and I am actively progressing my way through the MCPD track. I have seen various threads on this forum, and others, which say that the exams are worthless. But that is other peoples opinions, and they are entitled to them.

Gary

You've got a point there. I did notice that they asked a few questions on printing and LINQ in combination with XML, for example, something I know virtually nothing about because I never use it. If I was serious in trying to take this exam I would have to study those areas and learn something new which is obviously never a bad thing :)

Yip.

Primarily I develop Web Applications, but the route that I am taking is the Enterprise Application Developer/Architect route, meaning that I have to have knowledge of Windows/Web/Enterprise Applications.

Now I am not going to say that I am proficient in the other two areas, but what I can say is that I have knowledge of the technologies that are out there (Windows Forms, WPF, WCF, Web Services, LINQ, Silverlight, Remoting), to the point that I could say, "This problem could be solved by doing this..."

Gary

Quote:

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Is there any advantage for you if you have these certifications? Especially since I'm not even studying computer science (physics instead)

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If you're hoping to work in software then I'd say they are well worth having. I would question the usefulness of what they test but if you don't have any other IT qualification then they'd be invaluable to you when you start looking for work.