Description:[ This is an excerpt from my blog post about this book: [..]
I am planning to take the MCTS 70-433 Certification Exam. If and when is that going to happen, I am not sure yet. I am not sure when but I hope it will be in the near future. MCITP 70-451 is also in my to-do list for the last quarter of this year (or first quarter of 2011) that is why it is quite important for me to nail this 70-433 exam the soonest I can.
I am not using the MCTS 70-433 Self-Paced Training Kit in my preparation. Instead, I am using The Real MCTS SQL Server 2008 Exam 70-433 Prep Kit from Syngress. Judging from my positive experience taking the 70-431 exam few months ago, I can very well say that the Real MCTS 70-433 Prep Kit will get the job done. I like the features of this prep book. I love the fact that the answer keys of the self test questions are found right after the questions. Some of the other features of the book I love are:
- List Of Exam Objectives in every chapter
- "Configuring & Implementing" and "Head of the class" boxes that highlight important notes about particular features of SQL Server 2008
- Exam Warnings that contain information on some gotchas that may be critical when taking the exam
- Test Day Tips which highlight useful, well, tips to take note of.
- Step-By-Step Exercises
- FAQ that reinforces what you have gone over in the chapter
- And of course the usual Introduction and Summary in each chapter.
The only things that I miss from the MS Press Self-Paced Training Kit are the Practice Exam CD and the tear-out Study Guide. But those should not be problems as I have an access to a development environment that I can play with in preparation for this exam; and I created my own customized 70-433 study guide (with highlights on each objectives and check boxes) based on the Microsoft Learning website . I have made my customized study guide available for everybody. You can download it [from my blog]:[..] or email me at mribunal [at] gmail [dot] com
My real success or failure ultimately depends on how much effort I am willing to exert in studying for this exam and not merely on any books or study materials.