Skip the brain dumps and do it the right way.
Study hard and pass your certification by earning it.

by Brian Simmons, MCT, MCSD .NET, MCDBA

So, you've decided to pursue a premier certification from Microsoft. Whether it be your MCSE, MCSA, MSCD .NET, MCAD or MCDBA, you've got a long and arduous journey ahead of you. You'll spend many a day and night studying for the certification, and just about the same amount of time worrying whether or not you'll pass the exams.

You'll spend quite a bit of money on certification books, study guides, practice exams, self tests, exam crams, and prep software from some of the major certification players out there. This is money well spent. You'll be able to use these reference tools in the future to help you get your real-world job done. Also, these study aids help you gain a level of confidence before you head in to take your exam.

There's also the matter of paying for the exams when you go to a testing center such as Prometric or VUE. Since most of the Microsoft certifications require a minimum of 4 exams (core and elective exams combined), this is sure to cost you well over several hundred dollars. And that's not including the possibility that you may "not pass" the exam (I don't like to use the dreaded "fail") and have to retake the exam.

As you can tell, obtaining your Microsoft certification takes a lot of work, time and money. During your journey, you'll be guaranteed to be confronted with the issues of braindumps (sometimes spelled: brain dumps). What are braindumps? Basically, some exam takers leave the exam testing center and unload everything from their memories about the certification exam that they just finished and put that information on the Internet. Questions, Answers, Diagrams, Scenarios, Case Studies, etc... You name it they dump it. Some brain dumps are have exact questions, answers, and diagram figures, which leads to the question of how is that possible? That's really a whole other article, but it's this author's opinion that there must be an insider somewhere along the way that is unscrupulous enough to blatantly steal the tests.

First, let's make one thing clear: Braindumps are illegal. Microsoft has been actively pursuing these violators and winning judgements against them. Unfortunately, Microsoft can't shut all of them down because of differing laws in foreign countries. So, just because the brain dumps are available, does that mean you should use them? Afterall, you are spending a lot of time and money, and you want to make sure you pass the exam on the first try.

My opinion is: You should steer clear of using braindumps to help you pass the certification. Many of the brain dumps are bogus, contain incorrect questions and answers, and will probably add more confusion to your studies than help. Now, it's human nature to look, as many rubber-neckers doing during a 5 o'clock traffic jam. I would expect you to look at the dumps. It's hard not to, with so much at stake. However, I would urge to you to look briefly and then move on.

However, I would encourage you to look at some of the braindump forums where people chat about their experiences solely relying on using the dumps. You will find an ample supply of postings from certification-wanna-bees that strictly memorized the braindumps and basically wasted their testing fee because they failed miserably. It's never ceases to amaze me how many cheaters out there will post to a public forum and admit to failing when they were clearly trying to cheat the system. Don't be one of those cheaters.

To earn your certification honorably, I recommend the following to pass your certification exams:

Skip the braindumps. When you walk out of the Prometric or VUE exam testing center, knowing that you passed your certification exam because of all the hard work you put in, you will feel a tremendous sense of pride in the accomplishment you earned. It's a great feeling and you certainly don't want it to be cheapened by relying on brain dumps.

Recommended Certification Books:
MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Core Requirements, Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294	MCAD/MCSD Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft .NET Core Requirements, Exams 70-305, 70-315, 70-306, 70-316, 70-310, 70-320, and 70-300	MCDBA, MCSE, MCSD, MCAD Training Guide (70-229): SQL Server 2000 Database Design and Implementation	MCSA/MCSE/MCDBA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 System Administration, 70-228, Second Edition	MCSE Designing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory and Network Infrastructure Exam Cram 2 (Exam Cram 70-297)