Failing Certification Exams

I noticed that there's a lot of topics on preparing for certification exams or earning the exam, but very few (if any) on failing exams.

If you've failed a certification exam, how did you handle it? How many times did you retry to pass before you finally passed it? What did you do to help yourself in passing it the nth time?

I invite you to share your experience.

I guess I'll begin by sharing my failing experience. I just failed the 70-270 (Windows XP Pro) with 564, needed 700 to pass. The material I used was so incompatible with the material on the exam, so I'm a little upset about that. The book shoved details in my face and then comes the exam and the exam doesn't question me on ANY of that material. Instead the exam is fifty-eight questions and ALL scenario-based. I'll be retaking it in a few weeks after I do more studying

K

yet to write the exam!!!

We got a guy at my company that is about to take his CCIE lab for the 3rd time.

We just had another get his CCIE Voice, so there are now 445 of them in the world.

What did you use to prepare for the exam? I have past that test and it seemed easy because I had a simulator that had all scenario questions. Most of the time you will need to know the facts and trivial stuff in order to complete the scenario questions, but it is a good idea to get used to the format of the tests.

I have only taken a few tests and I have past them all. At first, I was worried about failing because I like to think I know something about the networking industry, but the more I learn the more I do not know. I think I could take the previous exams over again and fail them. If you don't use it, you lose it.

the more I learn the more I do not know.....If you don't use it, you lose it.

Very true. And Socrates said something similar to your second comment -- "the more I learn, the more I learn how much I do not know" or I think it was "I know that I do not know"......

Although I failed it several months ago, about.....exactly one week and one day ago I retook the test and passed it. Like I said in the beginning, the book I used was very incompatible with the test. It asked simple questions such as, "What is the maximum amount of RAM that XP can handle?". Determined to pass the test, I spent the next several months studying, except this time I used different material. I did searches on Google to get more information about the vague topics. I used the knowledge to experiment on my lab. I took several practice tests, read several study guides, and used TestKing. In the end, I passed the test with flying colors.

My advise: don't depend on one source for exam preparation. The tests cost too much to fail.

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.

Sounds like good advise on the test prep. I have not taken it yet. I'm a student in Westwood College Online and just up to CCNA-3, with no professional experience. I have a hard road ahead, but I'm determined.

Good job on passing!