Yeah, totally know where you are coming from. I have just recently finished a bunch of my tests and am taking a big sigh of relief. The truth is that these certs that I just got are going to help me tremendously, it's just hard to remember that when you are in the think of having to study and stuff. I definitely hear where you are coming from though for sure.

++1
The information in the book isn't any thing that you couldn't find on your own system by using apropos/man. Additionally, it's far easier to read the bash, sed, and gawk sections of the book than it is to read the respective manpages.

What's even better, is I found my copy a few years ago on the Fry's discount shelf for $15 with a $15 mail in rebate... I didn't bother with the rebate but it was still quite a steal!

Thank you so much! That pdf is awesome! Although, this process is definitely a long one. I mean, I am ready, but not, at the same time! I also just loathe the idea of having to study something else now that I am done with college. You know how your homework used to always just hang over your head? Well, that feeling keeps haunting me whenever I think about getting back into this. But, I need it ya know??

yeah they have an mcitp certification upgrade pdf that like lays it all out...

that should be exactly what you are looking for.

it looks like they are hiring technical writers...maybe I'll go for that job, since my IT career as a Netowork Admin doesn't seem to be reaching any sort of pinnacle, ha ha. Does anyone know if they are offering a quick way to upgrade to MCITP from MCSE? I have my MCSE but I obviously don't want to (or think I actually need to) start over from the beginning with MCITP. I thought I read somewhere that it was only like 5 exams. Anyone help out on this one?

Yeah the syllabus is cool, but I like the test simulators even better. I actually found the mcitp certification practice tests to be harder than the actual test was. I was worried that I wasn't gonna pass the real test, but I called them up and my sales rep told me that I was good if I did what I did on the practice tests, so I went for it. Passed fine! I felt very comfortable with the exams I took and I felt like I was very well prepared for the entire situation. Actually, the other day I was doing some research online and came across some more blogs and stuff from Preplogic users. Good stuff. Glad to see a community helping each other out.

Salmon --
Dude you are so right. I just jumped in there the other day to grab some of my new Preplogic training since I just passed an exam recently. I saw the new LMS and was pretty blown away as well. The syllabus thing is one of my favorite features. I am excited to see what other new updates they bring out.

So has anyone seen PrepLogic's new LMS? Definitely newsworthy. I just jumped in there the other day to grab another video in my series and bam! They like totally redid the whole interface thing. You guys who are on UA should definitely go check it out.

Yeah man, sure does. I have talked to a ton of my friends who are also working in IT positions and they have said pretty much the same thing. Study and be prepared. I have one friend who just rushed into things thinking that he would know everything on the test, but he failed and it went downhill from there. Money and time down the drain. I can see how you would think that you know the material, but it all kind of runs together when you sit for the test. I am excited to get into this because I am hearing a lot about how certifications are being treated a lot differently than they were 10 years ago. Also agreed about the "go at your own pace" deal. That is like the main reason why I am looking at PrepLogic because I want to stay away from the boot-camps and the 4 inch books. Thanks for the notes, gbaxtin. I appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

Hmmm, well first I would say only go as fast as you can and still prepare well. My first time around trying my A+ certification exam I used books and stuff instead of Preplogic and also went to a boot camp, and I ended up trying to cram everything into my brain a lot faster than I should have. Then I found Preplogic's a+ certification materials and used those to study at my own pace for the second time around. It worked much better that way because I was going at my own pace. Make sense?

This is the second Preplogic blog post I have come across with largely positive conversation, so they must be pretty solid. I first heard about them from a friend after I told him that I was looking to start in IT and get my A+ and Net+ certifications, so I am probably gonna go check them out. Any advice for someone like myself who is just starting out with a base level certification?

Weird, same deal for my dad as well. My situation is a little different because the majority of the IT industry is male dominated, but my dad taught me well and being a female helps me stand out and be different. Anyway, he also just got booted for someone who was younger and required a much lower salary. I told him about Preplogic so he may be checking them out to see if he can get some quick certifications because he is definitely not ready to retire. I think he would go crazy.

yes, they have for sure. my dad was kind of in the same boat. He was in IT for like 25 years and then his company hired some kid half his age, for half his salary and kicked him on the curb. The economy has made things go cut-throat out there. Companies are doing whatever they have to to cut costs, including eliminating positions and hiring younger people. I guess this is good for people my age (in my 20's), but for the older generation of computer folks, it probably isnt gonna get any easier. Certifications, in my opinion, are becoming more of a standard requirement because there is so much job competition out there right now. I am really glad that I found Preplogic on Yahoo and ended up using them to study for mine. I couldn't deal with books and study guides anymore.

Good to hear about your experiences man. I had a similar good experience with preplogic using their cisco certification materials. I actually am looking at changing jobs myself. I have to do some research to see if I can get into this one local company that I really want to get into. I have been in IT my whole life and having the certifications that I have has been a lifesaver. I have seen them come through in multiple situations where I have had an automatic leg up on the "competition," so to say just because I had a certain cert. I have so many friends who are telling me that certs don’t matter that much, but as an older person I have seen them come through time and again. I actually have just as many friends who have lost jobs as older gentlemen who require larger salaries because the younger job candidates are coming in making less than half of their salaries, and my friends are certified. Times have changed I guess.

I so did it, and I am glad I did. I actually went ahead and borrowed some money from a couple of my friends, but they were happy to help me out. I am amazed at how easy it was to just stay on after the trial and keep the Unlimited Access. Truth is, I just couldn't let go of it. I guess that is why they do the trial, but I am not upset about anything. I loved the product to much to let it go. Besides, I was so far into my studying and stuff that it would have been a big deal to just lose all of that all at once. So, I guess from now on I will just have to let everyone know how my studying is going. With the Unlimited Access I actually have, just out of curiosity, gone around the site to the different products and checked out some of the intro study materials for the different certs. I definitely think I am going to keep going and get more certs after I'm done with the one I am working on now. Good stuff.

Dude, keep it. I was in your exact situation and decided to keep it, and haven't looked back. Believe it or not, I actually sat down and tallied up all the stuff I downloaded from Preplogic that would have cost me for each piece outside of the Unlimited Access, and I ended up saving a LOT of money. I was just like you, very unsure, in the beginning (at the end of my trial), but after I sprung for it, I looked back and realized that it was a fantastic decision. I highly recommend keeping it.

Just wanted to hop back in and let everyone know that my Preplogic training has been going very well. I am almost at the end of my 30 day trial and am still kind of on the fence about keeping the full product. Let me say, not because I don't like the product, by any means, but because money is just a little bit tight right now. If I cancel, I lose my $99, but would get to keep all the stuff I downloaded. I am so back and forth, but am really leaning toward keeping the program active because the product is so good. I have loved the video style as opposed to the books and really want to keep going with it. Thanks again everyone for your help before I started. I needed support from those who had "gone before" with Preplogic. Couple days left, will let everyone know if I spring for it!

Thank you everyone for all of your responses. It's really nice to be able to get help like this from a great users forum. I did get a chance to check out their free trial details and I think I'm in. I just think that Preplogic self study is definitely the way to go for me. There's no way I could see myself sitting through a boot camp or trying to use books. Seriously, I am so over the college book stage and never wanting to go back to books it's not even funny. I have this one friend who is still in school and he always has work to do, and I'm like..."yeah, so glad I'm out of that craziness." Wish me luck with the Preplogic trial. I think it will go over well.

Yeah, they do. It is called Unlimited Access and it's what I used in the past. Actually, mine is still good I think, but I don't need it anymore because I have gotten all the certs I have wanted to get over the last 2 years I have had it. It's really the best deal going if you are looking for a quality self study product. Boot camps and books aren't for everyone, including me. I am much more of a video and multimedia person so this was right on target for me. With Unlimited Access, from what I remember, they let me try it out for $99 for 30 days. I liked it so much I decided to keep it beyond that and ended up using it multiple times from there on out.

Yes, they do. It's called unlimited access. I never actually used it but I actually have a friend who did and he liked it a lot. He had to do a lot more certifications than I did, which was the difference. If you are in the boat that you are gonna do a lot of certifications over a longer time period, it's a good option. Oh, sorry, forgot to answer your question!! ha ha. The unlimited access program has a 30 day trial. I think it's like $99.

It all really depends on what your overall plan is. You should give them a call if you haven't already because the sales people are pretty solid and are good at walking you through what your specific situation is and whether or not unlimited access is a fit.