First step

My main goal is to pass the MCSA exam in 2019.

The first subgoal then is to pass the 70-761 – SQL 2016 Database Development exam.

When planning for something I think a lot of good can come out of breaking the issue into its separate parts and see what the whole is made of.

So what is the 70-761 made of?

The Microsoft site breaks down the exam to different areas and how big part each area will be on the 70-761 exam. There is a lot of good information on the site and I recommend you to go here and check it out. After listening to Kendra Littles on her podcast Dear SQL DBA, I decided to create an overview of the different areas of the exam and also asset my self on the different parts. This as for me two purposes, to see my strength in each area and to function as a log where i can measure my progress.

As you can see I have a lot of ground to cover. Which feels a little bit daunting but I´m also very excited about this! The good news is that I feel most confident in the area that will be the biggest part of the exam.

About 18 months ago when I first wrote my first query, I did not know or see that T-SQL was so

complex. I still remember when it felt I could see the borders of T-SQL and the possibilities of it. But because I have been in I similar situations many times before I knew that it was just a matter of time before I would start to realize the depth of T-SQL. Now I´m at the start of that place and it feels that there is no end of things to learn.

31 July

My goal is to take the 70-761 exam before 31 July.

This will give me roughly about 5 months of studying and I plan to divide my time accordingly:

March and April - Manage data with Transact-SQL

May and June - Query Data with advanced Transact-SQL components

July - Program databases by using Transact-SQL

I think I can have around 4 hours of study each week and my main structure will be short study sessions that are consistent, goal-oriented and recorded. In daily life, this will boil down to 30-50 minutes study session that I have every day. The day before I have planned what area I will study for the coming day. I will then try to focus on that area through my study sessions and record my progress afterwards in some way.

At the beginning of June, I will buy the test exam from Microsoft. Because in the end it will not only matter how deep my knowledge in T-SQL are but I also how good I'm in answering and understanding the exam questions. So to take the test-exam will get me used to reading and answering the question in the same way as the real exam will be. Which feels like a good way to prepare for the exam.

The next post will be a little bit more about T-SQL and a little less about the exam.

Have a nice day now!