MOSs

“A rolling stone gathers no moss.”

This is a great proverb, except for the fact that , I didn’t’ gather [a] MOS either!

That being said, just because you think you know your “stuff” such as a Microsoft application, and you think you know it forward, backward, up and down and any which way and every which way, doesn’t necessarily grant you a MOS (that’s Microsoft Office Specialist) certificate.

I know this first hand.

I’ve been using MS Access for about 3 years now. My friend and mentor trained me so that I could take over for him after his promotion. (Honestly, no one else wanted to do it!) I absolutely loved the idea. (But then, lest I remind you, I am a big GEEK.) Just not geeky enough apparently.

I failed my MOS exam. It sucked big time. I felt ridiculous. Then I found out they changed the testing procedures big time as well. You have 50 minutes to answer 20 questions. That didn’t seem particularly daunting until I discovered that 1) there were multiple tasks to be performed in most questions, and 2) there were approximately 45 tasks to be performed…IN 50 MINUTES!

Did I mention there were ‘trick’ questions? (My Bad!) There are trick questions…or shall I be honest and say, there are MULTIPLE trick questions.

I can’t say anything else about the exam except that there is ONE FREE RE-TAKE! You have only four weeks and then that FREE RE-TAKE offer is up.

Today was my free re-take. Now, let me be very clear (and you will read this as me making excuses, and that is true, but whatever…), I was advised the first time around that if I failed to answer a question, and if there was time left, I could go back and answer that question. So, I passed up about 5 tough ones. I was finished with the exam and had 12 minutes left. Those 5 questions NEVER reappeared. What did appear was a little message box advising me that I failed the exam. (Uhm, yeah, because you didn’t give me the opportunity to answer my 5 bypassed questions!)

I checked the Microsoft site again, and sure enough, as I read previously, if you neglect to answer a question (skip a question and go on to the next one), you do NOT get another opportunity to answer that question. So, the instructor was wrong in advising me the way that she did. Would I have passed had she advised me correctly? We’ll never know.

Today was the last day for my FREE RE-TAKE. I’ve been studying with MeasureUp like mad. (Unfortunately, I cannot load the program at the office so home is the only place I can practice!)

Tomorrow I’ll be submitting my expense of $85.00 to my current employer for reimbursement.

Why?

Because I obtained my Access MOS today! I’m a little embarrassed that it took me two attempts, but as I’ve been informed, “since the change in testing, barely anyone passes on the first try. You are not the first and you won’t be the last.” That was actually encouraging and yes, I needed to hear those words. I truly did.

It felt really good to know I passed today. The proctor was thrilled for me. (She said that even she hasn’t passed that one yet and was quite hesitant to try again.) I walked out of the exam room and let go with a BIG sigh of relief. (Almost felt like losing 10 pounds!!!) Oh yes, that good and then some! I deserve a reward for this. I passed up SteinMart, and the fast food joints. I’m still contemplating my reward (and the iPhone seems a bit too extravagant)! I’m SURE I’ll come up with SOMETHING.

I start my Geek School courses next week. I’m a little nervous. Thankfully I’ll round out that weekend with some friends meeting at a local club to hear some local music. That will probably be my next blog.

Until then…be good or be good at it!