SharePoint 2010 Configuring 70-667 Exam Passed!

This is the first blog I’ve wrote in a while and long overdue! I’ve been a little busy over the past couple of months. One of the reasons for being busy was studying for my SharePoint 2010 exam.
I sent out a tweet after passing my exam and was asked if I had any tips. Unfortunately due to my NDA I can only point you to the exam page where a full list of the skills measured can be seen.
How did I study I hear you ask?
Well firstly I installed SharePoint 2010 a few times and got to know the user profile service very well! Which led me into the new Service Apps layout and functionality nicely. This led to lots of playing with central admin and SharePoint generally.
Following on from this I ran through all the virtual labs some were very good, some were not so good. The labs can be found here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/bb512933.aspx.
I also read a lot of articles on TechNet http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc303422.aspx. Now that SharePoint 2010 has been released a few months content is starting to become populated with the right level of detail.
I’ve now become addicted to podcasts as well. I drive to work or sit on the train and radio in the morning just irritates me (I wont get personal). I listen to a couple of excellent podcasts and would strongly recommend if you are a SharePoint enthusiast you do the same. The podcasts are:

• Todd Klindt’s Weekly Net cast – Shares some good experiences on week to week issues encountered
• SharePoint Pod Show – Some great guys on here interviewing various SharePoint people on the road

Finally I purchased the book SharePoint 2010 Administrator's Companion from the Book Repository as Amazon kept delaying my order.
Taking the exam
Currently Prometric / Microsoft are running a free second shot offer if you buy a pack of 2 or more exams http://www.prometric.com/microsoft/certpacks. This offer runs until June 2011 so there's plenty of time. I’d highly recommend this as it gives you that extra security and takes the pressure off you to pass first time round without having to put your hand in your pocket again.
Additional resources
After running through all these virtual labs I found a heap of other resources which you may find useful:

SharePoint 2010 Advanced IT Admin Virtual Labs
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ff420396.aspx – (Videos can be downloaded to view offline here)
SharePoint 2010 Developer Virtual Labs
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/cc707678.aspx
SharePoint 2010 Advanced Developer Labs and more
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ff420377.aspx

Also SharePoint user groups are a great way of people interested in SharePoint getting together and sharing experiences.
The UK SharePoint user group can be found here http://suguk.org/ or search for ‘SharePoint User Group’ to find one in your country / area.
(Updated 19/05/11) Sample exam questions for the exam can be found here http://www.accelerated-ideas.com/aiMExamsChoose.aspx
Conclusion
Just to conclude exams do help in benchmarking skills against recognised accreditation, however the real skill with SharePoint is knowing when to use what you know and where. Unfortunately exams can only teach you so much the rest is down to real world experience.
With thanks to Marc Molenaar for sharing his thoughts and views on passing the exam.