A post near and dear to my heart! Through the http://denver.sqlpass.org/ user group, I lead a study group. We meet in person every Monday 5:30-7:30PM at the same location we have hosted a few of our SQL Saturday events. We just started and are covering 70-461 Querying 2012 and will take roughly six weeks. Then we'll switch gears to -462 followed by -463 and ideally will have achieved MCSA before summer. We use the self-paced Training Kits and a Google group to share links and resources; most are free but I also reference Pluralsight courses too (and have been a happy customer). I will add the Stairway series to the list 🙂 I go over some things at the beginning then we dive into any questions about the content while all of us share insights and experiences along the way. On average we have 15 people per session. The background of the attendees covers a huge range- some people are just getting started with writing queries all the way to old hats who want the cert. Good questions and conversations all around.

Like you I already have -461 and -462 but need -463. The 2012 certs expire and since there will not be a MCSA 2014, 2012 certs be valid for some time. Personally I'm not going to wait until they expire- I am just going to re-take them and re-start the three year clock cycle. Hopefully this summer I can focus on -464 and -465. MCSE 2014 is a goal for me this year.

Some people have taken the formal compressed one-week training classes and then didn't pass- it was just too much for some folks. The style of our study group and pace while combining in-person with self-study seems to work for a lot of people. I think the big thing is to find a rhythm that works for you and learn to keep your nose to the grindstone while having some public accountability.