Thoughts on the Microsoft 70-536 exam

Having recently passed Microsoft's 70-536 exam, I offer these reflections:

• As advertised, the 70-536 exam covers a vast array of topics. What's more, it does so at a level of detail which may frustrate even seasoned .NET developers. It's not easy to prepare for this exam. Ideally, many .NET class names, member names, method signatures and the like should be committed to memory—if not subconsciously, over many moons of rigorous .NET experience, then by a few weeks of cramming.
• Despite the seeming laundry-list nature of the 70-536 topics set, I found my month of preparation for the exam to be of immense practical value. While jumping from one topic to the next, drilling this or that arcanum into my brain, I developed a much sounder conceptual grasp of the .NET platform. I didn't fully realize that until after the exam.
• I used Tony Northrup's MCTS Exam 70-536 Self-Paced Training Kit (Second Edition) as my primary study reference. I've seen negative reviews of this book (which includes a companion CD with code samples and practice tests), and I concur that it's not a particularly pleasant read or 100% error-free. But if you take it for what it is—a set of elaborations on the 70-536 topics set; something that fleshes out the bare-bones "Skills Measured" outline provided by Microsoft—, you won't judge Mr. Northrup's effort too harshly.
• I found the 70-536, the actual test-taking experience, to be grueling. When it was over, I felt as if I'd gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. Even so, it didn't seem as if every question had been designed intentionally to trick or trap the unsuspecting. On balance, the questions were fair and reasonable. The 70-536 exam attempts to establish how much you know about the .NET Framework, not how much you don't know. If the latter were Microsoft's objective, they easily could produce a 70-536 exam which no one could pass. They have not done so.