Sharepoint learning
what is sharepoint? how can I learn sharepoint ? how much time does it require to learn sharepoint? when can I say I am at level 100, 200, ...or an expert of sharepoint?..... All these questions came to my mind when I wanted to start learning sharepoint. During my learning journey, I used books, e-learnings, online resources, labs, ..... . I tried everything at the beginning with no clear goal, and so I did not succeed to master sharepoint, after many attempts, I could manage to get on the right track.
From my experience, at the beginning you have to choose a track, developer or administrator track. sharepoint is a huge product and to master it, you need to fully cover both, so you'd better focus on one track at the beginning.
Using e-learnings or books is a good way to learn from scratch since it provides you with the necessary knowledge and makes you aware of the what and and the how of the product:
- For e-learning material: https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/training/sharepoint.aspx
- For books: "Microsoft SharePoint 2010: Building Solutions for SharePoint 2010" for developer track, "Microsoft® SharePoint® 2010 Administrator's Companion" for administrator's track
Practicing is necessary to try what you are learning and see how the product behaves, for that, taking practice labs is beneficial (you'd better use virtual machines rather than physical machines), for ready to use labs : https://cmg.vlabcenter.com/default.aspx?moduleid=b54b11a1-5d78-4efe-8e22-ac65387b46ba
To assess your knowledge and to know where you are at, taking certifications is good : https://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/training/sharepoint.aspx