How to get through it?

markulous

I'm a little frustrated with this cert. I've finished the Comptia study guide after 3 weeks and it was so hard to get through because of how dry it was. I went to take the practice exam through uCertify and got a 43% and I feel lost. I have to get an 80% before WGU will issue me a voucher. Only thing I can think of now is just keep slamming my head against the keyboard and try to keep taking the exam until I get it right. I have a **** sheet for the formulas but that's only a small portion of the questions. Anyone else feel like they tried to get through it and just can't get interested in it? EDIT: Failed. Got 705 and passing score was a 710. EDIT: Passed the second time.

Jon_Cisco

I have seen a lot of posts about how boring project plus was.

My only real feedback is that in the real world if the task you are doing is boring you still need to suck it up and get it done. Find a way and you will be a better employee for it.

Honestly I have not even browsed the material but when I am reading boring tech stuff I take more notes then is required just to force the information into my brain.

Good Luck!

EV42TMAN

I took that certification because i'm a student at WGU as well, and ignored the Ucertify stuff as much as possible. I had an argument about the ucerify preassessment test with my student and course mentor. The ucertify test brings in other project management topics that are in higher certifications or not in any certifications at all (example: some of their questions are sourced from wikipedia). When I took the class I order the Official Comptia book off of amazon so I could get the Comptia practice exams. Then after I got over 80% with the Comptia practice exams I went back to the preassessments from WGU and had the preassessment test open on one monitor and google open on the second monitor. I used google to get the answers Ucertify wanted. I thought I was a waste of time to do a preassessment for a certification that over 60% if the questions didn't come from the certification vendor. Then I took the certification exam and passed. The real test is basically a giant vocabulary test so keep that in mind.

Dakinggamer87

It was the most boring and dry certification I took and it definitely took a lot of will power for me to get through it.
I read the Sybex book and took lots of notes. If you like I can send you my notes send me a PM..

markulous

Jon_Cisco wrote: »

I have seen a lot of posts about how boring project plus was.

My only real feedback is that in the real world if the task you are doing is boring you still need to suck it up and get it done. Find a way and you will be a better employee for it.

Honestly I have not even browsed the material but when I am reading boring tech stuff I take more notes then is required just to force the information into my brain.

Good Luck!

Boring "tech" stuff is okay. It isn't tech at all though, it's just boring project material. I normally don't struggle this much with it, but definitions and formulas are so bland and dry. As soon as I start reading it I have to take a break.

markulous

EV42TMAN wrote: »

I took that certification because i'm a student at WGU as well, and ignored the Ucertify stuff as much as possible. I had an argument about the ucerify preassessment test with my student and course mentor. The ucertify test brings in other project management topics that are in higher certifications or not in any certifications at all (example: some of their questions are sourced from wikipedia). When I took the class I order the Official Comptia book off of amazon so I could get the Comptia practice exams. Then after I got over 80% with the Comptia practice exams I went back to the preassessments from WGU and had the preassessment test open on one monitor and google open on the second monitor. I used google to get the answers Ucertify wanted. I thought I was a waste of time to do a preassessment for a certification that over 60% if the questions didn't come from the certification vendor. Then I took the certification exam and passed. The real test is basically a giant vocabulary test so keep that in mind.

Ah so that's maybe why I feel so lost. It seemed way more advanced than the Comptia book that I was reading. Maybe I just google the answers the same and go and take the test. I'll just make sure I study up on the definitions and formulas.

abyssinica

Project management is the most boring thing ever, maybe that's why

petedude

Project management isn't so much boring as the reading.

The OP should look over previous threads about the subject. I personally found a Sybex PMP book to be a better read while studying for the Project+. The writer made her best effort to be engaging and occasionally witty.

markulous

petedude wrote: »

Project management isn't so much boring as the reading.

The OP should look over previous threads about the subject. I personally found a Sybex PMP book to be a better read while studying for the Project+. The writer made her best effort to be engaging and occasionally witty.

That's the book I was reading I believe. I'm taking the UCertify test again and it's bit easier this time and I think I'm catching on. I'll be happy when I can put this behind me though.

markulous

I am taking the exam tomorrow. I've gone through the Ucertify test a couple of times since then (and improved my score quite a bit) so hopefully I can pass it.

markulous

Ugh. Passing score is 710 and I got 705. Not sure what to do now. I can get an 85%+ in my sleep on the Ucertify test and I read through the Comptia guide. This cert is annoying.

ajs1976

did you memorize all of the formulas and what each part of the formula means?

markulous

Yes. There weren't many questions on the formulas. I have trouble learning things I have no interest in, especially in written format but I really thought after taking the Ucertify test a bunch of times I'd be prepared to pass.

volume

Try this book instead? Much less dry than the official one. I primarily depended on this book and skimmed the official one when I took the Project+ awhile back:

IT Project Management: On Track from Start to Finish, Third Edition: Joseph Phillips: 9780071700436: Amazon.com: Books

markulous

volume wrote: »

Try this book instead? Much less dry than the official one. I primarily depended on this book and skimmed the official one when I took the Project+ awhile back:

IT Project Management: On Track from Start to Finish, Third Edition: Joseph Phillips: 9780071700436: Amazon.com: Books

I may do just that. I have access to that one also through WGU. A lot of people were saying to go with the official one so I went with that instead.

markulous

I've been reading the above book. As far as interest goes, I wish I would have stuck with this one instead of the Sybex. Like volume said, it's much less dry. I haven't heard back from my mentor since Saturday when he said to just wait for the voucher to be released so I'm not sure what else to do. I suppose I don't have to do anything extreme since it was one question, but definitely something needs to change.

markulous

Passed finally. 752. I'm so glad to be done with this cert.

Jon_Cisco

Great job! Sometimes we just have to push through the boring stuff.

markulous

Jon_Cisco wrote: »

Great job! Sometimes we just have to push through the boring stuff.

Thanks. It was much more difficult than the Security+ just because of my interest level.

Dakinggamer87

Congrats glad you got thru it!!

markulous

Dakinggamer87 wrote: »

Congrats glad you got thru it!!

Thanks! Looks like I will probably go for the CIW: Web Development after this. It looks to be a little more interesting and not very difficult. I see that you have it, is that the case?

arwes

Glad you made it through it! I'm starting to study for the Project + this evening, using that IT Project Management book that was linked (and is thankfully available on Books 24x7). My sig is woefully outdated, but Project + is the last cert left for me at WGU, just passed BOV1 (the CIW JavaScript test) today. The last CompTIA test I took was the Security + in 2003. I hope the question wording is better now, because back then I emailed CompTIA begging them to have an English major revise all their test questions. They didn't reply back LOL.

markulous

arwes wrote: »

Glad you made it through it! I'm starting to study for the Project + this evening, using that IT Project Management book that was linked (and is thankfully available on Books 24x7). My sig is woefully outdated, but Project + is the last cert left for me at WGU, just passed BOV1 (the CIW JavaScript test) today. The last CompTIA test I took was the Security + in 2003. I hope the question wording is better now, because back then I emailed CompTIA begging them to have an English major revise all their test questions. They didn't reply back LOL.

That's one of the issues I've had with it too. I thought they were just wording stuff like that to trick you, but maybe not.

NinjaBoy

Congrats on the pass

If you think PM was boring, wait until you study for ITIL, lol

markulous

NinjaBoy wrote: »

Congrats on the pass

If you think PM was boring, wait until you study for ITIL, lol

No way I go for that unless a job requires it for some reason. Luckily, WGU doesn't require it.

mokaiba

markulous wrote: »

No way I go for that unless a job requires it for some reason. Luckily, WGU doesn't require it.

Just putting this info out there for WGU students.

Resources > Library> lynda videos.

1. Type project management in search and choose the project management fundamentals result.
2. On the project management fundamentals video there should be a course featured in playlists on bottom of video.
3. Click on subscribe to playlist for learn project management.

ta-dah, a video reference for the course material (does not represent 100% comptia project+ material, but it does help).

image showing what I wrote: http://s28.postimg.org/dkim3tw4t/project.png

aderon

I used the Sybex guide to study for it. Was only 300~ pages and is fairly well written. Can definitely be read in only a few sessions. Also, if you want, I made really detailed notes while I was reading through the book. I can send them to you if you think it might help.

And as far as the test itself, memorize all the formulas. Practice just writing them all down on a sheet of paper over and over until it's second nature. Also, know a little bit about what each variable in the formulas mean. Write them down when you first start the exam and those questions are now basically freebies (And there's quite a few of them).

Edit: Just realized how old this post is lol

Souljacker

It's an old thread, but still relevant. I had the same conversation as others with my course mentor at WGU - the ucertify is really out there in terms of questions. I gave her examples of questions with answers that the phrases didn't appear in either textbook, anywhere. It's a terrible preparation tool and for a while there I was really worried about failing this exam.

Now I'm just going to bang my head against the questions until I get the 80+ they want (did it really have to be 100 question? REALLY?) and then use the official book's CD as my study material. Of all the courses I've taken so far, this one is the most overloaded of materials and the least focused on what will actually get you through the exam. Awful

Dakinggamer87

markulous wrote: »

Thanks! Looks like I will probably go for the CIW: Web Development after this. It looks to be a little more interesting and not very difficult. I see that you have it, is that the case?

Yeah pretty much it was much more interesting and a much easier exam to pass in my opinion. It's not as definition and vocabulary focused .

markulous

Dakinggamer87 wrote: »

Yeah pretty much it was much more interesting and a much easier exam to pass in my opinion. It's not as definition and vocabulary focused .

Agreed. It took my about a week of studying for that cert and I passed no problem. Useless cert, but at least it was IT related.