Hit a Certification Platue.

Hondabuff

So I hit a plateau where I'm comfortable in my career with my current certs. I'm not really interested in pursuing the CCIE and may just stick with security for awhile. I want to just hone my skills with VPN technologies and tinker with firewalls. I have a plan to renew my CCNP in 2 years with the SIMOS security exam just to keep the NP level but really lost my drive. I did Finished my CCNP at the beginning of the year and just completed my CCNA Security to set my self up for the CCNP track. been a long year. I might just lay low through the holidays and see if the interest in studying comes back. Any one else just flame out and did you ever get back on track?

Chitownjedi

Yes.. All of 2013 I was burnt out.. so I concentrated on work and family, sometimes you just need to not have that grind and give yourself time to enjoy the benefits of all your hard work. I would definitely say if you took a break 4-5 months to not think about it or pursue anything it may help revitalize you.. then ease back in to your studies. And make sure that you are stoking the fire.

fuz1on

Yeah man! Everyone burns out and that's smart of you to realize it! Sometimes I just press through it and it's counterproductive as my capacity for comprehension is just diminished from the fatigue. Just take time off and when you get that itch to cert up again - then it's time to get back on the grind! Good luck and hope you reenergize quickly!

bpenn

I feel you so hard. See, I love my job and I love IT but my real passion is gaming and movies. It is so hard sometimes to focus on the career as my goal is to finish my degree and finish a few more certs and take a break as my end game is provide enough for my family that we can live comfortably. I just dont think I can sacrifice too much as I have too many hobbies that are not IT.

Params7

Yep..its important to strive for a balance. One can be ambitious, but its important to take a break every now and then to get your bearings straight.

E Double U

Even when I take a break from pushing myself to get a cert I never stop studying. Since I started my current role it was one cert after another (CCNA Security, CCNP Security, CISSP, GCIH). Since the CISO will not reimburse for anything else this year I consider myself to be on a break since I haven't given myself a deadline for the next cert. But I have been reading CEH material, playing with Nmap, and learning more about Wireshark. I'm also registered for free Python courses with edX.

No rest for the weary.

Deathmage

fuz1on wrote: »

Yeah man! Everyone burns out and that's smart of you to realize it! Sometimes I just press through it and it's counterproductive as my capacity for comprehension is just diminished from the fatigue. Just take time off and when you get that itch to cert up again - then it's time to get back on the grind! Good luck and hope you reenergize quickly!

Get nootropics, fatigue what's that?

OctalDump

The other thing is that it is worthwhile staying at the same level for a while and going a bit deeper, looking at some of the harder problems at the level you are at, building on speed and accuracy and building appreciation for what you are doing.

Constantly rushing ahead to the next thing can leave you with a shallow understanding, and forgetting, what you learnt before. Ultimately, this can come back to bite you.