Median hours per week to study for an exam - personally

Right now I am studying for an SQL exam via MS. It's been ~3 weeks and I am averaging between 5 hours a week to 10. I was just curious what you normally put in. This week will be a little difference since I took a personal day today and spent ~2 hours this morning which was very helpful and later I plan on putting in another hour, which will make 3. That is rare though normally I will go through 30 - 45 minutes a day tops on a particular item.

Just curious what the community does.... I've been thinking of ramping up my time, but I'm afraid while I'll get this first exam knocked out I may burn out and not complete the full race....

Find more posts tagged with

SAVE $250 on Your Boot Camp — Use Code "EXAM26"

Exclusively for TechExams members for Infosec Boot Camps starting before April 30, 2026

View Boot Camps

Comments

NetworkNewb

***watches intensely for the helpful "It depends on your learning capability and exam" answer***

I usually only do an hour or 2 a day for about a month for most exams though. Of course it will depend on...

dave330i

Depends on the exam date. As it gets closer, I study more. Usually put in about an hour/day if far away.

bettsy584

If I am studying hard for a cert I usually try to do 4 hours, 6 days per week for the 2 weeks up to the exam.

Get up at 5am, study for 2 hours the raw exam content.

Lunch time - review the morning topics.

Evening - exam review, further reading, lab and some official exam questions.

Most of the certs I do these days are in technology I have experience in. If it's a new technology, probably 6 weeks study in toal.

thomas_

Between 5 - 10 hours. Usually I try to study an hour each week day, but I usually break that hour into two 30 minute sessions. On the weekend I might crack the book for an hour or two.

Some weeks I get distracted and don't study at all.

beads

Short term memory is 20 minutes, irregardless the individual. So I tend to study for 20 minutes at a time. Take a break think about what I have just read, quiz reread anything I am unsure of and move on.

Also known for saying give me the book Friday night and I will pass the test come Monday morning. Yeah, to an extent that is true of myself if I really don't care to remember the knowledge long term. Done exams like that just to prove I could. Think any number of CLEP exams for math and a few older IT exams.

In reality it depends on a couple of things. I still use the above method to learn and eventually MASTER the coursework but Mastery comes at a much harder price - real practice. Sometimes this involves teaching others with that practice, even if (forgive me here), boring my captive audience, aka, my wife. Yes, it forces you to honestly assess your skill level and its embarrassing when you stumble through a topic you thought you understood. That is what certification should be about rather than the paper it printed on.

Generation Jones - we scoff at both the boomers AND Gen Xers cause we don't fit either category.

- b/eads

Edit: typo, spelling category incorrectly.

chrisone

I do about 3-4 solid hours a day when studying for an exam. This is only because I am allowed and encouraged to study during work hours. If I had no chance to study at work, then 2 hours is a must for me after work.

E Double U

NetworkNewb wrote: »

***watches intensely for the helpful "It depends on your learning capability and exam" answer***

Not all exams are created equal