It's too difficult - mind set

jamesleecoleman

I honestly don't know how to start off but this is just my opinion.

I've noticed on this site from time to time and wherever else that people will either ask or say, "How difficult is this exam?" or "This is very difficult."

I think that this type of mind set will sort of allow people to either not put effort into something or just avoid it. But there are some other people who will take that "difficult" word and accept it as a challenge, while other people just don't care if it is "difficult" and just go out there and work through the difficulties.

It kinda sucks to hear that someone want's to do ABC123, just to find out that it's too difficult and then not go for it. I personally like to see people succeed (except for the bad guys) in life.

So I just wanted to put out there that if you ever think something is 'difficult', just look at it as it will take a lot of time instead of something being 'difficult'. Then I guess comes the 'motivation' part of it because it'll take a lot of time to work through. Motivation can be lost so discipline will have to be used to get where you want to go or do.


What do you all think?

PCTechLinc

With you 100% here. I especially enjoyed when a student would tell me that they were "committed" to passing a particular exam, going for an additional degree, or applying for a job. I definitely become a cheerleader at that point.

scaredoftests

When they want a brain **** or crap like that, i have no patience for. Practicing, reading etc, makes the exam easier.

PC509

Practicing, reading, etc, makes the exam easier.

Can I add 'understanding' the material makes the exam easier? You can know the answers to the questions. But, do you know why it's the answer? When you know why something is done, you can think through the process and come up with the answer. It's like knowing the answer to a math problem. It's fine and dandy, but you know the answer to THAT problem. Can you solve the problem is one input changes? Learn the equation and you're solving all that type of problem.

Difficult is one thing. For me - is it difficult? If it is extremely difficult and considered a beast when I feel I'm still a novice? Maybe not ready for it. If I'm feeling like I'm more of an expert in that area, then difficult may be perfect.

Some people say the CEH is difficult and they pass it after a couple failures. Others say it was way too easy and pass it the first time with flying colors.

Study and learn until it's not difficult. Most of them should start out that way. But, when you're truly ready, it'll be a piece of cake. Something about preparation makes things less difficult or something.... (good quotes here - Quotes About Preparation (188 quotes)).

TheFORCE

Too difficult in the business world = it will cost us xxx money and time and resources so we wont go for it, we will accept the risk.

dontstop

Everything is difficult. No one can intuitively walk into an exam and just know the answers without having studied the material no matter how smart they are. These concepts are things you cannot derive from first principles like in some other subjects. Unfortunately I think people forget that everything just boils down to a lot of hard work and preparation. Giving up now would certainly ensure that the task will always remain too difficult.

During my Degree everyone said that maths was hard and had a high failure rate of 60%. I think people just instantly gave up at that point hearing those stats and doomed themselves to failure (myself included). The next time I took the subject, I actually put a moderate amount of work in and go an okay pass mark. It's like anything really. People who train and practice can make anything look easy (welding/plumbing/Motocross) but when people try it themselves they don't see the enormity of the work required to attain that level of skill and instantly believe the whole thing is too difficult.

I think the problem is multifaceted in that there are many factors which attributed to the correct attitude needed to get good at something. You need to accept failure for one. You need to be able to break things down and not get stuck looking at the big picture. You need to force yourself out of your comfort zone and do the work you know needs to be done, but doesn't seem *fun*.

A few days ago when I was looking for inspiration I found this video which sums up my thoughts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXdj8scRdFE

dhay13

If it has been done by someone else then it can be done by me. If you really want something you will put in the effort and figure it out. I see many of those with the CISSP had over 15-20 years of experience and heard how difficult it was. I agree it was difficult, but I didn't let that stop me. Challenge accepted!

dontstop

NetworkNewb wrote: »

I hate the word difficult, it implies that whatever is the person is referring is well... "difficult".

I'm in two minds about the word "difficult" as I think people use it wrong when talking about exams. For instance if you take an exam (Certification or College) and didn't study at all. You would come out saying that the exam was "difficult". When in reality the exam could've been entirely fair if you had done the work. Then there are exams which are actually difficult like the CCIE or certain college exams which give you limited time or have obscure questions that burn all of your time.

So I'm not sure. Is "difficult" the right word? After thinking about it I'd say no. Every current exam today is "attainable" with the correct amount of preparation^. But in saying that there are a handful of exams which are genuinely difficult for instance the CCIE.

TechGromit

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

What do you all think?

I think for an entry level certification, the CCENT is HARD, but I haven't given up. I felt my SANS exams were easier, even though there was more material to learn. I think if you took a survey of the number of study books sold and the number of study books actually read and studied, you would find only about a 1/3 are actually used for there intended purpose. It's easy to take a course work is paying for and sit glassy eyed though 8 hour of lectures for couple of days, it's something else to actually absorb the material being taught. The simple fact is learning takes work, doesn't matter if your watching videos, listening to tapes, live training or hitting the books. It's easy to say Yea, I want to get a CISSP or CCNA, maybe the go so far as to buy a book on the subject, but it takes considerable sacrifice of time to absorb and understand the material. Of course I would I rather be playing video games with my extra time, but despite saving the earth from thousands of invading aliens over the years, it doesn't pay my bills or get me a better paying job.

If employers only knew the number of times I save this planet for complete destruction, they would worship the ground I walk on and reward me with a high paying job.

Fulcrum45

Difficulty is always a matter of perspective I suppose. I couldn't scramble eggs to save my life until my wife showed me what I was doing wrong.

dontstop

Fulcrum45 wrote: »

Difficulty is always a matter of perspective I suppose.

This really sums it up.

jcundiff

if it was easy, everyone would do it... easy = average

jrisbrook

As a person with less experience and certs let me make a point from a diff perspective if I may. I was told the new net+ only has a 30% pass rate. I was also told that the wording is tricky etc. Having that information of the test being "diffucult" made me resched my test 2 times because every time I thought I was ready, I just wanted to be abit "readier" lol. I like to go into any situation with confidence. When I hear something is difficult, I give it the respect it deserves and be sure to be armed and ready.

E Double U

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

while other people just don't care if it is "difficult" and just go out there and work through the difficulties.

I fall into this category. Difficulty level is irrelevant when it comes to my goals.

dabell1978

The problem is Life is Difficult. People have the "idea" of wanting to go out and better themselves (exam certifications, college, fitness, healthy eating, etc...) and then they find out the work they will need to put in and then they want to give up. I also like seeing people succeed and I'm also in disbelief at how easy people give up. Concerning on how people are able to succeed they need to have both the motivation and the discipline to succeed. Having one of the qualities is pointless without having the other quality. Just my two cents.

EANx

dontstop wrote: »

During my Degree everyone said that maths was hard and had a high failure rate of 60%. I think people just instantly gave up at that point hearing those stats and doomed themselves to failure (myself included). The next time I took the subject, I actually put a moderate amount of work in and go an okay pass mark.

When I was in college, I had a professor start the first day by explaining how hard to material would be and how tough he graded. The second day, we had fewer than half the number of students. He seemed satisfied and said "I know if you're still here you want to learn."

DatabaseHead

Difficult is relative.

Of course difficult is very real, do you have the fortitude to power through or do you quit? I have ~15 projects that I am working on, ~10 are average or easy and the other 5 are difficult. Doesn't mean I am going to quit, thee difficult ones will just take additional time and research......

I don't correlate negativity with the word or concept of difficult.

ande0255

Too difficult can mean that it is not worth the time and effort it would require for the ROI, or is just an excuse to be lazy.

I myself said "Studying for the CCNP and trying to be active during the summer is too difficult" 8 months ago, and it turned me lazy, and almost halted my studies completely (for 6 months) until I picked it up again.

I've found once I traded in partying on the weekends (birthdays, weddings, etc) for studying, and telling my drinking buddies "No" to razzing about going out until they stopped bothering me about it, I actually enjoy studying on nights like yesterday and tonight (even with Red Bull Crashed Ice in town).

So this summer I will be a shut in, I will be the f'ing Cisco R/S terminator in front of my console window until I earn that CCNP. Then I may just move right onto Security as Cisco AMP is becoming huge right now among a lot of customers at my work (or demand for AMP skills is).

OctalDump

I think difficult just means more work. If you think the goal is worth it, you will do the work. Sometimes it means "difficult at the moment", and you can go and learn other things, do other things, and then go back to it and find that it's no longer so difficult.

First time I picked up the CCNA books, I thought "wow, this is hard". But I did some other things, took some different approaches, learnt more networking incidentally, and went back to the CCNA with a different view.

But this is also a good thing, because I can remember how hard it seemed to achieve, so I have respect for the achievement. It also means that we I see another difficult subject, I can remember this experience and say "it's just difficult at the moment".

As some people have said, difficult is relative. I think maybe it's like a long journey. If you have to walk from Paris to Rome, it would seem so hard, so difficult. But you start walking and then you are at the gates of Rome and just a few steps more is easier. But you've still walked from Paris to Rome, it's a long way, and the real journey wasn't those last few steps, but sometimes that how we think of it

urstuffplz1

I've been in the IT field for just over 2 years now. My initial goal was to get my CCNA and MCSA in Server 2012.. jezz, these seemed close to impossible when I started out. As I gained experience and everything started to make sense, the "difficulty" of these exams seem to become less and less, and I have comfortably passed the exams (need to do ICND2 yet). I think the word difficult is just the perspective you see something at that moment in time, and once you tackle that "difficulty", then it's no longer difficult. It's like anything in like, it takes times, persistence and a little bit of hard work and things do become easier.