Hardcore Intensive Studying

I am unemployed.

To maximise the certs I can acquire during this time, what are your methods for injecting maximum information in short time frames.

What works for you?

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OctalDump

Read a study guide. Watch a course. Lab. Practice exam, practice exam. Take the test. Resit if needed.

Depending on where you are starting from, and on the certification, you can usually study for an exam (some certs have more than one exam), in 1-2 weeks full time.

A+, Net+ and Sec+ are good starting points since they cover the basics, and are actually known by many employers. If you have better than basic knowledge already, then you might skip the A+ for MTA or MCP exams, and skip Net+ for CCENT/CCNA. Sec+ is still fairly good as it stands, but if you do have more advanced skills, then maybe CCNA CyberOps or CSA+ or SSCP.

Labbing is pretty important, particularly if you don't have a lot of hands on experience (or no work experience with a particular tech). Ultimately, you learn these things to be able to apply them, and there's a lot of stuff that isn't covered in certifications which is still useful eg what a dying hard drive sounds like, how much force to apply to a hotswap drive when you insert it, how long it takes to actually install and set up Windows/Linux/Hyper-V/VMware etc, how to do a factory reset, how to recover a password, where to find manuals and help online.

But for most things it's the same basic pattern of reading, watching, doing, practicing.

Danielm7

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kiki162

If there are no labs involved. Read the book 3x cover to cover. That way you don't miss anything. THEN start taking practice exams.

DatabaseHead

It's really finding out what works for you. There is no easy answer to this, you'll have to try different methods and find out works best for YOU.

p@r0tuXus

1) Figure out what your experience/interests are and focus on related certs.
2) Get ITpro.TV subscription for < $30/mo w/promo "LASTCHANCE"
3) Watch videos, Lab, research white-papers, look for free practice tests.
4) Rinse, Repeat.
5) Take practice Exams & when ~90% accuracy consistently, take exam.

Some lab/course sites are better than others depending on the area of study. I don't know what your experience/interests are, but if you are missing low-hanging fruit, I would try to knock out the A+, Net+, Sec+ and CCNA/RHCSA/MCSA as soon as possible. These will get you a solid admin job and almost any helpdesk role. If you have more experience/background then I'd suggest following those routes. If Security, hone your skills with Scripting/SEIM/Networking skills in tandum with your cert preps. You have nothing but time so do it with whatever frequency doesn't burn you out. Lots of people on these forums do 20-30 minute blocks with a short break and then picking back up the pace and doing it over again. I was in your place over the summer, so best of luck!

emek

I have found the single best thing that works for me has been to watch videos and lab. More specifically, I watch my videos at double speed. At first I could only handle 1.2x speed, but now my brain has adjusted and can handle 2.2x speed. When I used to listen at normal speed I noticed my mind would wander, but now I am extremely focused and my comprehension is much better. Does anyone else do this?

thomas_

I watch the Linux Academy videos at 2x, but I haven't ever used videos for anything else. Do you download the videos and watch them in a certain player?

emek

I use VLC player, and use the "[" key to slow down and the "]" key to speed up. Often times I bounce around between 2x and 2.4x speed depending on the ebb and flow of the video. The CBTNuggets website also lets you speed up in increments of .4 up to 2x speed. Same with youtube (on a web browser only).

beads

What I say: Study in 20 minute increments. Stop. Quick review and revisit. Rinse and repeat until mastery.

What I really do: Read book night before, take exam. Wait for pass.

Later: Post 'How to be a 'tech jerk' on techexams.net

- b/eads

EANx

Take notes, lots of notes. It's the way that works best for me to ensure I keep paying attention.

sillymcnasty

Here's what I did for CCNA.

Get the book.
Read the chapter.
Watch a CBT Nugget OF that topic.

JDMurray

The problem is staying focused on what you are studying, making sure you find the best information in what you are studying, and remembering what it is that you have studied.

For books, I highlight facts and factoids as I read them, go back and make notes from my highlights and then only study from those notes. This saves me from reading the an entire book several times.

For videos, I use the "play at 1.5x speed" method. I also take notes so I won't need to watch the video again, but I am not a touch typist, so I need to stop and restart the video as I go, making it a wash in the time it takes to watch and note-take a video.

I use practice exams to reveal areas of knowledge that I do not fully understand yet and to memorize facts and factoids. Never rely on practice exams for being your primary prep for any exam.

Always make reference to where you got your notes from. If you realize that you do not know something well, the reference makes it easier to find it in the book or video you got it from.

I remember facts by associating them with something practical, like how a protocol is used by a particular service, or what policies are used to support a particular business goal. Associate the abstract with something concrete and you'll remember and understand it better.

Finally, I make sure that I can give a 30-second talk on any objective that's in a cert exam. If I can explain something for that length of time to a room filled with people then I must know it well enough for an exam. If I find that I'm blank on certain details of an objective that shows me I need to go back and learn more about that objective.

Cisco Inferno

If you are unemployed I would suggest looking for a job first no matter what. If you have no obligations like rent and such then ya, study away.

I like to watch videos on the topic first THEN read. much easier to absorb.
I personally play videos at 1.5x the second time around. If it is a tough topic, then no.

Also, what is your cert and exp situation? If starting out, I would first focus on what roles you wish to fill in the future. Regardless of direction, I think everyone needs at least a Network+/CCENT level of knowledge in this field.

EANx

EANx wrote: »

Take notes, lots of notes. It's the way that works best for me to ensure I keep paying attention.

To clarify, when I say I take notes, I mean hand-writing on a notepad. I find that writing things out by hand works far better for me for memory retention than typing does.

xxxkaliboyxxx

So I learned the hard way. I used to study by watching videos, taking practice exams and then reading a book. The kicker is I wasn't retaining the knowledge to the level I wanted to be at. I had only vague terms memorized in the subject. I figured out that I need to read the book first, then watch videos to reinforce the material, with labs at the end.

Point is, you will have to tweak your study prep to your individual need in order to maximize knowledge. Please use all four resources of books, videos, practice exams and labs and tweek as you see fit. You might only need videos like some of these aholes here (hahah no hate, just jelly

and pass from a 90%

It's not about the end result, its about journey brothers and sisters

atlus

Scheduling test dates in advance helps me focus. The thought of failing a test and wasting money does a lot for my motivation.