How in the world do you power through the "non interesting" material

DatabaseHead

I'm working through some course work for a certification and the information I really enjoy it's FUN! The stuff that is more on the side of administration I don't touch, PAINFUL!

For you all that have taken multi exam certifications, how do you manage this? I'm assuming part of the "experience" was really fun, especially if it snapped into your wheel house, but for the material you don't plan on touching or never will touch, HOW?

Thanks for any follow ups. I find myself getting stuck in situations like these.......

Maybe the certification isn't for me.

636-555-3226

you POWER THROUGH IT!

look at it as a learning experience. sure, you already know the stuff you know, but you only grow by challenging yourself, and you only challenge yourself by taking on tasks involving things you aren't familiar with, which usually means stuff you don't touch. also, you never know, you might touch that stuff in a few years, and wouldn't it be great to already know it instead of trying to struggle through it when you're on a tight deadline?

PC509

You have the ITIL certifications... how'd you get through those?!

You just have to chug through it. Self discipline. Just gotta go through it and do the practice labs, etc.. Do what you gotta do. It's a *****, but you have to learn it to get that cert. It sucks, but it's doable. Project+, ITIL, etc. were the boring, dry ones for me. I passed the Project+, but I'm waiting on the ITIL. I learned a bit about it for work, but I'll wait on the official cert.

I also don't think there is really any way to make it 'fun', either. If it's not interesting to you or fun, it's going to be the hard stuff. It's much, much easier when it's fun and interesting. You learn it faster, you get more hands on, you're more into it. The other stuff, you just can't make it fun and easy. Just gotta power through it the best you can.

DatabaseHead

Appreciate the replies, gave me a kick in the rear. Resuming power through.....

Cert Poor

PC509 wrote: »

You have the ITIL certifications... how'd you get through those?!

You just have to chug through it. Self discipline. Just gotta go through it and do the practice labs, etc.. Do what you gotta do. It's a *****, but you have to learn it to get that cert. It sucks, but it's doable. Project+, ITIL, etc. were the boring, dry ones for me. I passed the Project+, but I'm waiting on the ITIL. I learned a bit about it for work, but I'll wait on the official cert.

I also don't think there is really any way to make it 'fun', either. If it's not interesting to you or fun, it's going to be the hard stuff. It's much, much easier when it's fun and interesting. You learn it faster, you get more hands on, you're more into it. The other stuff, you just can't make it fun and easy. Just gotta power through it the best you can.

Amen. ITIL Foundations was painful to me, and I'm going through Project+ right now but can't justify the $265 price tag to the "real-world" value of the certification. Same with ITIL's price tag when Axelos took over and gouged prices. Seems like a profit-move that isn't commensurate with the real-world value of the certification.

I agree with the consensus: you just have to power through and force yourself to like the material. I'm having a hard time slogging through Ch. 1 of this Sybex book. I can't stand how the business world butchers the English language and invents magical words or misuses them. Utilize, methodology, projectize. Yuck.

I guess it's like eating healthy foods. It's not the most pleasant experience, but you have to convince yourself that there is long-term good that comes from the short-term bad. "I can do this. I can do this. I can do this."