How do you stay motivated

Just what the title says. I've been in the IT field since 1999 and am currently a Sr. Network Engineer for a SW company. My team handles all the DWDM transport, using Ciena and Infinera (formerly Transmode) gear. I love the optical side of networking however I still feel there is the need for the route/switch throughout anyone's "Network Engineering" career. Having said that, I don't do any router work at my job, we have a separate team that handles that. I'm strictly optical at this time.

Back in 2013/2014, I got my CCNA but unfortunatley I let it expire. I have a desire to get back into the Cisco cert path to keep my skills up-to-date as there aren't a lot of optical jobs out there unless you want to work for an actual optical vendor. Every NetEng job seems to involve route/switch in one way shape or form.

I'm married, have 3 kids(10/9/5) and work full time (wife is a stay at home). When I try to sit down and read, or lab, I get easily distracted with life. From September until April, I coach my son's youth hockey team and am on the ice easily, 3-4 days a week with practice, including weekends when we have game(s). I'm wondering how all of you manage to handle life and also make quality time to study for certs as I am just sucking at it right now. For context, no, my job does not require any certs, in fact, they don't even recognize them. This is strictly something that I want to do for myself to keep my skillset up.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Sincerely, guy with excuses and no time

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johndoee

Ramair2k wrote: »

Just what the title says. I've been in the IT field since 1999 and am currently a Sr. Network Engineer for a SW company. My team handles all the DWDM transport, using Ciena and Infinera (formerly Transmode) gear. I love the optical side of networking however I still feel there is the need for the route/switch throughout anyone's "Network Engineering" career. Having said that, I don't do any router work at my job, we have a separate team that handles that. I'm strictly optical at this time.

Back in 2013/2014, I got my CCNA but unfortunatley I let it expire. I have a desire to get back into the Cisco cert path to keep my skills up-to-date as there aren't a lot of optical jobs out there unless you want to work for an actual optical vendor. Every NetEng job seems to involve route/switch in one way shape or form.

I'm married, have 3 kids(10/9/5) and work full time (wife is a stay at home). When I try to sit down and read, or lab, I get easily distracted with life. From September until April, I coach my son's youth hockey team and am on the ice easily, 3-4 days a week with practice, including weekends when we have game(s). I'm wondering how all of you manage to handle life and also make quality time to study for certs as I am just sucking at it right now. For context, no, my job does not require any certs, in fact, they don't even recognize them. This is strictly something that I want to do for myself to keep my skillset up.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Sincerely, guy with excuses and no time

I hit the reply button before reading the last statement, guy with excuses. So, I had to think about something else to write.

I think that YOU put yourself in a position that consists of draining whatever free time that YOU have. Coaching the hockey team does absolutely nothing for you career wise. That does not go on a resume. You have to set your priorities. Since you have a stay at home spouse who does not work, I would suggest you enable yourself to have a room to yourself to study. Tell her to keep the kids in the living room. Lock yourself in a room. Go to the public library. The list could go on. Unless you work for a government position, firing someone is not hard. People get complacent. People don't plan for the worst situation. We look at today and not tomorrow. You could also suggest your spouse work and get a babysitter. These are all just options. You are not the only one on this website that is married with children, yet those people have still obtained certifications AND a degree while having a family and family obligations.
Just because your job does not recognize a certification means nothing unless you plan on staying there for 40 years. You have to compete. When it's time, if the time ever comes for promotions, the guy who progressed educationally and career wise usually gets it.

You are your own biggest enemy. You seem to be holding yourself back Sir.

EANx

You don't say but if you've never lost your job, I can see where you might not have the urgency to keep up. Do a self-audit, if your boss on Monday were to call you into his office and when you got there, you saw someone from HR was already there, what's your next move? Beyond the whole question of "do you have enough to cover six-months of expenses without using a credit card or taking money out of your retirement," how do your skills and certs fare in the economy?

I'm going to guess that that a self-audit would show you some glaring holes in your employment competitiveness. That's the direction I'd go with the family. Say something like "Hey babe, I don't have a reason to think my job is in jeopardy but I've been poking around and realized that if I did lose my job, I wouldn't be as competitive in the job market as I used to be." Then lay out a plan. You need X hours per week over Y months to get to the shiny-new cert. But be fair about it, be sure to leave a family day where you all go out and do something fun and leave enough time in the schedule to help out around the house. If you do it right, your wife will think the world of you for ensuring the financial security of the family while not dropping the ball on the Dad role. Do it poorly and she'll resent you for showing her exactly what it would be like to be a single mom of three small kids.

You might want to start with a spreadsheet, fill in all of the things that are non-negotiable; you have to sleep, you have to work, etc. Then the stuff that you don't HAVE to do but that are very important to you (maybe the hockey, maybe a date night, etc.) I'm going to bet that you're going to see a lot of gaps where you can squeeze in some studying. Even getting up 30 min early 3x a week ends up giving you 39 hrs of study over six months.

Will this be a want, or a must have?

E Double U

My motivation comes from being an opportunist. My current and previous employer pays for training, books, and reimburses for exams - why the hell wouldn't I take advantage of such a great opportunity. I've been with my current company for two years and completed five certifications already and now working on the sixth. I was with my former employer for three years and got four certifications. Not everyone can be in a position of continuous learning, increasing my skills, and becoming more marketable on someone else's dime so I do not want to waste this privilege - it might not last forever.

I am married (wife works full time) with two sons (ages four and six). In my previous role I did the bulk of my studying in the office during downtime. In my current role I do most of my studying while using public transportation to/from work. At home I've always studied with any free moment that I've had which is when the kids are sleep and when my wife wants to watch something I don't care for or when she goes out with friends. I'm really conscious of how I spend my time so I never like to waste it. If an activity doesn't help me achieve any of my goals then it gets scrapped. Also I naturally don't like to procrastinate plus I've always been pretty studious. Getting certified has actually become a hobby for me. Some people collect stamps, some collect certs. To each his own.

yoba222

I don't see your hockey time as a total drain that does nothing for you. Maybe it keeps you fit and then you get to spend time with you son.

Half of June plus July and August is enough time to go for the CCNA composite exam before hockey season kicks in. The way I do it is to first set my goal and when I'll go for it.
Example: CCNA in 10 weeks; I'll devote 20 hours total study time to do it.

Then I decide how I'll study, chopping the whole study routine into little bitty digestible pieces spread over that time period.
Example: Fours sessions a week. Mon-Thurs, 30 minutes at a time.

I chop it up and put it all in a spreadsheet, with the specific activity in there (e.g. watch this portion of a Udemy course, read that chapter). This way I don't need to be motivated. I wake up, stumble over to my computer, and just do whatever the spreadsheet says is due for that day.

I'd likely devote more than 20 hours for that, but it's important that the schedule is realistic, because if you are unmotivated and looking at a 3 hour study period, you'll likely just not study, which ruins the whole process.

Ramair2k

Thanks for the suggestions for those that had one. I'd agree that I could probably do a better job at carving out my daily/weekly/monthly time regarding family life, hobbies, work etc...I certainly don't want to spend all my free time nose in a book, or doing labs. There is something to be said for having a life and enjoying family time etc..as anyone with kids will tell you, they grow up FAST! I just need to do a better job at balancing it all out.

I have lost jobs before, much earlier in my career however the last 15 years, I worked at Comcast for 10 and my latest job for 5. I know i could be let go at a moments notice and thats the main reason for me wanting to get back on the cert train. In fact, we just let go of 400 people org wide, back in March/April, luckily I made the cut. We buy a lot of Cisco and Juniper so perhaps I can ask my manager if we get any credits toward those vendor certs/vouchers and training. They have said in the past they will not pay for certs nor will they give a pay increase for any certs as they don't recognize them. Too many paper certs out there and they want real world experience, could care less about someone who can read a book and pass a test. Shrug

EANx

Cisco has a loyalty program for corporate customers. Unsure of the exact details but loyalty points can be converted into training credits. Worth looking into.

NetworkNewb

yoba222 wrote: »

I don't see your hockey time as a total drain that does nothing for you. Maybe it keeps you fit and then you get to spend time with you son.

+100 to this. Getting out of the house... Spending time with your kid with something he likes to do... I think it is awesome.

When I'm trying hard for a certification I usually cut in to my sleep time a little bit and try and work out a little time here and there with the wife. Maybe find a little time at work. Time with the kid is one my favorite things and is down the list on things I would want to cut personally. I'm probably not gonna be making 200k any time, but I see myself hitting 100k within the next few years. Live in a fairly low cost area, in the midwest, and happy. Just gotta give and take and do what makes you happiest. Its different for everyone.

Even 20 minutes day can make a big difference!! Do what you can

TechGromit

Ramair2k wrote: »

… currently a Sr. Network Engineer for a SW company.

The question you need to honestly ask yourself is if you lost your job tomorrow, how easy would it be to land another position? If that answer isn’t pretty easily, then you need to seriously need to motivate yourself to change that answer.

I had 20 years IT experience when I got laid off, I had experience with everything from PC tech, system admin, Hardware tech, networking, and I couldn’t find anything other than short term gigs paying $15 an hour. While the job economy was really bad in 2013, I expected to land something better with my experience. The few interviews I did get, I didn’t get the job. I never want to be in that position again, that’s what motivates me to sharpen my skills and get certifications to make myself more marketable.

malachi1612

TechGromit wrote: »

The question you need to honestly ask yourself is if you lost your job tomorrow, how easy would it be to land another position? If that answer isn’t pretty easily, then you need to seriously need to motivate yourself to change that answer.

I had 20 years IT experience when I got laid off, I had experience with everything from PC tech, system admin, Hardware tech, networking, and I couldn’t find anything other than short term gigs paying $15 an hour. While the job economy was really bad in 2013, I expected to land something better with my experience. The few interviews I did get, I didn’t get the job. I never want to be in that position again, that’s what motivates me to sharpen my skills and get certifications to make myself more marketable.

I agree with this.

I lost my first IT job doing 2nd line support back in 2008, I struggled to get another IT job for 8 months, even then when I did I was doing 1st line. 2nd line dropping to 1st line for very tough for me, as it wasnt challenging. Took 2 years to back get back to where I am now.

I have been at my current job for nearly 8 years and its only in the last 2 years ago I got the motivation to start doing certs as I never want to be in that position again I was back in 2008 to 2009.

Dakinggamer87

My strive to be the best is how I stay motivated!! To create a life of freedom and independence so I can travel and live abundantly to bless others along the way.

TeKniques

There is no motivation without discipline.

JoJoCal19

NetworkNewb wrote: »

+100 to this. Getting out of the house... Spending time with your kid with something he likes to do... I think it is awesome.

When I'm trying hard for a certification I usually cut in to my sleep time a little bit and try and work out a little time here and there with the wife. Maybe find a little time at work. Time with the kid is one my favorite things and is down the list on things I would want to cut personally. I'm probably not gonna be making 200k any time, but I see myself hitting 100k within the next few years. Live in a fairly low cost area, in the midwest, and happy. Just gotta give and take and do what makes you happiest. Its different for everyone.

Even 20 minutes day can make a big difference!! Do what you can

Really solid advice and it's how I played things during all of my studying. I woke up two hours before work (5am) to do the core of my studying. I would then eat lunch while I worked and took my lunch hour for more studying. And then I'd work in a couple nights a week to study, leaving the remainder of the nights to watch TV or go out with my wife.

TechGromit wrote: »

The question you need to honestly ask yourself is if you lost your job tomorrow, how easy would it be to land another position? If that answer isn’t pretty easily, then you need to seriously need to motivate yourself to change that answer.

I had 20 years IT experience when I got laid off, I had experience with everything from PC tech, system admin, Hardware tech, networking, and I couldn’t find anything other than short term gigs paying $15 an hour. While the job economy was really bad in 2013, I expected to land something better with my experience. The few interviews I did get, I didn’t get the job. I never want to be in that position again, that’s what motivates me to sharpen my skills and get certifications to make myself more marketable.

More solid points here. That is exactly where I draw a large chunk of my motivation from. I stay current with job trends in my industry, always looking at job postings every few months to get an idea of what jobs are out there and what people are looking for in candidates. I think like TechGromit, always taking inventory of my current job situation and resume/experience/certs situation and ask, if I lost my job today, how quickly can I gain employment.

EANx wrote: »

You don't say but if you've never lost your job, I can see where you might not have the urgency to keep up. Do a self-audit, if your boss on Monday were to call you into his office and when you got there, you saw someone from HR was already there, what's your next move? Beyond the whole question of "do you have enough to cover six-months of expenses without using a credit card or taking money out of your retirement," how do your skills and certs fare in the economy?

I'm going to guess that that a self-audit would show you some glaring holes in your employment competitiveness. That's the direction I'd go with the family. Say something like "Hey babe, I don't have a reason to think my job is in jeopardy but I've been poking around and realized that if I did lose my job, I wouldn't be as competitive in the job market as I used to be." Then lay out a plan. You need X hours per week over Y months to get to the shiny-new cert. But be fair about it, be sure to leave a family day where you all go out and do something fun and leave enough time in the schedule to help out around the house. If you do it right, your wife will think the world of you for ensuring the financial security of the family while not dropping the ball on the Dad role. Do it poorly and she'll resent you for showing her exactly what it would be like to be a single mom of three small kids.

You might want to start with a spreadsheet, fill in all of the things that are non-negotiable; you have to sleep, you have to work, etc. Then the stuff that you don't HAVE to do but that are very important to you (maybe the hockey, maybe a date night, etc.) I'm going to bet that you're going to see a lot of gaps where you can squeeze in some studying. Even getting up 30 min early 3x a week ends up giving you 39 hrs of study over six months.

Will this be a want, or a must have?

Again, really solid points and advice. I only have a couple months of expenses saved since we are actually paying off debt and doing home remodeling simultaneously, but will definitely be building it back up as soon as possible. EANx is right in how you should position your studying to your wife. A little FUD can help in gaining buy in from your wife, both from a cost and time justification standpoint. But it's also solid advice for life in general, having savings in case you end up unemployed for any reason.

NotHackingYou

Make it a part of your day, every day, whether you feel like it or not. I usually cut back on sleep and increase coffee, as I won't give up family time either.

JoJoCal19

Fully agreed NotHackingYou. You cannot get back family time. Everyone is different and values it differently, I just recommend trying to sacrifice sleep, hobbies, etc, before cutting into family time.

DatabaseHead

Sounds like you aren't at a place in life to do certifications etc..... And that's okay.

Maybe scale back your expectations and just get a CBT training course or a book, whatever form of studying you find ENJOYABLE and go with that. This all or nothing approach isn't healthy.

PS from my vantage point your priorities are set correctly.

willieb

I do believe I can shed some light for you. Our lives are similar. It appears you have become a little stagnate in your career. You may be mostly happy with what you are making but you feel there is still room for improvement. You are ready for a change. Otherwise I wouldn't be typing this reply.

The motivation for you is the easy part (or at least it was for me), and of course time is the hard part. But they both can be managed. Here are some tips and advice you may want to consider:

* Always strive to outgrow your current position. Knowledge (including certs/degrees) is power! It gives you options to grow, to change positions or jobs, and gives you ammo if you lose your job or something major happens. It also gives you leverage in some situations. And we have to ask those difficult questions. If I lost my job, where would I go with the education and experience I have?

You have 4 majors points of motivation, just like I do. 3 kids and a wife. I am a true believer in you get out of life what you put into it. Working hard and achieving some set goals will give you a great sense of accomplishment and allow your family to have a better quality of life. This is 100% my motivation! It's all for my family.

* Manage your time wisely. Come up with a plan and discuss it with your family. Ideally you won't have to give up time from family. But whatever you decide it needs to be a family decision. After all, that is your motivation! Even include your kids, explain to them what it could mean so they can understand.

The hardest part for Dad's like us is time. The key is to manage your time wisely. I don't know your full schedule obviously but here's what has worked for me. I think about what I do with my time every day, roughly. Then I think of all the non family oriented time I may can displace, especially after my kids go to bed, time that I used to chill, watching TV shows, surfing, watching pointless click-bait youtube videos, facebook, any other hobbies I may have like cycling, ham radio, running, etc. In other words, find time that can be used that doesn't affect my time with family. During school my kids go to bed earlier, 9:00-:9:30 at the latest when they were your kids' ages. I am a late night person so I'm thinking that should give me a good 1.5 - 2 hrs most nights. This will be my new hobby, at least until I reach my goals.

Use work time when possible. This can help greatly and a lot of times can be encouraged, after all you are learning knowledge that can benefit the company you work for. Obviously only use work time if it's appropriate and at a lower priority than any other work tasks. There's always lunch. Use that time to study, watch training videos, etc.

* Find a support group, like this forum. Where you can find people to discuss things with and get excited about! We can all help each other.

I had a CCNP and let it expire so don't feel bad. I look at it like this. Going back through and re-certifying is a great refresher! My current job doesn't care much about certs either. But that's not going to stop me!

Within the past 3-4 months I've re-certified for CCNA R&S and I passed my CCNP ROUTE exam. I'm doing SWITCH next, then TSHOOT, then straight to studying for CCIE R&S.

Sometimes it feels like the studying is in vain, but when you start taking exams again and pass them it all feels worth it! Keep the image in your mind about the better life your family will live because of the sacrifice you are making now! Set a goal, when you reach it, take a short break! Then rock on again!

Ertaz

I coached little league football for four years. Finished my bachelors in that time. Also picked up a CCSP(Now called CCNP security). The thing I cherish out of that time is the coaching.

My 2 cents:

1. Family first.
2. Set a goal.
3. Set aside $ and time to get it done. Find a way or make a way.
4. Cut out the BS and get serious. Eliminate distractions., Don't zone out in front of the TV/Internet.

Embrace the suck. Dig deep. Go harder than you think you can. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWKUoQfZg9M

DatabaseHead

Follow up.....

Sounds like you're extremely motivated. Raising kids alone is a tough task and you are a network engineer and managing a youth hockey team. Cut yourself a break man!

I wouldn't ruminate over the certification thing. Enjoy life stay sane and make sure to focus on your health. Way more important than the CCNP......

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/10/18/236211811/brains-sweep-themselves-clean-of-toxins-during-sleep

Shorting sleep is not wise.

MalwareMike

TeKniques wrote: »

There is no motivation without discipline.

I like this answer

SteveLavoie

Well set a realistic goal, and look at your diary and find time ... the most important thing is to devote a bit of time every day or so.. even 30-45 minutes. Use your lunch time to read while munching your sandwich

So... 45 min x 5 = 3.75h gained

Use your commute time, etc... Then reserve 1 night a week to do labs.. So wihtout too much effort, you have almost 8 h/week

Chris.Mackenzie01

I promise to buy myself I wouldn't normally be able to justify buying out of my savings.
Works both ways, I get what I want, and if anyone questions the purchase (my girlfriend moaning about me spending £350 on a wallet). Its justified by the Certificates that enable me to earn a higher salary.

Danielm7

Lots of really great advice here. I have a lot of the same struggles as everyone else here, family, hobbies, demanding job, etc. As others have said, it's about picking the extra things you do and trying to make time there. Family is is so important, feeling like you passed a new cert while your kids are miserable and your wife would rather have a divorce is never worth it. I put a lot of effort into balancing everything, it's not easy, but it's about finding the time that can be cut and trying to use that.

When I'm really studying, most TV goes right out the window, I cut some gym/martial arts stuff but not a lot because the balance and health is important. I've had so many coworkers who are single, not much of a social life, not even a pet, who insist they don't even have the time to finish their BS, not even one class at a time. They don't realize they have more free time now than they'll likely have in any later stage of life until retirement. Just like people who make a lot of money but are always broke, budgeting is critical.

tommylist

I've always struggled with motivation myself, unless I become obsessed (I'm on the autistic spectrum so I do get my obsessions and get laser focused) I also have a child, that is 1 month old and I'm start my OSCP in just over a week.I think to answer your question, you need to think long term and not short term. Short term things such as spending a lot of time with your kids, going out and having a nice time etc... All are great, and are somewhat needed to keep sane (we are not robots after all). But in the long term, whats better? Progressing yourself and thus doing better for your family or having fun in the short term but risk not progressing yourself further? Jeff Bezos the CEO of Amazon is worth 140bn, and in 1999 he said that Amazon would be an online store for all... he thought long term, and look where he's at. I saw an ad on Youtube which stated this, so it's not entirely my idea. But it touched me... It's so true when you think of the logic behind it, you may have to seem cold for the benefit of yourself and your family. I'll be giving up time with my newborn daughter to progress myself and break into an industry which is pretty hard to get into. But I know it will pay off in the long run.So to answer your question, think about all those you care about most and how they'd benefit in the long term from you staying focused. Procrastination stems from not having enough of a motivator or pain in your life to give up the fun stuff.Just my 2 cents.

thedudeabides

It's all about finding that balance between self-improvement time and family time. Too far on the self-improvement side and you become a stranger to your family. Too far on the family side and you're walking down the street with your family trying to find a homeless shelter that will take you all in.

Anything that's not self-improvement time or family time can be cut out completely if needed.

JoJoCal19

tommylist wrote: »

I'll be giving up time with my newborn daughter to progress myself and break into an industry which is pretty hard to get into. But I know it will pay off in the long run.So to answer your question, think about all those you care about most and how they'd benefit in the long term from you staying focused. Procrastination stems from not having enough of a motivator or pain in your life to give up the fun stuff.Just my 2 cents.

Just from someone who was studying (for my degree at the time) when I had my first child, I wouldn't take the time away from them at that age. Carve out time early in the morning, lunch break, and at night. That age goes by quick and you'll never get that time back. During exam weeks I'd spend a ton of time locked in my office. I regret even taking that little bit time away from my little one at that age.

MalwareMike

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

Just from someone who was studying (for my degree at the time) when I had my first child, I wouldn't take the time away from them at that age. Carve out time early in the morning, lunch break, and at night. That age goes by quick and you'll never get that time back. During exam weeks I'd spend a ton of time locked in my office. I regret even taking that little bit time away from my little one at that age.

Great advice, I'll remember this when I have my first kid.

EANx

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

Just from someone who was studying (for my degree at the time) when I had my first child, I wouldn't take the time away from them at that age. Carve out time early in the morning, lunch break, and at night. That age goes by quick and you'll never get that time back. During exam weeks I'd spend a ton of time locked in my office. I regret even taking that little bit time away from my little one at that age.

The early years are great from a parenting perspective (except overnight feedings). I remember sitting on the floor, studying with the book on the coffee table and looking up to see my daughter, standing up for the first time, looking at the book. Don't miss those moments being locked away.

chrisone

TechGromit wrote: »

The question you need to honestly ask yourself is if you lost your job tomorrow, how easy would it be to land another position? If that answer isn’t pretty easily, then you need to seriously need to motivate yourself to change that answer.

I had 20 years IT experience when I got laid off, I had experience with everything from PC tech, system admin, Hardware tech, networking, and I couldn’t find anything other than short term gigs paying $15 an hour. While the job economy was really bad in 2013, I expected to land something better with my experience. The few interviews I did get, I didn’t get the job. I never want to be in that position again, that’s what motivates me to sharpen my skills and get certifications to make myself more marketable.

Not to be mean but to echo what TechGromit said, do you think you will be able to get a Senior Network job if you lost your job today? Most junior network positions require route and switch hands on and as a daily responsibility. I am a little lost for words at any senior network engineer without any route or switch skills or responsibilities. Like you mentioned most jobs require route and switch as a basic skillset. It seems like you may have just got complacent, delegated 100% of the time, and your company has really good smartnet support contracts where you call in for help.

Maybe you are better off in the management role? have you thought about being a network manager or project manager role? it seems like for years if not decades you have been avoiding the technical aspect of routing and switching.

I apologize for sounding mean, but sometimes we need a proper kick in the ....... in order to get us motivated. However maybe your call is management? either way my friend you have to get off your ..... and study. study study study!

good luck man, and sorry for the aggressive tone, I mean nothing by it other than to get you off the chair.

tommylist

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

Just from someone who was studying (for my degree at the time) when I had my first child, I wouldn't take the time away from them at that age. Carve out time early in the morning, lunch break, and at night. That age goes by quick and you'll never get that time back. During exam weeks I'd spend a ton of time locked in my office. I regret even taking that little bit time away from my little one at that age.

I didn't mean all of the time, just I feel as though I cannot spend as much time with her as I'd like to. But right now, I am on the night feed duty, so I do my part. But yes, I get you - the timing is bad but I'll manage!

backtracker

I know I'm late to the party here, but haven't seen it mentioned- this site!! Knowing I might have to compete with one of you for a job (well, in respective knowledge domains anyway), has lit a fire under me like no other

I'm very grateful for finding this place.