Study and Motivation

veritas_libertas

sagewalkinthere wrote: »

Wow... I would hate to serve papers, lol...

It does make for some very interesting experiences. I use to like dogs! Now I just groan when the owner lets them loose

skrpune

arwes wrote: »

'Sup fellow procrastinating "the beast" buddy?

Make that three of us...I'm putting it off until I can feel not so burned out, and until I decide if I want to try to do Security+ first. I may put this off until fall - I've got a network class that will cover some of the security topics nicely, and I haven't yet decided whether I want to try to get ahead of my class or do my security-related studies in tandem.

I'm finding it incredibly difficult to keep motivated on certs right now. 291 scares the bejebus out of me, and I'm just so tired. I think I killed my brain a little with all the sleep deprivation for my Windows 7 / 290 / Server+ studying marathon.

Between work & school & commutes, I'm pretty much booked full time, and that's before adding in homework and studying for my class, or taking care of the dog/homefront. I've been trucking along for a while and I'm really starting to feel tired and worn out. So I'm switching gears to try to plan for what it is that I want to do next. I've been doing some research on alternate certs (Java, ITIL Foundations) and deciding on some skills/languages/etc. that I'd like to learn...basically doing some soul searching on what I want to be doing in the coming months/years and the associated research to help me make some decisions and some concrete goals.

I think my mind and body have been screaming pretty loudly at me to take a break for a while now, and I'm finally listening. If I had kept going at the same pace that I was going for the past couple months, I'd be a pile of goo right now. So for the time being, probably the better part of the summer, I'll be focusing on school and work, and then I'll switch gears again this fall sometime. Or such is the plan for this week...

Aldur

skrpune wrote: »

I think my mind and body have been screaming pretty loudly at me to take a break for a while now...

I hear ya there, I've been driving myself into the ground lately with studying and I'm well past the point of burn out. It's next to impossible to keep myself sitting in my chair, maybe some handcuffs? I just keep telling myself that it's only 1 more week till I take the JNCIE-ER, then I can take a break. Then I scare myself by thinking I only have 1 more week left and there's so much more to know...

At this point I don't care if I pass or fail, as long as the test is just over. If i pass great, I'm taking a month with no studying, if I fail great, I'm taking a month before I start studying again

Slowhand

dynamik wrote: »

I'm going to be homeless this month too! *high five*

I guess I'll be seeing you at the bar, eh?

As long as you're buyin'.

Forsaken_GA

snadam wrote: »

Sometimes I find that actually scheduling my exam tends to light a big fire under my A55. I'm actually contemplating that now so I can get in the "study groove"

I used to think this would work for me, but it's too easy to reschedule exams

Breadfan

I feel exactly the same way skrpune...

My coworker brought in the MSpress 70-291 book for me to borrow and I have skimmed the first 2 chapters here at work but have refused to take it home because I am in "rest-mode".

I am trying to gear up on the Windows 7 stuff again (even though I took the dang exam I must've put it in the back of my mind for the 70-290 exam).

This 70-291 seems to be hard, and I want to take my time with it. I also so excited with Windows 7 I can't stand it and am trying to get everyone to get on board with it, though I am still ticked at MS that they are making XP users do a clean install and the vista people get the upgrade. I know the 2 OS's are vastly different, I am still sore though.

Speaking of motivation (and the 291), what subject are you all finding the most difficult to study for on the 291? There may be a poll already for this on the 291 board but I was too lazy to check..

I hope to get over my "burned-out" phase quickly, because the faster I learn this material and SLAY the beast, the faster I can dive into the 2008 material which is also great I hear.

Good luck to everyone getting over the "hump" (and Dynamik for always crackin' me up )

Alif_Sadida_Ekin

IPsec was the hardest topic to study for me. I still don't think I have a firm grasp on it.

snadam

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

I used to think this would work for me, but it's too easy to reschedule exams

I avoid using that prometric site as much as possible. So I dont consider the ability to re-sched as an option

dynamik

Forsaken_GA wrote: »

I used to think this would work for me, but it's too easy to reschedule exams

But you can only do that for a year! However, you can just cancel, get a refund, and sign up for a new one if it comes to that. I had to do that for my Exchange 2007 exam, and I've been repeatedly pushing back my ICND2 exam since last fall

Slowhand

dynamik wrote: »

But you can only do that for a year! However, you can just cancel, get a refund, and sign up for a new one if it comes to that. I had to do that for my Exchange 2007 exam, and I've been repeatedly pushing back my ICND2 exam since last fall

You keep pushing that exam back, you'll find yourself having taken all the CCNP exams and needing it only to get yourself officially certified.

Lamini

funny. i was putting off certs for the longest time, until i actually signed up for the tests. a fire it was

Claymoore

I pick a date when I want to take the exam, although I may not actually schedule it, and build my study plan by working backwards from that date. My last project was a large GroupWise to Exchange migration and I set the goal of completing my MCITP:EMA before the project ended. That left me planning out dates and study times for 3 exams in 16 weeks. I figured the first test would take more study time while the others would build on that base and take less time. I set aside 6 weeks for the first test and 4 for the next 2 with 2 weeks of extra time in case something came up. I used 1 of those weeks on the Windows 7 beta and lost 2 weeks when I was very busy on the project, so I only had 3 weeks for the 238 but that worked out OK and I finished on time. Once I had each date figured out, I set aside time to work on each exam objective or read so many chapters to stay on schedule. That way I'm not trying to motivate myself for an exam 6 weeks from now, rather I'm motivating myself to read 2 chapters over a weekend. For me, that's easier to manage.

If I just decide to study some particular material without an end date in mind, I will wander all over the place. I did that when I started studying for the 2008 EA upgrade, and I went off on IPv6 and PowerShell tangents before I set a goal date for the exam and finally focused.

Personally, I work on different certs for different reasons. I got my original NT4 MCSE as a way to prove my knowledge. Once, I actually watched someone in a technical interview circle the Biology major / Chemistry minor blurb on my resume. I used certs in lieu of a compsci degree to launch my career in this field. Since then I have earned certs out of professional obligation or personal competition, but I still use them as a way to learn the technology, with the paper just being proof of the effort.

CCIEWANNABE

this is all the motivation i need:

CCIEWANNABE

or a 7 series. I haven't decided yet, ultimate performance or ultimate luxury. either way, i am getting one of them. that decision has already been made :]

sagewalkinthere

CCIEWANNABE wrote: »

this is all the motivation i need:

Easy decision. Both.

Xcluziv

^^^Yea, both would be nice. I'll go with performance and luxury to....just for me and the briefcase...lol