Always revising

ibit-matt

I have been woring in IT now for about 1.5 years and I started my certification journey 4 months ago and I have passed two exams so far. Vista 70-620 and XP 70-270. I have my vista 70-622 in 3 weeks

Since I started my career in IT I have been learning for the whole 1.5 years and will be learning for the rest of my career as well.

I just wanted to see if other people find it draining to be learning all the time and trying to remember all the skills they need.

I go to work 9am - 5pm and then come home have my dinner and then start revising for my exams.

Just seems to be none stop.

Interested on other peoples experiences.


Thanks

mrmcmint

Yup! pretty much the same here. I go home and study late into the evening. I have crammed in 5 exams since April though, including 2 beta ones i've done today. It's hectic. I also study during my dinner hour at work. It's starting to take its toll with family life but it will be worth it in the long run. keep at it! just get drunk at the end of the week!

ibit-matt

mrmcmint wrote: »

Yup! pretty much the same here. I go home and study late into the evening. I have crammed in 5 exams since April though, including 2 beta ones i've done today. It's hectic. I also study during my dinner hour at work. It's starting to take its toll with family life but it will be worth it in the long run. keep at it! just get drunk at the end of the week!

If you dont mind me asking how old are you and how long have you been working in IT?

I understand the what I am learning but I fnd it hard to remember it all. I learn someone but dont really use it on a day to day basis then a couple of months down the road I need it I have forgotten it.

it2b

There's no way you can remember it all. Part of IT is just knowing where to look for answers. Sometimes it's Google (consulting the cloud) or books you keep at your desk for reference.

Keeping good documentation is always important. I might install or configure something today and not need to touch it again until next year. If I have good documentation to refer back to I won't have to reinvent the wheel.

When I'm getting ready for an exam I study at night after the kids have gone to bed. That might not be until 9:30 or 10. I try to study on my lunch hour and during slow times at work so I can take a night off without feeling like I missed a day. I need at least one or two days off or I get burned out.

Strive to be the expert at you core responsibilities. Learn as much as you can about other technologies you are interested in. But always try to take a break now and then or you'll burn out.

dynamik

I always find it humorous when people ask me what I did last night. I'm like, "You mean, you didn't study too? What else did you do?"

mrmcmint

ibit-matt wrote: »

If you dont mind me asking how old are you and how long have you been working in IT?

I understand the what I am learning but I fnd it hard to remember it all. I learn someone but dont really use it on a day to day basis then a couple of months down the road I need it I have forgotten it.

Im 28. I have been in IT for 6 years, started on helpdesk for 6 months, then moved to desktop/remote support. Got made redundant from that position so now 2nd/3rd line engineer.

You will never remember everything you learn, you will retain a lot of it but you the main thing is to be aware of it. It's like when I took the 290 knowing group scopes ie what can be a member of what in different domains etc. Truth be told I can't remember all of it, I can remember most of it but the point is when I need to know it I am aware of it, and can very quickly pull up a reference to it.

I think I have pretty much got the future planned out cert wise and career wise... I need to wrap up MCSE:S, convert that to MCITP:EA, move onto CCENT the CCNA then see if I can root my way into the security world and follow Dynamik (not that I am stalking you Dynamik )

I'll carry on drinking now.........

it2b

dynamik wrote: »

I always find it humorous when people ask me what I did last night. I'm like, "You mean, you didn't study too? What else did you do?"

I'm getting hooked on "Sons of Anarchy" on Tuesday nights.

Forsaken_GA

it2b wrote: »

I'm getting hooked on "Sons of Anarchy" on Tuesday nights.

Good show! I got hooked on the first season because it was airing after The Shield. As soon as I saw it had Ron Perlman, I was like 'you have my attention'.

Monday nights are sinfully indulgent nights though. Between House, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and Castle.... I don't do a whole lot of studying

ibit-matt

Glad to hear im not the only one who works all day and then studies at night.

It will be worth it tho

@mrmcmint Im having a beer now Only just got back from work as I have been on site all day installing a new server

Forsaken_GA

I have the advantage that I'm able to spend a very large amount of time studying at work, so I can actually use my off days for things other than self advancement. I have to do something fun every once in awhile, otherwise I am not a very nice person to deal with.

ibit-matt

Yeah I try to revise when its slow at work but lately its been really busy