What you learn, you loose over time :(

3000GT

I dunno if this effects anyone else, but as time goes on im starting to forget really simple things that i have studied. I did my Network+ exam about a month ago and some of it i cant remember!

Unfortunatly my job i do at the moment rarely uses the new found skills i have learnt and there for im forgetting it all, Does anyone else have this problem or could suggest anything to improve my memory

RussS

Yup - you are correct.

lordy

Same here.

Did my CCNA three months ago and I know that a lot of knowledge I gained has already disappeared

If you wanted to prevent that I guess one would have to find the perfect job for oneself which uses all of your skills.

Regards,
Lordy

Ricka182

True, so true. I've been so busy at work, that when I do get a chance to play with my lab servers for MCSA, I can't remember where I left off. I think it's a bit easier if you use the technology on a daily basis to remember.

jmc724

What you need to do is have more interaction in the forum. In that way, you will be mentoring other peers and keep the knowledge in mind and use.

If you have ever worked as a helpdesk or desktop support job, end-users ask common questions like those we see in the forum at times. Take a shot at it even if its not the right answer.

The job will eventually come...

ajs1976

Use it or lose it.

If you don't have a job that lets you practice these new skills, review your old notes every once in a while and help out in forums like this one.

I have also found that as you go through the exam process, you repeat certain topics and they will start to get cemented into your head.

NPA24

ajs1976 wrote:

Use it or lose it.

If you don't have a job that lets you practice these new skills, review your old notes every once in a while and help out in forums like this one.

I have also found that as you go through the exam process, you repeat certain topics and they will start to get cemented into your head.

It is so true that your skills that you acquire you end up forgetting if you don't use it everyday. I did also learn that when i was going through my MCSA exams, each test started to build on the earlier test. It kept reinforcing certain topics and after achieving the MCSA, I feel that I can take the 70-210 again and fully understand everything now because all the other exams kept building and building on it.

JDMurray

To retain more knowledge, drink less beer.

It werks fer me! *hic!*

shadown7

It's very easy to forget things that you don't do all the time. I forget things all the time. However, I did find that going over my notes and chapter summaries from time to time help me out alot.

mikey_b

I find that doing practise labs help keep the information fresh longer, because you have a visual image of how things work. If I study for 70-290 for a few weeks and then stop for a while, it's really hard to pick back up from where I left off. However, if I follow along with practise labs, I find I don't have nearly as many problems trying to refresh my memory. Hands-on is where it counts, it helps so much to see how things work in the real world as opposed to diagrams and screenshots, which IMO are only really useful for cramming the facts.

/usr

I think this affects all of us. However, if you think you've forgotten something, you'll most likely be surprised at what a brief review will bring back. It happens to me all the time. I'll think I've forgotten something, then begin looking it up and I'll suddenly have a feeling of "Now I remember!"

hackers_shack

/usr wrote:

I think this affects all of us. However, if you think you've forgotten something, you'll most likely be surprised at what a brief review will bring back. It happens to me all the time. I'll think I've forgotten something, then begin looking it up and I'll suddenly have a feeling of "Now I remember!"

Exactly right. I read an interview with some IT hotshot and he mentioned the same thing. He then added, "The trick is in knowing where to find the answer."
I've ran into it in web design. I added some rollover thumb pics to a website in Flash that displayed the large pic during the remote rollover. What is known as a disjointed rollover. 3 months later the client wanted more. What did I have to do? Break down my previous work so I could see how I'd done it. Now I think the knowledge is firmly embedded though.

Plantwiz

Ricka182 wrote:

..... I think it's a bit easier if you use the technology
on a daily basis to remember.

BINGO!

The certifications are designed to highlight areas people work with. Why hold a cert if it covers areas that a person never uses? I'm speaking about holding LINUX+ or MSCA when all your job covers is installing ram upgrades or an occasional format.

I do realize people study for certs to improve their chances for a different job. Really, I do. However, (IMO) there are a number of people who hold certifications and they cannot perform 50% or better of the material covered on the cert they hold - Not much different than a paper cert.

benjiga69

For the most part I believe all the info is locked somehwere in our brains, its just hard to recollect it after a certain amount of time. I found that the best way for me to retain information is for example, especially if skills are not used everyday, is to try and figure out something that I come across that I know I studied but can't remember exactly how to do. And if all else fails I go look it up. This method helps it stick because you really get thinking about it! A good IT professional is 50% what he knows and 50% if he knows how and where to get the answers. We can't remember everything but if we know where to look it up then the answer is bound to surface. Resources...resources...resources.

darkuser

yes i forget a lot
like that config i did 6 months ago
no ,, i can't recall it verbatim boss ,, but give me 10 minutes and i'll refresh

keatron

I guess I've been lucky enough (or planned enough ) that most of the certs I hold, I've held a job that was directly related. Also, as a trainer, some of the material never leaves; I mean after you explain and demonstrate hands on how to set up external trust relationships and how to configure stub zones properly for the 100th time , it starts to become embedded in the noggin