What are you study habits like when studying for multiple certs?

CodeBlox · April 2011

Do you non-stop study with every ounce of free time? Is it healthy to just devote every second of free time to just studying non-stop? I hear people say things like "don't waste your time gaming would you could be earning certs". I have tried this (non-stop studying) and I usually eventually find myself getting rather worn out so to speak. I would like to game a little every now and then but would hate to be "wasting time" playing XBox or doing something else besides studying. At the moment I am working on three certs and I find that I do still have free time. Am I wrong for spending it doing other things than non-stop study?

ehnde · April 2011

When I study for multiple certs (not tried studying for more than 2 at a time) I track reading and lab time in separate tabs in a spread sheet.

I think non stop studying is stupid

Enjoy your games! The human brain works more efficiently with consistent study habits. The answer is simple when you ask yourself this question:

Is it better to study 12 hours per day for 3 days, then take your certification exam on day 4? Or is it better to study 1 hour per day for 36 days, and take your exam on day 37?

I track my time spent in the lab in a spreadsheet and pages read on a daily basis. Skipping a day is fine...skipping a week is not fine when your exam is in 2 weeks.

10 pages a day for 10 days, or 100 pages in a day?
10 hours of lab time spread out over a week, or a 10 hour session in the lab?

You can do amazing things with moderation and consistency.

Ahriakin · April 2011

If you mean multiple at the same time then I think it's a bad idea period, you need focus to properly absorb the material. Though it might be enough to make the exams it's a lot harder for it to make it into long term memory, and actual true understanding. if you men multiple as in the ultimate cert you're aiming for needs many sub-exams (MCSE, CCxP etc). then all I can say is you need balance. If you don't blow off steam you'll burn out, and your mind needs variety, you need to give your brain time to organise/file/index your memories as you go. When I was studying for the IE I'd have gaming sessions, or a movie, between study and lab time. I'd stop and just listen to some music or watch a quick episode of some half hour show halfway through a 12hr session. On other tracks after I passed one sub-exam I'd take a few days off completely from study even if I was under a strict deadline. the will to work through constantly is commendable but we're just not built that way, your brain needs time to recuperate after stressing it, so does your basic mental health (mood etc.)

SteveO86 · April 2011

I've never studied for multiple certs at once, I usually pick one, decide on the material I want, then hit it. Then onto the one.

Concerning the non-stop studying.. I suppose if you can handle it go ahead but you'll probably hit a breaking point eventually.

I'd say I do a good amount of studying but still make time to go out, watch a little TV and kick back.

thehourman · April 2011

I tried to study two certs before and didn't work out for me. Also, I agree with ehnde and Ahriakin.
For me I understand the material more if I relaxed myself, kind of like what ehnde said. I game too a lot, and read about 100 pages in 7 days.

mattlee09 · April 2011

I also have never really studied for multiple certs, but I made the mistake of scheduling 70-680 while I was still studying for ICND1...luckily I passed ICND1 (otherwise I'd really be screwed) but I currently find myself sitting here pouring over the Press 70-680 book, quickly running out of time

My problem up until this point was I had to force myself to study the basics, which I couldn't really get interested in, so scheduling the exam as short as a month in the future pushed me to get it done. After 70-680 I'm going to schedule ICND2 for early-mid summer and actually take my time to learn the ins and outs of routing (should be entertaining to me, since I'm new to it).

But yeah, during the entire month of March I logged ~130 hrs (approx 3 each weekday and 12 each weekend) of reading/notes, + 20 hrs of CBTs.

Inspiration makes people do crazy things. And I swear I'm getting a tan sitting in front of these monitors!

CodeBlox · April 2011

The reason I am actually doing three is because I am able to at the moment. A+, Security+ and CCNA. As far as these certs go, I'm able to do all three at one time. A+ and Sec+ have a lot of material I already knew about. CCNA is where I'm learning mostly new things. So I sort of have a lot of time to learn that material. Probably should change the thread title.

instant000 · April 2011

While I personally do not see much wrong with studying more than one thing at a time -- Do you remember going to school, and you'd have multiple classes at once?

I would recommend that even if you were studying multiple things at once, to please at least do yourself the favor of staggering your testing time, that way, that last week (or few days) leading up to the exams, you can really focus on those flash cards you've made to study with, and get that stuff honed in really strong prior to sitting for the test.

Also, I recommend breaks.

One thing we often did in my military training days was 45 minutes class, followed by 15 minutes break. Apparently, someone figured out that this 3 to 1 ratio was optimal for retention. I don't know if it is, or is not, but I do know that I stick to this method myself, when studying for certs, and it has paid off so far.

Breaks are your friend! Think of your brain as a muscle, which needs time to recuperate between exertions, to avoid burnout.

Even if it is not your brain that really needs the break, it could be your eyes (from staring at the screen), or your arms (from holding the book), or your butt (from sitting in the chair).

People like to say how amazing the human brain is, and how it is able to pull in and do so many wonderful things ... but so what? It is limited by the human body it is inside, and do not forget that. Now, if you are indeed physically tireless, then sure, it may not bother you at all, to continue pressing, as even the best of us only use 10% of that brain we have, and even if we were able to store those many GB of data our body pulls in every second, we could not ever hope to fill our brains.

Now, you specifically mentioned studying for multiple certs, and I must say that I really do not engage in studying for multiple certs at the same time. Now, this is contrary to the usual test preparation that I do for classwork, where I will indeed go through more than one course at the same time, but this is different, in that courses are usually a more "spread out" observation on a particular topic, versus certifications which usually compress in the knowledge that you might gain across several courses, into a single test.

Most certifications that you can gain, you can find yourself going across several sources of information, in order to get the "complete picture" of what you are studying for. So, you're already doing multiple study, just for a single certification.

Since you mention that it is A+, Security+, and CCNA, even with that said, the A+ and Security+ do not compare to the CCNA. I took the A+ tests, each after one week of prep, and I took the Security+ after a weekend of prep. I'd give myself a few weeks to attempt the CCNA. (I've had it before and had it expire ... silly me, so I have a respect for that test, it is very much so beyond the difficulty of A+ and Security+)

For that test, I would recommend knowing how to configure any technology listed in the syllabus from memory. Flash cards would be very helpful for this type of thing. Besides that, learn how the protocols work, know their definitiions, etc. Oh yeah, and subnet in your head. If you cannot do that, at least do yourself the favor of knowing how to build a subnet chart that you can reference during the test. If I recall correctly, you also need to know binary/hex/decimal conversion. Hrm, I almost forgot the most important thing: time management. it doesn't matter that you know the stuff, if you cannot complete the test because you ran out of time. If you're unable to subnet in your head, and/or can't build a chart for it, you will more than likely run out of time on the test. So, flash cards help here, as you can hone your skills on quickly knowing the basics, so that you can get on with actually solving the problems at hand.

Hope this helps!

rwmidl · April 2011

Personally I'd focus on only one cert at a time. Learn the material well, pass the test and move on to the next. I do think you need to give yourself some free time, you and your brain need a chance to rest . Plus, life is too short to just spend all your time studying for certs.

That being said, the only time I did devote any free time I had to studying was while I was prepping for the CISSP, but that is a completely different beast all together.

gorebrush · April 2011

CCIE is enough for me...

What are you study habits like when studying for multiple certs?

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