Category Archives: IT Cert

Why Do I Work So Hard?

IT Cert, , , ,

This direct message via my Facebook account is certainly one of the reasons why!

“Hi Anthony,

I just wanted to thank you for the time and effort you put into your A+ course on cbtnuggets. I’ve always been great with computers, building, troubleshooting etc… However, doing well in school especially when it comes to testing was never my strong suit. I was never good at studying effectively and always felt lost and never knew where to start or how to hone in on the parts I needed to focus on.

There were lots of days I dreaded coming home telling my father my grades or how a big test went. It was never that I didn’t try, it’s just the studying/learning process in schools at the time never worked for me. Thus I started college but after one semester it was just the same struggles as high school, so I gave up on perusing a career in my passion. Until I just couldn’t stand doing what I was for a living anymore. I got sick of it and said screw it – I’m going for some certs til I get out of this job. I had tried in the past but I wasn’t looking for a boot camp, or a tech school with 10,000 dollars six-month training programs.

I found your courses, the way they were structured to break it down into manageable chunks, the flashcards! OMG, the flashcards. I have never used a flashcard system for more than 2 min in my life, but the fact that you can choose how often they cycle through for the ones you know vs don’t know was amazing!

Anyway long story short, I could barely even tell my Dad over the phone, due to the fact that I was crying about being able to tell him I did well and that I knew he would be proud of me, and that I not only just passed my 902, I passed with a 91% (824/900).

I’m 35 years old, and I never imagined other than maybe when my wife and I finally decide to have a kid, that I’d by crying conveying the good news to my father or mother.

Thank you so very much,
and I look forward to more certs in the future!”

– Brian L.



When to Schedule that Next IT Certification Exam…

IT Cert, ,

cert exam

I am updating a whole host of my Data Center certifications and I just had to make some decisions on scheduling. As a result, I wanted to share my thoughts on this topic here, as it is a bit more important than people realize I think.

For this discussion, let’s make an assumption. That assumption is – you have a local testing center that is not over-booked. So this means that you can schedule your exam for whenever you like with just 24 hours notice.

With this assumption in place – what do you do regarding these two main approaches –

  1. Schedule for a date in the future that you want to be ready for.
  2. Schedule for the next day once you verify you are ready.

Here are observations about each approach:

Option 1

  • This can help those that tend to procrastinate and put off studying. Since the exam is scheduled and approaching – you better get studying!
  • This can lead to a pretty major issue. Here it is. You study as much as you can up to the test date. You are unable to study (and lab) several topics as well as you would have liked to and now you just go and take that test and try your best. You pass (barely). Now you move on to the next Cert topic on your list. But of course the issue is, you have some gaps in your knowledge and prep – and now they might NEVER get filled!

Option 2

  • This option is dangerous for those of us that like to put off our studying. Let’s face it – you do not have a firm test date and you might let the process drag on forever.
  • The great news on this approach is that you can be FULLY ready for that exam – ensuring you left no stone unturned.

I always prefer and follow option 2. I use tools to help me (like the Streaks app) to ensure I am prepping for the exam every day. I have had far too many challenges with option 1 – just skating by on exams and then worrying about knowledge gaps.

Whatever path you choose – enjoy the journey!