it certification My IT Certification/Continuing Education Saga

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Sadly, only two of us out of the seven who took the exam passed.

 

Most people would not stick to the study schedule you did to accomplish this.

 

INCD2 is UGLY! I'm going to have to knuckle down again for that one. I have another 800 page book to read. No classroom instruction/guidance for this one at all, though. Ain't gonna' be a walk in the park.

[amenditman]

Sadly, only two of us out of the seven who took the exam passed.

That is double the previous class. Must be they chose better candidates for the class this time around.

 

I'm sure the instructor would be happy to help answer your questions and assist in test prep.

He probably has office hours on campus at the Dale Mabry campus, right around the corner from your house.

Campus email also.

 

Can't imagine he would abandon you at this point even if the "official" class is over.

Edited March 1, 2013 by amenditman

[ichase]

^Eric,

^{Most proud of you and a hardy congradulations on an awesome accomplishment. Though most of us that have gotten to know you had no doubt in our minds that those images were going to be in your signature line.}

 

^{Now, relax a bit, do something for yourself for a job well done!!!!}

[Corrine]

BRAVO!!! I am so very, very proud of you, Eric!

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Can't imagine he would abandon you at this point even if the "official" class is over.

 

You'd be amazed what a cluster-screw this has been. The college doesn't get their money if we don't get the certs. So, they're rushing us to take the exams because they want their $$$. Sadly, none of us was really ready to take that test yesterday. Now today we were all sent emails from the administrator of this program telling us that we have to come in this coming Thursday to take the retests (if we failed the first one) or the ICND2 (for those of us who passed the first one). They're out of their ever-lovin' minds! We've all sent back shocked emails to this lady asking for clarification. We've also asked the instructor to intercede for us.

 

It's stupid.

 

If I'm forced to, I'll go sit for the exam. I'll be lucky to score a 25% on it. If I fail, the school gets no Fed grant moneys for me. Tough feces, I say.

 

Enough ranting for now...

 

Oh, and the instructor has offered to let us audit his credit course for the ICND2 curriculum for free (no credit received, though). That's COOL! However, it doesn't start till the 21st of March, and it's only one night a week. It would take the rest of the year to cover this second part at that rate.

[amenditman]

Sounds like typical administration garbage. All the instructors I have had complain about the clueless administration that "runs" things.

 

Very good of the instructor to offer the audit, at least it's around the corner from your house.

 

Any chance of employment with the cert you have?

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I'm sure there will be some employment possibilities very soon. I'm sending out feelers now. However, I really want another few weeks to focus on the ICND2 and my CompTIAs.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Ran across this great quote that reminded me how I managed to pass this test.

 

"Chance favors the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur

 

=====

 

Started the ICND2 tome this morning. I'll be ready for that test in another 4-6 weeks. Too bad they want me to take it this coming Thursday.

[ross549]

Edna from The Incredibles phrased it slightly different- Fortune favors the prepared.

 

Eric, keep cranking away at it... I know you can do it. Is this reading and reading the only way you learn? Some folks do better watching or listening to their study material.

 

Here's a fancy term I learned while getting ready to qualify as a Master Training Specialist.... Kinesynthetic leraning. The idea is that the more of your senses you use in the learning process, the better the information will solidify in your brain. Some folks do well sitting down and reading a book, but many folks learn better with video/audio.

 

The sensation of touch also helps. Hold a bundle of CAT5 while reading the book. It should help....

 

Adam

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I'm wearing my null modem cable necklace.

 

Actually, I found that the spreading out of my focus on numerous learning resources was detrimental to my learning processes while studying for the ICND1. I finally realized this during the last week before the test. At that point, I focused 100% on the text book. By the day of the test, I had read through the ICND1 book three complete times.

 

Unfortunately, this technical writer, while obviously very knowledgeable on the subject matter, is the somewhat droll and boring in his presentation. But then again, it's not really that easy to turn Cisco IOS, routing protocols, and an amazing array of alphabet soup acronyms into a Stephen King-like tour de force. There were times when I read 15 or 20 pages and could not remember a thing about what I had just read. My mind drifts off to other pursuits while my eyes faithfully read the pages.

 

I've also noticed that the aged brain doesn't absorb and comprehend new data as well as it did when it was a young spring chicken.

[ross549]

I understand. It is hard to get any learner to fully comprehend material on a heavily compressed schedule without utilizing many different methods. On top of that, each learner is wired a bit differently. Go with what works.

 

What were your most productive days while studying for the first test? What was your routine? Follow that, since it works.

 

I would also suggest (time permitting) to roughly outline the book as you go through it. write down the key concepts. If you think about this method, it is quite effective. The idea is to get the information into your active through process as many times as possible. Note taking is excellent for this. It forces you to read, digest the material a bit, formulate it in your own words, and then put it to paper. In one shot, the concept has passed through your active thinking process four times.

 

If you're already doing this, then ignore my babbling....

 

Adam

[therock247uk]

great!!

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Not babbling, Adam. Pretty good advice... and close to my study regimen. The book has an excellent summarization of key subject matter. I am also a copious note taker. I read first, then re-read and take notes, then read again along with reading the notes. I used that method this last time along with taking sample exams the last week before the test. I didn't want to rely on the sample testing too much, though, because you tend to memorize the questions rather than understand the material.

 

I think this last was part of the reason at least two of my classmates failed the exam Thursday. They had both focused heavily on making consistent 90% or better on the sample exams. That bad thing about that is that the exam database only holds 439 questions. You eventually see them all and begin to remember them. As a consequence, your scores get consistently better, but you're just remembering THOSE particular questions, not the data that you need to know.

[ross549]

Of course. :-)

 

Adam

[sunrat]

I've also noticed that the aged brain doesn't absorb and comprehend new data as well as it did when it was a young spring chicken.

I noticed that when I was trying to learn Vietnamese. Did OK in Level 1 anyway, but then they didn't run a Level 2 class the next semester so I've forgotten lots already. At least I picked up operating our new digital mixing desks fast; they are pretty complex but at least I had years of basic audio understanding to build on.

 

Congratulations on passing the first round of tests. All that hard work is paying off.

[rolanaj]

Congratulations Eric!!! You know some people also find explaining things to other people helps them absorb information better too. Any victims er helpful bystanders around who would be willing sounding boards?

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Yes, indeed. I've always learned by teaching. My classmates and I are planning on getting together somewhere this week for some group study. I'll take that opportunity to drill them so that they can pass their retest.

 

And, of course, as I mentioned to Corrine elsewhere, my cats are pretty sick of me lecturing them about networking and Cisco devices.

[ross549]

This is how Tater Tot responds to me lecturing him about safe browsing practices.....

 

 

 

Adam

[amenditman]

And, of course, as I mentioned to Corrine elsewhere, my cats are pretty sick of me lecturing them about networking and Cisco devices.

Bet those cats could pass the test.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Don't tell my classmates that. Then they're really feel bad.

[amenditman]

On no! Wouldn't want them to feel any worse than they already do.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Yeah... they're all pretty down. My carpool pal seems to be perking up, though. He's cramming again and hopes to pass sometime this coming week. He just barely missed it the last time.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Yup. Running through Ch. 1 right now... VLANs, ISL, 802.1q, VTP, etc.

[ross549]

802.1q? I am going to have to look it up.....

 

Adam

[V.T. Eric Layton]

It's the IEEE standard for VLANs.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.1Q

 

Also known as "dot 1q" in engineer-speak.

[Cluttermagnet]

"Oh, Cisco!"

 

"Oh, Pancho..."

 

Way to go, Eric... you da man...

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Oh, Clutter!

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Well, got my testing voucher today via the young man from the college who handles that stuff. I can now use my voucher to schedule my ICND2/CCNA examination at my leisure... probably within the next three weeks or so. That's the goal, anyway. I found a virtual training course for this on Cisco's website. It starts on the 11. I may sign up for it. It's only 5 days long, but covers everything in ICND2. Should be interesting.

 

I also have my Pearson VUE (the testing company) accounts all set up, so once I purchase vouchers through the college (at 50% off), I can schedule my CompTIA cert exams (Network+, A+, Linux+). Gonna' have to brush up on RedHat, rpm-based package management, and sed/awk for the Linux one.

 

And, of course, the job hunt is back on full blast.

 

Oh, tomorrow we have our huggy/kissy followup session with the college folks. They're giving us a tour of the college's Ybor City campus network... and they're providing finger food. Oh, goody! Should be fun! My best pal's son who works at that college in their IT dept. says the Ybor City campus network is impressive.

[abarbarian]

Ladies fingers are very tasty. Lightly sautéed with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

[zlim]

Actually, Ladyfingers are light and sweet sponge cakes.

Recipe http://www.joyofbaking.com/Ladyfingers.html

Goes good with Trifle or dipped in chocolate.