Certification Magazine - November 2007 - (Page 36)

• Uninvited visits from co-workers: If the guy in the next cube stops by to gossip about celebrities, simply stand up and explain that you were just leaving. The guy will probably drift on to the next cube to waste someone else’s time. • Unsolicited phone calls: Similar to the previous time waster, tell the caller that you have an important call on hold. If your office phone has caller ID, even better. If the call is nonbusiness-related, simply do not answer the phone. Eliminate “Time Wasters” at Home In an ideal working environment, your company should not mind if you study for certification exams at the office — assuming your work is done. But even though updating your skills ultimately benefits the company, some organizations don’t see it this way and will frown on you using company time to study. If this is the case, you will need to study for certification exams outside the office. Finding the time after work at home will require you eliminate or at least scale down on the following time wasters: • Watching television: The average TV in the United States is left on for seven hours a day. Limit yourself to just one show a week. •Talking on the phone: Refer to rules on unsolicited phone calls above. •Video games: A recent study by the Consumer Electronics Association found adults actually spend more time than teens playing video games (onethird of adult gamers spend 10 or more hours per week playing video games, compared with just 11 percent of teen gamers). • Lounging: Although there is something to be said for relaxation, some of us take this to an extreme — from the second we get home from work till the time we go to bed, we lounge in a recliner. Meanwhile, technology is passing us by. If you must lounge, at least turn off the TV and read a study guide instead. Study in Blocks of Time OK, you have freed up some time by eliminating a few of the time wasters described above. If you plan on getting certified in a reasonable time frame (before the technology becomes outdated), it is essential to study during those blocks of time. There can be no interruptions. Find a quiet place that is free from all outside distractions such as the library, a lab at a college or a training center. Make sure all the tools you will need (e.g., pen, paper, a computer, practice tests and study guides) are easily accessible. Turn off your cell phone. Make it a goal to study for two to three uninterrupted hours per day or evening. Set a Certiﬁcation Deadline Parkinson’s Law tells us that your work always will expand to fill the time allotted to it. The reverse also holds true — your work will contract to be completed in the allotted time. Tell yourself that you will have your Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification within two months and then actually write down everything you will need to do to accomplish this. A good rule of thumb: For each hour you spend learning, you will need to spend an additional two hours studying for the certification exam. Using CCNA as an example, you might want to spend 32 hours learning by taking an instructor-led class or studying online. You will want to spend another 70 hours or so studying notes from class, taking practice tests and using study guides before taking the exam. It seems like a lot, but if you spend two weeks at night in a CCNA class, from 6 to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday, that will get you your 32 hours of learning. Once the class is over, find another 18 hours a week to study, and after only 45 days, you will be ready for the exam. It’s really not as difficult as it seems if you set a deadline, make a plan and stick to it. Enroll in a Boot Camp If you have many years of experience in your IT field, and your company will allow you a couple of weeks off, the fastest way for you to achieve your certification goal is to enroll in a certification boot camp. As the name implies, boot camps are short, accelerated certification programs that are designed for those IT professionals with substantial experience in their IT field. Certification candidates become immersed in the technology for one to three weeks on average. For example, a typical Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) boot camp will last 36 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE November 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Certification Magazine - November 2007

Certification Magazine - November 2007 Contents Editor's Letter Data Stream Tech Careers Academic Connection Dear Techie Virtual Village Certification Outside Technology Inside Certification The Webmaster: Online Everyman Interface Time Tips: How to Fit Certification into Your Schedule Ad Index Endtag

Certification Magazine - November 2007

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