Celebration
Steady wins the race
It’s been a week since I passed my CCNA exam. I’ve been studying since January of this year and it has been enjoyable and challenging. I have to thank my wife because I was hesitating a few days before the exam and was planning to postpone it but she convinced me to go ahead with it. After all I had an exam retake option if I failed so I thought even if I failed the exam that I would learn from it and focus on weak areas for the retake.
At times it did feel like I was running a marathon, even though I’ve never run a marathon, but I’ve been in the army reserves so I have some experience in staying committed and following through even when things seem difficult.
I saw a video a few weeks ago about learning about technology and I think it had many useful life lessons. It compared learning technology or PowerShell to a marathon. The following are some of the things that stood out and the things that resonated with me the most. At the end of the post I have posted a link to the video.
Commitment
It took me a while during January to decide to go for the CCNA. I wasn’t sure if to go for it because I knew I would have to dedicate a lot of time to it, networking was something I didn’t know a lot about and I really wanted to improve with other things like PowerShell and Ansible.
Once I convinced myself it was worth it I was committed and I wanted it bad. I knew that I would gain a good knowledge of networking and that I would gain a very prestigious certification, and who knows what opportunities it might bring in the future.
Planning
I was realistic with the amount of studying I could do in a day, on most days I would have about 45 minutes to an hour.
The course I was doing gave an example schedule that would finish in 6 weeks. In the beginning I was eager but as the subject matter got more complex and required going through labs I wasn’t able to keep up. I had to be realistic and realise that I had to go at my own pace and be patient. I was still committed to studying 6 days a week and have a rest day.
I also came across challenges such as sleep deprivation when the kids were sick and waking up throughout the night and I found it hard to concentrate. Sometimes I was just too tired but at least I would study just 5 or 10 minutes to keep the momentum going. I had to be flexible during these times.
Towards the end I was planning what subjects I would revise, what practice labs and practice exams I would do, but I had to adapt it as I went along because I felt I had to spend more time on certain topics.
Run
In mid August I decided to set a target date about 5 weeks from that point for the exam. I booked the exam, I could reschedule if I needed to. I decided to go for it.
In the video Steven mentions that at some point you have to go for it, you’ve followed the plan and it’s the final step.
I could have done with more practice in the labs as I really struggled in the real exam but at the same time I was doing quite well in practice exams and everything was fresh in my mind. So I had to decide if I practiced more I could start forgetting other things. In the end it was the right choice but it felt risky. But I’m glad I did.
Celebrating
I’m proud of my achievement and I have been celebrating all week long. I think it is important to celebrate your wins. The photobelow is a my favourite meal called Lomo Saltado from one of my favourite Peruvian restaurants.
Steven mentions this in the video, he said it was something you wanted, it was hard, you spent valuable time pursuing this so enjoy the moment.
Next
Right now I’m recovering and taking it easy. I won’t be studying for certifications until next year. For the moment I will continue to learn more PowerShell and continue reading Ansible for DevOps. In a future post I’ll mention about the resources I used to study for the CCNA and other useful tips.