Technology

Practical Guide to Obtaining Technical Certifications

Strategies and tips that helped me study for technical certifications in the past

One of the coolest parts about working in technology is constantly learning, whether it’s a technical skill, a new feature in software or a device, a communication skill, a new programming language, or a new study framework — you name it!

The world of technology changes rapidly, and if we’re not keeping up, we’ll be left behind. So why not have fun while we learn?

As a Solutions Engineer (I talked about this profession in this article), one of the parts of my job is studying and taking certifications. Some of my recent ones have been Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure (both focused on Cloud Infrastructure).

In today’s article, I want to share some of the habits and tips I use to prepare for exams. I hope it helps you in your study routine.

How to Prepare Technically

Know your WHY

First, understand: why am I studying to take this certification? The reasons can vary:

• “If I get certification X, I will be able to increase my salary by Y”, “If I get certification X, I have a chance of a promotion here in company Z”, “If I get certification X, I can be hired by company W”, or “If I get certification X, I will learn about Technology A and that excites me a lot”. Whatever the reason is, make it very clear to yourself, because that’s what you will hold onto when the process of studying this technology becomes tedious (not all study processes are easy, and we know that well).

Fall in love with the PROCESS

Recently, I watched a video that said:

“A man who loves walking, walks further than the man that loves the destination”.

This is very important: if you only think about the end goal (getting the certification), you will find the whole process tedious.

When I studied for the Google Cloud Platform exam, I saw it as a form of learning and took the opportunity to really enjoy opening the lab every day and studying that concept. Not all the concepts you are learning will be interesting, but try to find the ones you like the most. And talk about these topics with your colleagues.

This leads to the third tip.

Have an Accountability Partner

The term Accountability Partner will help you a lot! An Accountability Partner is the person who will keep you in line with your study plan and also the person you will share learned concepts with.

When I was studying for the exam, another friend was too. We talked about our progress with each other and motivated each other to always be in sync with the chapters we were studying.

I suggest you find someone who is also interested in getting the certification and who you can talk to 1 to 2 times a week to discuss how the study is going and explain concepts to each other.

Protect Your Technical Reading Time

Something that helped me a lot was defining time slots in my calendar to study. I dedicated daily time blocks to review a specific concept or do a lab that I knew would take longer. I protected my time religiously.

Did someone want to schedule a meeting at that time? I only made an exception if it was very urgent.

Not to mention the labs and demos that I would start, spend 30 minutes doing, and then get to the last step, and it would fail. I had to do and redo dozens of labs, but I learned more every time I did them. So don’t give up. Keep going!

How to Prepare Emotionally

I always get very anxious before taking any test in general, from high school to college and recently taking certification exams.

After many years of suffering (and learning, haha!), I share below some tactics that I use to help me prepare emotionally: both in my studies and on the day of the exam.

Scheduling the Exam

I schedule the exam for a day of the week that I know will not be a “busy” day. Let me explain: Mondays and Tuesdays are very hectic days at work. Lots of calls with clients, internal meetings, delivering internal material, scheduling new meetings, etc.

The last few times, I have always scheduled my exams for Thursday at the end of the day or Friday morning. Scheduling at the end of the week also gives me a few days during the week if I want to review the material with a fresher mind.

Here, there is no rule:

look at your calendar and see which are the best days of the week when you will have at least 30 minutes before the exam to “relax” and not have a mental load focused on another activity and concern.

Focus

during studies and at revision time

It doesn’t matter if you like the Pomodoro technique, if you use an app, or if you prefer to concentrate while listening to classical music. Find out what works best for you to focus.

The main objective of having focus is to eliminate distractions. And that’s exactly what works for me. I need to create my space to study.

I put my phone in another room, put lo-fi on my headphones, close my email, and close the Slack and Microsoft Teams apps.

It would be useless to set 25 minutes on my cell phone timer if my entire environment around me brings distractions. Having focus is about eliminating distractions. Remember that.

Take Care of Your Sleep

Good nights of sleep in the week leading up to the exam. Yes, the whole week. Sleeping well is scientifically proven and highly related to long-term content absorption, as well as giving us more focus and energy for our activities.

Not only on the day before the exam but in the week leading up to it, try to get your hours of sleep (I need 8 and a half hours, for example) and have a sleep routine.

Practice Physical Activity

I am very strict about setting aside time to exercise every day whether it’s doing kickboxing, stretching at home, or taking that long walk with my dog. Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. Your health will thank you, and so will your mind.

Breathing Before The Exam

Do breathing exercises 10 minutes before the exam. I really like the square breathing technique.

When doing it, try to imagine a square mentally:

breathe in very slowly through your nose for 4 seconds; hold the air in your lungs for 4 seconds; breath out very slowly through your mouth; keep your lungs empty for 4 seconds. Repeat the process 5 times.

Certifications Testimonials

I have written about some of the certifications I have taken in the SysAdminas blog. You can find many other articles there: on Google, Azure, Dell, Oracle. SysAdminas is an organization that provides information and resources on IT Infrastructure and supports women that are in this career journey.

Book a time with me to help you prepare for your next certification exam.

This article was written by me and originally published in Portuguese, here.

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