Posted by voltaic on Thursday May 8, 2008 @ 11:47am
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My certifications are slightly different than others here (financial, not technical). However, my study usually goes like this: thoroughly read the book and take notes. By "thoroughly", I mean reading purposefully, so that you understand not just the words but also what it is really trying to communicate. Make sure that you know the meaning, formulae and an analogy/mnemonic for anything in bold or in headers. Now put the books away and take practice exams over and over, referring only to your notes when you need to do so.

This method has a couple upshots for me. One, you aren't lugging around a bunch of heavy books. Two, since your notes should be good enough to be your only study reference going forward, you should have had to pay real attention when taking them and this guarantees your mind was engaged and that you re-framed things for yourself in ways that were easy to remember. Three, practice tests are over-stressed and under-appreciated. This seems like a paradox, but it's true. Many people overstate their benefits (ie, they may say you won't need to do regular study if you just take practice tests over and over) but for those who do study, they under-emphasize how practice test questions help you re-frame knowledge in an applied setting.

Finally: the most important thing I learned in college is to get a full night's sleep the night before the exam. I mean a full 8 hours. It's better than cramming I guarantee it. Your mind will be rested and more ready to recall information, especially stuff that maybe you haven't touched on for awhile.

Good luck!

Posted by formatc on Friday May 9, 2008 @ 09:13pm
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Finally: the most important thing I learned in college is to get a full night's sleep the night before the exam. I mean a full 8 hours. It's better than cramming I guarantee it. Your mind will be rested and more ready to recall information, especially stuff that maybe you haven't touched on for awhile.

Normally true. That said, I learned most of a semester of digital logic in one night in 1987 with lots of No-Doz and Jolt Cola. I slept for two or so hours and got a high B on the final. Like Volt said though, sleep well the night before.

Posted by Krux on Thursday May 8, 2008 @ 08:36am
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I just started studying for my MCSE, which I successfully conned out of my boss. After beginning said studies, I realized:

Shit, I forgot my study habits. Whos got tips??

For the MCSE I liked the Exam Cram books. I usually alternate between reading books, taking practice tests, and testing things out on actual systems. The thing to keep in mind with practice tests, is after awhile you will just remember that the answer for X question is A, and not really the material. So just using the practice tests to judge your knowledge isn't a guarantee you actually learned what you need. Microsoft tests also are kind of tricky because you need to learn Microsoft's answer for things, not necessarily what makes sense or is true in the real world. A classic example is the differences between the system volume and boot volume. The system volume contains the files necessary to boot the system, and the boot volume has the system files. (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314470)

Posted by unicron on Wednesday May 7, 2008 @ 10:18pm
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I just started studying for my MCSE, which I successfully conned out of my boss. After beginning said studies, I realized:

Shit, I forgot my study habits. Whos got tips??

Continuously take practice tests that let you know which areas you're lacking in, then redouble your effort in those areas.

Also, I recommend heroin when studying subnetting. It's the only way I was able to cope.