Weird career question

[StarsMars]

I'm sitting here with my ADD trying to study for the CCENT.

I zone out through a lot of the material and have to go back and listen to it again.

It's like listening to a foreign language.

 

I'm worried that I might not be cut out for networking.

Worried that I will get the cert and start a job having no idea what I'm doing..

Is this something that once you start working with it hands on that your understanding really comes in?

 

[Slottr]

Like a lot of certificates/degrees, it's only there to verify that you understand most of the stuff.

Then comes training in your new workplace which should get you set up more so than anything.

 

Even if you go into a job and end up struggling, it's a learning experience.

[Sorenson]

Sounds like you need to manage your ADD better. I had that issue in college and the things that work for me are: studying a bit everyday (not all the day before), writing a summary of each section of a chapter after I finish reading it, regulating the amount of caffeine I drink every day, exercising at least 3 times a week, and trying to reduce my stress. Every body is different, this is just how I treat my ADD. 

[StarsMars]

4 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Like a lot of certificates/degrees, it's only there to verify that you understand most of the stuff

Then comes training in your new workplace which should get you set up more so than anything.

 

Even if you go into a job and end up struggling, it's a learning experience.

I was hoping to hear that. Going to keep pushing through.

Wish me luck.

[brwainer]

I’m assuming you meant CCENT. I can’t help much with your learning difficulty, but studying for a technical certification isn’t just about reading the material. Try to apply the things you are reading. Think about how they might come into affect for a school, small business, large business, hotel/public venue, and home network. For the later certifications, if you continue on the path, you would want to be practicing scenarios to see how things play out and making sure you understand why certain settings work the way they do.

 

The other thing that works for me is to watch video training series. There are many out there, free and paid, on YouTube or on dedicated training sites. For CompTIA certifications (A+, Network+, Security+) I like Professor Messer on YouTube. I haven’t found particular courses for CCENT and CCNA that I like yet, because I have been focusing on CompTIA instead of specific vendors.

[Marshnt]

1 hour ago, StarsMars said:

I'm sitting here with my ADD trying to study for the CCNET.

I zone out through a lot of the material and have to go back and listen to it again.

It's like listening to a foreign language.

 

I'm worried that I might not be cut out for networking.

Worried that I will get the cert and start a job having no idea what I'm doing..

Is this something that once you start working with it hands on that your understanding really comes in?

 

Having gone through the CCNA courses you are just learning the theory so you can comprehend what you will be doing in the field, its alot of material but well worth knowing. The real world job is way different but knowing the material will make its way easier. I strongly suggest start a study group, its the only way i made it the CCNA curriculum.

[mynameisjuan]

There is a lot to know and the more you learn the more you will realize how little you know. Networking

is getting harder to get into because amount of depth protocols are getting these days.

 

Start with CCENT to get the basics, lab a bit in Packet Tracer then try to see if you can get an entry level position. Take it one step at a time.

 

This is called imposter syndrome and it never goes away. I'm currently working on my CCIE and am an engineer for an ISP, I feel like I will never learn it all, but just studying every night I can see how far I have come.

 

My best way of studying is a chapter a night with typed notes and a lab. I have ADHD as well so focusing is hard. Just made a habit to grab a cup of tea sit down and read at a given time. Really had helped

 

 

[StarsMars]

22 hours ago, brwainer said:

I’m assuming you meant CCENT. studying for a technical certification isn’t just about reading the material. Try to apply the things you are reading.

 

The other thing that works for me is to watch video training series. There are many out there, free and paid, on YouTube or on dedicated training sites. For CompTIA certifications (A+, Network+, Security+) I like Professor Messer on YouTube. I haven’t found particular courses for CCENT and CCNA that I like yet, because I have been focusing on CompTIA instead of specific vendors.

Typo, I meant CCENT.

A+ was much less to take in, in my experience.

I'm using Udemy

21 hours ago, Marshnt said:

Having gone through the CCNA courses you are just learning the theory so you can comprehend what you will be doing in the field, its alot of material but well worth knowing. The real world job is way different but knowing the material will make its way easier. I strongly suggest start a study group, its the only way i made it the CCNA curriculum.

That's what I was hoping to hear.

I'll check and see if there are study group in my course page.

21 hours ago, mynameisjuan said:

There is a lot to know and the more you learn the more you will realize how little you know. Networking

is getting harder to get into because amount of depth protocols are getting these days.

 

Start with CCENT to get the basics, lab a bit in Packet Tracer then try to see if you can get an entry level position. Take it one step at a time.

 

This is called imposter syndrome and it never goes away. I'm currently working on my CCIE and am an engineer for an ISP, I feel like I will never learn it all, but just studying every night I can see how far I have come.

 

My best way of studying is a chapter a night with typed notes and a lab. I have ADHD as well so focusing is hard. Just made a habit to grab a cup of tea sit down and read at a given time. Really had helped

I hope that the ccent gets me in somewhere.

I will try and mess around with packet tracer, thanks for mentioning that.

Imposter syndrome is exactly what I'm worried about. I'm surprised you still feel it at that level though.

 

I don't usually have this much trouble studying or focusing, but the material is very dense and all new information.

Thanks for the info and help