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[F731]Free Online Certification Exams

by Bruce Zhang, Bru

Preparing IT certification exams is a significant undertaking whether you're just out of college or have been in IT field for years. IT professionals are continuously demanded to acquire new knowledge in order to perform well on their jobs as new technology in IT industry emerged at a pace that has never been seen before. While tests in colleges emphasizing on measuring the systematic understanding of theoretic foundation of a subject, industry certification exams focus on evaluation of hands-on experience.

Thorough planning before the exams will boost your confidence, increase chance of success, and save time of preparation in your certification exams.

1. Assess whether you're ready

To answer the question of whether you're ready to pursue a particular IT certification - MCSE, MCSA, MCSD, CCIE, CCNA or CCNE certification, you may want to examine the questions from the latest certification exams to identify the gap between what you've known and what you need to know. It's not advisable to prepare an IT certification exam heavily based on working on actual certification questions or braindumps, but braindumps do offer values in preparing your tests. You'll learn the format of the exams, the scope of the exams and your weakest link in the subject.

2. Plan when you'll be ready

One certification usually requires the pass of several tests. Once you've made up your mind about taking the certification exams, the plan of when to take those tests depends on your career needs, domain knowledge, hands-on experience, availability of study materials and availability of your time to prepare the tests. Besides the official certification guide and reading materials published by vendors or authorized organizations, there're numerous other helpful learning materials available online or in print.

Use of Computer Based Training software is a very effective way to speed up your IT certification preparation. For instance, CBT Planet (Computer Based Training Planet) provides IT professionals comprehensive vendor-co developed self-study IT courses, by Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, SAP, Linux and more.

3. Prepare the exams step-by-step

a) Briefly scan all chapters of official publications and make a detailed plan.
b) Study the materials chapter by chapter in details and take notes.
c) Review your notes and summarize all chapters.
d) Take sample exams
e) Work on your weak spots.

Now, you're ready for your IT certification exams.

Whether you're on the road to the CCNA, CCNP, MCSE, or you're on any other computer certification track, the odds are that sooner or later, you're going to fail an exam. It's happened to almost all of us, yours truly included. What you have to keep in mind in these times is that success is not a straight line. You've probably seen charts showing the growth of an industry or a business -- you know, the ones that go from left to right, and look kind of jagged. The line goes up for a while, then down a bit, then up some more, then down a little.

The key? While every business has its setbacks, the net result is that the line goes up and progress is made. That's how you want your certification pursuit and your career to go as well - upward!

I'm not asking you to be happy about failing an exam. You're allowed to get mad for a few minutes, vow to never take another exam again, and be disappointed. What you're not allowed to do is stay that way.

If you put your books away in a fit of anger, get them out. If you took some time off, it's time to get back to work. Again, there's nothing wrong with being unhappy about failing an exam. It's how you handle that failure that counts. No inventor, executive, or entrepreneur has ever been right 100% of the time. Learn something from your failure. Was your study time quality study time? Did you get some hands-on practice with the technology you're studying? Asking yourself these questions can be tough, but it can be highly valuable in making sure you don't fail the next time. And there must be a next time - because the one thing you cannot do is quit.

Besides, take it from someone who's been there - your temporary failure makes your eventual success that much sweeter.

Article Source : Pg. 231

About Author

Both Bruce Zhang & Chris Bryant are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Bruce Zhang has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet. . Bruce Zhang's top article generates over 880 views. to your Favourites.

Chris Bryant has sinced written about articles on various topics from CISCO CCNA, Personal Desktop and Cisco CCNP. Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Pa. Chris Bryant's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.