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Help: Was it all worth it?

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I am a college student that is also currently working on my CCNA and plan to pursue other network/security type certifications as time goes on.

My question has to do with time. I have invested over 200 hours atleast in the last 1-2 months on the certification alone. I have a few hobbies, my professional life aside but I can not get the idea out of my head that to “make it” in IT, I need to set everything else aside and concentrate all of my efforts on getting certified as well as my degree.

So my question to all, was it worth it? The time invested, the weekends locked in your room prepping for your next exam? How did you find balance and am I setting unrealistic expectations for myself?

Help!!!!

Topic

In my opinion….

In reply to Help: Was it all worth it?

…no.

Don’t get me wrong, it is great that you are furthering your knowledge, and want to pursue certifications as a way to try and distinguish yourself.

However, here’s the rub: there are hundreds (if not thousands) of people that are doing the same thing. You know what they say, being 1 in a million means that there are a thousand people just like you in China alone.

Throttle back on the study, try to get some real world experience (small contracts, volunteering, work through school), and make sure you spend time doing the things you like to do. Otherwise, you’ll set yourself up to be a prime candidate for career burnout relatively soon.

Work to live, don’t live to work!

Just my 2 cents, though. Mileage may vary.

Best of luck!

Re: In my opinion….

In reply to In my opinion….

I have to agree, I need my time, my Paul time doing something physical or I get burned out very easily. I even thought about opening my college cirriculum book, closing my eyes and pointing at a page and whatever career my finger landed on, that is what I was going to purse, never looking back. Lol…

Thanks for your response.

You’re welcome

In reply to Re: In my opinion….

I will offer one more piece of advice: medical technology is really taking off, so if you want to work in a field that has long-term staying power (people only get older and sicker), as well as ties into your technical background, that may be an avenue to pursue.

Best of luck!

Certifications

In reply to In my opinion….

The current problems with certifications are that it’s too easy to get the answers to the tests and too many people have them. It wasn’t this way in the past, but now the only people helped by certifications are the people providing them and the people selling the books. Sorry.

Re: Certifications

In reply to Certifications

Ed – I have heard that before and totally agree with you. In addition to that I am sooo tired of hearing about these various “crash course” schools that promise you jobs and so forth in just “6 short months”.

Thanks for your reply.

re: Certifications

In reply to Certifications

At the same time, though, it’s what hiring managers want to see. Take a look through Dice.com: they’re all asking for MCSE, CCNA, MCSA… if not required, then they’re “strongly preferred”. Whether or not they carry the same weight that they used to, many employers still consider them proof that you know what you’re doing.

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