Failure is just a stepping stone to success
Tags: aws, devops, motivation, certification
Published: 2023-02-14 12:09:24

At the end of last year, 2022, I took the [AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional](https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-devops-engineer-professional/) Exam and failed it on my first attempt, obtaining a 699 out of 1000 where 750 would have been passing.<br>
When I shared it with a few of my Developer friends I was reminded that "Failure is just a stepping stone to success". I feel fortunate to have this belief in my belief system after working in Engineering for several years, I also feel fortunate for the friend who reminded me of this (you know who you are ;).<br>
I recently passed that exam at the beginning of February 2023, and I feel it is worth reflecting on a bit, so I am writing this post in hopes to remind my future self that "failure" is just part of the process; bonus points for if I inspire anyone else to attempt something difficult.


![Funny Exam Day Meme](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/2ji43jbo74ggtgqevmdf.jpg)

### How do I learn Engineering and new Technologies?

I am a self-taught technologist who started working as a Level 1 support rep nearly 10 years ago in 2013, who now for the last several years has been in responsible for production systems.<br>
I have taken a few course at my local Community College but ultimately the majority of my learning has taken place on the job or in self learning outside of work.<br>
**The most value tool/skill I have encountered for learning new technologies is to spend 1 hour a day (ideally at your ideal learning environment, for me that is in the morning) learning something new.**<br>
The progressive skill of learning requires time and patience and space to manifest and most importantly consistency (and resilience to keep up that consistency).<br> 
If you only spend a few hours a few times, you will not realize the gains of getting deep into a subject compared to someone who comes back each day for training.<br>

### A few more tips
- It is ok to fail, try not to wait 6 months to a year before your next attempt. You will be not be starting over completely so take the next attempt a month or two later.
- Try adding a few new materials to help you study. Using note cards, picking up a new practice test on Udemy and going over my notes helped me on my 2nd attempt.
- Share your learning experience with others. Learning shouldn't have to be a solo event, if you can, pair up with a friend or build accountability with others so that you stay consistent and growing.

Below are a few Online Learning sites that have been helpful in my journey to obtain more certifications as well as skills as an engineer and developer.<br>

#### [A Cloud Guru](https://acloudguru.com/)

If you want to learn Cloud Technologies, I couldn't recommend this site enough. I used to be a member of Linux Academy before it was bought and mergd into A Cloud Guru (Parent Company Pluralsight) and this site has what you are looking for.<br>
They have sandbox cloud accounts for all the major cloud technologies so that you can have real world hands-on experience to play with infrastructure.<br>
They also have courses designed to help you pass most certifications with practice tests and quiz's and hands on labs.<br>
This was what I used most to help me pass the [AWS DevOps Professional Certification](https://www.credly.com/badges/13dbc33d-a127-4970-9caf-cd7c7eae657b).<br>

#### [Real Python](https://realpython.com/)

If you are not a developer and are interested in learning a programming language, I couldn't recommend Python enough as a good language to start on.<br>
Real Python is accessible to people on all levels and I frequently find their content extraordinary and very digestible.<br>
They even have a great podcast that talks about different articles and new things in the Python world.<br>
I am no longer doing daily Python development work, but I keep my membership to this account as I love the stuff they come out with and using them as a reference when I have a challenging Python problem is so helpful.<br>

#### [O'Reilly](https://www.oreilly.com/)

My last company had a subscription to the O'Reilly Catalog of Books and Courses and what a treasure that was for my learning.<br>
I used their content to help me learn Linux and passed my RHCSA (Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator).<br>
I started teaching myself GO and a few other things from this site and I can't recommend it enough.<br>
If you are an Engineer or Dev, chances are you have either purchased/borrowed or seen one of the O'Reilly books with a creature or animal on the front cover as they cover almost any technology you can think of.<br>
Most of my favorite books are hosted on their site that you can read with a subscription; The Phoenix Project, Site Reliability Engineering, Software Engineering at Google to name a few.<br>

#### [Udemy](https://www.udemy.com/)

Udemy has a ton of great courses, in particular if you are studying for a multiple choice exam they likely have affordable practice tests for an exam you may be working on.<br>
There are also hands-on courses that you can follow along with experts who have written the textbook.<br>
A few of my favorites so far have been learning Kubernetes with KodeKloud with Mumsahd Mannambeth and Automating the boring stuff with Al Sweigart.<br>
Whether studying for a certification or learning a new skill or building a new tool/project Udemy has lots to offer.<br>

#### [Laracasts](https://laracasts.com/)

This is the newest site I have started using for learning, specifically to learn PHP, Laravel and Vue.<br>
I am a PHP, JavaScript and TypeScript novice and those are programming languages used heavily at my new job, so I figured it was time to get more into these technologies.<br>
I am still new to the platform but so far in the first course I have taken I am loving it.<br>
To me, being a newcomer or a novice is exciting as I know that in learning something new I am going to make way more progress than going deeper into a subject I am more familiar with.<br>
The greatest gains are to be had by someone who hasn't ever even started a new type of training.<br>
This beginners mindset can be intimating, but maintaining a curiosity in learning and being ok with being wrong has been helpful in me overcoming the uncomfortable feeling of "not getting things right".<br>

This was my first post of this sort, so let me know if this resonates with you at all and I may create some follow-ups on the subject and learning.<br>