Prepping for the LFCS

I've been studying for a while and I finally set the date to take the LFCS. The test is scheduled for October 1 and I'm pretty sure I'm ready for it. I've actually been ready for a month or so, but I'm motivated to get a good score. I know the score doesn't matter, only passing or failing, but I want to prove to myself that I can do it.

So what are the resources that I usegd for studying?

Udemy: KodeKloud - Linux Foundation Certified Systems Administrator - LFCS

It seems like courses on Udemy are almost always on sale for 90% off, and I got this for less than ¥1500 when I decided to start making an effort to learn Linux. The videos contain a lot of information, but the labs are where I found most of the value. As I listened to the lectures I took notes in .md files that I referenced the original times I did the labs. As I got more used to the information I needed to look at the notes less and less. Probably the biggest thing that helped me remember the information was...

Anki

After I made all my notes and did my labs for the day I added cards to an LFCS Anki deck that I made. I installed Anki on both my PC that I watched the Udemy videos on and my phone. That way I was able to always check the cards even when I wasn't at my computer. The last time I used Anki was when I was making an effort to learn more Japanese, and it absolutely works. Since I began using the flash cards my need to look at the notes I wrote disappeared. If I were to recommend one thing that I did, it's make an Anki deck of what you're studying. The videos and labs are just getting and using the information, but Anki is what actually helped me remember it all. I guess they named it Anki for a reason.

killer.sh practice test

Signing up for the LFCS allowed me access to the killer.sh practice LFCS test. This was actually quite a step up from the KodeKloud labs and practice tests, but also more professionally made and presented. There were also quite a few questions that I hadn't studied for directly. But since I had the experience over the last few months working with Linux I was able to figure things out fairly well. Lots of checking man pages for things that I wasn't aware of. But in the end I got a high score on my first try. After completing the exam and checking the answers I added about 150 new flash cards to my Anki deck. The killer.sh page says that the test is intentionally more difficult than the actual LFCS, so I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the new cards I added won't be necessary, but I'd rather be over prepared.

That's where I am now. I've passed the killer.sh practice test and completed the Udemy KodeKloud LFCS course. Over the next two weeks before the test I'll likely watch a few videos again in the areas that I feel the most weak in, and I'll keep up on my flash cards. In two weeks it'll be over and hopefully I'll have my LFCS certification.