Worried about ability for upcoming new role
Discussion
Hey all, just wanted some thoughts or advice really, I'll try and keep it brief...
I have worked in IT in Desktop Support since around 1999, and this is pretty much all I've done for one reason or another.
To cut a long story short, I was made redundant earlier this year. However, I have managed to secure myself a new role which is almost certainly going to be a lot more technical than anything I've done before.
I haven't started yet but today have started doing a course, which is the basic Azure course. It's my first day of learning today, and while we were doing it we had little tests to test our knowledge. I felt I did OK on the first, but by the second and third I was in the bottom 10 out of 50 people.
There is an exam to do, and I don't feel I am able to pass it. It has massively knocked my confidence because I know this learning is going to be easier than any of the future learning I am going to be expected to do.
I have always avoided doing training through fear of failure and now it's really going to come home to roost. I actually feel quite distraught at the fact I've somehow managed to get a job I am not going to be able to do.
I've been suffering with depression on and off and felt like I was getting and handle on it, but now feel like this has really sent me down that wormhole again. I am 42 now and feel like I just can't learn anywhere near as well as when I was at school which is the last time I did any serious learning. I just feel like I am past it.
Any advice gratefully received before I apply to be a bus driver or a bin man as honestly I think that's about my level at the minute
I have worked in IT in Desktop Support since around 1999, and this is pretty much all I've done for one reason or another.
To cut a long story short, I was made redundant earlier this year. However, I have managed to secure myself a new role which is almost certainly going to be a lot more technical than anything I've done before.
I haven't started yet but today have started doing a course, which is the basic Azure course. It's my first day of learning today, and while we were doing it we had little tests to test our knowledge. I felt I did OK on the first, but by the second and third I was in the bottom 10 out of 50 people.
There is an exam to do, and I don't feel I am able to pass it. It has massively knocked my confidence because I know this learning is going to be easier than any of the future learning I am going to be expected to do.
I have always avoided doing training through fear of failure and now it's really going to come home to roost. I actually feel quite distraught at the fact I've somehow managed to get a job I am not going to be able to do.
I've been suffering with depression on and off and felt like I was getting and handle on it, but now feel like this has really sent me down that wormhole again. I am 42 now and feel like I just can't learn anywhere near as well as when I was at school which is the last time I did any serious learning. I just feel like I am past it.
Any advice gratefully received before I apply to be a bus driver or a bin man as honestly I think that's about my level at the minute
If you can go back over the training and test materials, see what you missed - you could have an "aha" moment where it all starts to click in to place. MS put out a lot of material as do a whole host of other people in blogs/videos etc.
You can get a free account fo Azure for 12 months/200 bucks, might be worth setting up and just having a play around with a few resources and see if that helps.
Alternatively, ask tech questions here (in the relevant section), pretty sure there are a few people knocking about that use Azure.
Do you know what your employers expectations are ?
You can get a free account fo Azure for 12 months/200 bucks, might be worth setting up and just having a play around with a few resources and see if that helps.
Alternatively, ask tech questions here (in the relevant section), pretty sure there are a few people knocking about that use Azure.
Do you know what your employers expectations are ?
Crafty_ said:
If you can go back over the training and test materials, see what you missed - you could have an "aha" moment where it all starts to click in to place. MS put out a lot of material as do a whole host of other people in blogs/videos etc.
You can get a free account fo Azure for 12 months/200 bucks, might be worth setting up and just having a play around with a few resources and see if that helps.
Alternatively, ask tech questions here (in the relevant section), pretty sure there are a few people knocking about that use Azure.
Do you know what your employers expectations are ?
I've got Azure access through work luckily so have access to the labs and whatnot.You can get a free account fo Azure for 12 months/200 bucks, might be worth setting up and just having a play around with a few resources and see if that helps.
Alternatively, ask tech questions here (in the relevant section), pretty sure there are a few people knocking about that use Azure.
Do you know what your employers expectations are ?
Although we are mostly all new to the job, so will be forgiving at the start, the company is known to be ruthless, ruthless enough to make me redundant after working throughout lockdown anyway (the move is internal).
They seem to think I am very good, but I think I am just good at giving an impression of being so. My memory is hopeless and I'm passably technical but nothing special, probably in the top end of the current team but that's only because I've been doing the same thing for two decades.
Just got this fear that I'm going to repeatedly fail exams I need to pass, and end up being performance managed, which WILL happen if I struggle I'm sure.
I've got the second day tomorrow, and found today I was typing what was on the notes into a OneNote and at first I was retaining it (the earlier parts were more relatable) but after a while when the less familiar bits were being discussed I was not keeping the information in my brain. I'm wondering if I was putting more effort into copying the slides than listening so I am going to try using my iPad and pencil to take notes instead and see if that works any better. Grasping at straws really.
Boozy said:
My work tends to make me move roles every 2-3 years and I always have that feeling so you're not alone. Don't forget you're in the position you're in because you've shown an ability to perform, nerves are good and keep you sharp - just manage them. Good luck!
Cheers. I've always been the sort of person to want an easy life but circumstances have placed me in a role that is almost certainly going to be a great step up and looks considerably more interesting, but is also going to have a steep learning curve. I think the last few years in my life have dragged me down and I'm still trying to battle back from it and still feeling a bit 'fragile' at the minute.If it's any consolation, I think it's normal to be a little anxious about changing roles, especially as you did something similar for more than 20 years. I'm in a similar boat. I took redundancy from a role I loved, and a team I loved, and I'd been there 20 years, too.
I've not worked since the end of 2019.
I start a new role in SaaS sales next week, having never been a salesman before. My boss, though, is very supportive. He needs my business experience and can teach me sales.
The old adage is, hire for the attitude and teach the skills. Don't sweat it too much, and you'll be fine.
As mentioned above, that "aha!" moment is there!
Good luck!
I've not worked since the end of 2019.
I start a new role in SaaS sales next week, having never been a salesman before. My boss, though, is very supportive. He needs my business experience and can teach me sales.
The old adage is, hire for the attitude and teach the skills. Don't sweat it too much, and you'll be fine.
As mentioned above, that "aha!" moment is there!
Good luck!
TameRacingDriver said:
They seem to think I am very good, but I think I am just good at giving an impression of being so. My memory is hopeless and I'm passably technical but nothing special, probably in the top end of the current team but that's only because I've been doing the same thing for two decades.
They have more confidence in you than you do 
I'd say don't sweat it, you've identified a different way to retain info with the notes - try that.One thing I would say its impossible to know it all, Azure (as with lots of other stuff) is a moving target - stuff in preview/beta/getting deprecated (albeit after a long warning period).
Definitely ask for a copy of the slides/material than trying to copy down the detail, that put alongside your notes should give you a better picture of what was discussed.
RC1807 said:
If it's any consolation, I think it's normal to be a little anxious about changing roles, especially as you did something similar for more than 20 years. I'm in a similar boat. I took redundancy from a role I loved, and a team I loved, and I'd been there 20 years, too.
I've not worked since the end of 2019.
I start a new role in SaaS sales next week, having never been a salesman before. My boss, though, is very supportive. He needs my business experience and can teach me sales.
The old adage is, hire for the attitude and teach the skills. Don't sweat it too much, and you'll be fine.
As mentioned above, that "aha!" moment is there!
Good luck!
Thanks mate. If I learned one thing today, it's what SaaS means now I've not worked since the end of 2019.
I start a new role in SaaS sales next week, having never been a salesman before. My boss, though, is very supportive. He needs my business experience and can teach me sales.
The old adage is, hire for the attitude and teach the skills. Don't sweat it too much, and you'll be fine.
As mentioned above, that "aha!" moment is there!
Good luck!
Crafty_ said:
They have more confidence in you than you do I'd say don't sweat it, you've identified a different way to retain info with the notes - try that.
One thing I would say its impossible to know it all, Azure (as with lots of other stuff) is a moving target - stuff in preview/beta/getting deprecated (albeit after a long warning period).
Definitely ask for a copy of the slides/material than trying to copy down the detail, that put alongside your notes should give you a better picture of what was discussed.
The thing that made me think about the writing was when I did an ITIL course 5 years ago (another week in my life I really didn't enjoy). I couldn't type any notes because I had nothing to type them on, so I had to write them down. Passed that exam first time, so maybe that was a difference. I've looked into it and there is some evidence to suggest writing is better for retention. Worth a try! I'd say don't sweat it, you've identified a different way to retain info with the notes - try that.One thing I would say its impossible to know it all, Azure (as with lots of other stuff) is a moving target - stuff in preview/beta/getting deprecated (albeit after a long warning period).
Definitely ask for a copy of the slides/material than trying to copy down the detail, that put alongside your notes should give you a better picture of what was discussed.
Seems obvious now that I should have just asked for the slides. I think I was too focused on copying the content than actually listening and absorbing the information, even though I felt like I was and that the typing the information would reinforce it. I was wrong.
You're both right I need to relax. And stop comparing with others; I know this already so why don't I follow my own advice. It really stung feeling like I was one of the bottom 10 in the group, having felt like I should be in the top half at least. That said, the little tests were against the clock and my brain doesn't operate that way, I am not a fast thinker, but if I have time to read and digest things properly I can usually get there eventually.
At the grand old age of 37, with a new baby, I got my first IT job in a SRE team and had to take an AWS exam within 6 months.
Most of the team are either young or were born coding.
Things that helped me:
Writing stuff down. With a pen and paper.
Repetition. Certainly for tests.
Taking a break if you’re hitting your head against the wall and coming back to it later.
Applying theory to practice. Yes, you need to know the basics but knowing how subnetting relates to security groups on a real life application helps more than knowing exactly what cider range corresponds to which subne mask (as a random example).
Most of the team are either young or were born coding.
Things that helped me:
Writing stuff down. With a pen and paper.
Repetition. Certainly for tests.
Taking a break if you’re hitting your head against the wall and coming back to it later.
Applying theory to practice. Yes, you need to know the basics but knowing how subnetting relates to security groups on a real life application helps more than knowing exactly what cider range corresponds to which subne mask (as a random example).
Im 2yrs into the move from real os and metal, to cloud managed services.
We have found John Savill on youtube to be very good. He has a masterclass for azure.
https://youtu.be/rZcyDHIYpO0
We have found John Savill on youtube to be very good. He has a masterclass for azure.
https://youtu.be/rZcyDHIYpO0
Signed up to PH just to post this response - I moved roles a few years ago which required university-level training, so sitting in a lecture for the first time in many many years was very daunting. That said, I did this with my eyes wide open and as someone who needs to be learning new stuff - I can't cope with repetitive tasks - once I've figured out how to do things, my brain starts to get bored.
Hopefully today is going better for you. Definitely a) don't type notes (write them out long-hand, use plenty of paper), b) try and condense and paraphrase what is being presented so that you can keep up, c) keep going even if you don't feel you're understanding what is being said at the time - when you go back and look at the notes later, they *will* help and probably will make more sense than when you wrote them down.
There is a style of note-taking called the Cornell note-taking method ; I have never tried it, but it's several decades old and may help you.
I'm not sure I can help much on the 'fear of failure' aspect. Maybe seeing it as 'incremental development' might help? - athletes go training to get incrementally better, and as long as they are getting better, then the training is working. The exam is just a confirmation of how far this along this development you have progressed (and some exam technique possibly). Today, you have greater knowledge than you did yesterday, and the same will be true at the end of today. And so on. Don't forget to look back every so often and say 'wow, look what I know now that I didn't know yesterday/a week ago/a month ago'.
Good luck!
Hopefully today is going better for you. Definitely a) don't type notes (write them out long-hand, use plenty of paper), b) try and condense and paraphrase what is being presented so that you can keep up, c) keep going even if you don't feel you're understanding what is being said at the time - when you go back and look at the notes later, they *will* help and probably will make more sense than when you wrote them down.
There is a style of note-taking called the Cornell note-taking method ; I have never tried it, but it's several decades old and may help you.
I'm not sure I can help much on the 'fear of failure' aspect. Maybe seeing it as 'incremental development' might help? - athletes go training to get incrementally better, and as long as they are getting better, then the training is working. The exam is just a confirmation of how far this along this development you have progressed (and some exam technique possibly). Today, you have greater knowledge than you did yesterday, and the same will be true at the end of today. And so on. Don't forget to look back every so often and say 'wow, look what I know now that I didn't know yesterday/a week ago/a month ago'.
Good luck!
Thanks all. I started taking notes this morning, and for the first test it seems to have helped, finishing in the top half of the group, but only just, but on the second test, back to being bottom 10 again
I am starting to become more concerned with my reaction to this than the course itself, its disproportionately affecting my mood and I just feel really low at the moment.
An Azure course is not what I need right now I feel, more a course to develop resilience to stress and setbacks because it's really getting to me now.
Didn't help that my colleague recently passed it and told me it was easy, quite a bit of it is relatable but I'm finding some of the trick questions infuriating not to mention that you get 10 seconds to answer them.
And yes its the AZ-900 course.
I appreciate the advice all
I am starting to become more concerned with my reaction to this than the course itself, its disproportionately affecting my mood and I just feel really low at the moment.
An Azure course is not what I need right now I feel, more a course to develop resilience to stress and setbacks because it's really getting to me now.
Didn't help that my colleague recently passed it and told me it was easy, quite a bit of it is relatable but I'm finding some of the trick questions infuriating not to mention that you get 10 seconds to answer them.
And yes its the AZ-900 course.
I appreciate the advice all
Edited by TameRacingDriver on Thursday 29th April 12:16
Did you oil the cogs properly - good amount of sleep over the preceding nights, decent amount of good carbs an hour or so before the exam? If so, maybe you need to get used to being in exam situations again to try to get some practice and, without wanting to call you a dullard, some mental acuity which might have dropped off without you realising it through lack of practice.
I try to get enough sleep and whatnot, but you're right, I am not used to education / exams anymore. The only one I have done in recent years was the ITIL one which I somehow passed first time, although I'm facing the prospect of having to do an updated one which after this I'm clearly absolutely dreading.
I definitely need practice, and I need to somehow be more resilient.
I have been trying to lose weight so have been skipping breakfast, not sure if that's contributing, although I had some this morning for a change.
I used to pick things up so easily when I was younger and breeze through exams so this is hitting me for six, I feel like I have less than half the brain power I used to have.
I definitely need practice, and I need to somehow be more resilient.
I have been trying to lose weight so have been skipping breakfast, not sure if that's contributing, although I had some this morning for a change.
I used to pick things up so easily when I was younger and breeze through exams so this is hitting me for six, I feel like I have less than half the brain power I used to have.
First up, go through the free learning path here https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certificati...
Next, Azure is my speciality (data focussed mainly but fairly competent in most technologies on there) so feel free to ask any questions either here or in PM.
Third, try not to be too hard on yourself. As long as you are passing, being top of the class is not really the point in this exam. It is really just to give a broad focus on all the tech available, and then you can specialise in areas you feel more comfortable. Find your area, use this company to upskill you and then a LOT of opportunities open up on the market
Next, Azure is my speciality (data focussed mainly but fairly competent in most technologies on there) so feel free to ask any questions either here or in PM.
Third, try not to be too hard on yourself. As long as you are passing, being top of the class is not really the point in this exam. It is really just to give a broad focus on all the tech available, and then you can specialise in areas you feel more comfortable. Find your area, use this company to upskill you and then a LOT of opportunities open up on the market
TameRacingDriver said:
I have been trying to lose weight so have been skipping breakfast, not sure if that's contributing, although I had some this morning for a change.
Personally I'd abandon any diet if I needed 100% cognitive abilities - I see a decline if I dramatically cut down carbs to lose weight. You definitely need brain food before an exam.Is there any prospect of delaying the start of the new role? This might give you enough time to get up to speed.
Hey man
I haven't done any of the Azure stuff but the way you feel about the course and perhaps the way you feel about yourself really resonates with me.
I've been in technology for about the same amount of time and even though from the outside I look quite successful I constantly worry about being a fraud, unable to learn or retain information and just generally feeling like I'm s
t compared to my peers.
I don't really have any advice except to keep challenging the voice in your head that tells you everyone else is capable and you aren't. I think almost everyone feels totally out of their depth going through this kind of stuff, especially when you're on a course.
Good luck
I haven't done any of the Azure stuff but the way you feel about the course and perhaps the way you feel about yourself really resonates with me.
I've been in technology for about the same amount of time and even though from the outside I look quite successful I constantly worry about being a fraud, unable to learn or retain information and just generally feeling like I'm s
t compared to my peers. I don't really have any advice except to keep challenging the voice in your head that tells you everyone else is capable and you aren't. I think almost everyone feels totally out of their depth going through this kind of stuff, especially when you're on a course.
Good luck
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