Anyone fail LFCS?
I did not pass my first attempt at LFCS :-(. The issues I had were mainly details and anxiety. I knew most of the stuff, but too broadly. Little details, like command line options, killed me. On top of that the anxiety kicked in and I was a nervous wreck.
Did anyone fail the LFCS exam? Did you retake? What advice can you give for people who failed on the first attempt?
Comments
-
I always tell people to view the first take as practice since the second one comes at no extra cost. One thing that is important is to remember you can always do (for example)
ls --help
to get a short listing of options for the ls command, for most commands. Even experienced users forget a lot of day to day command options. Also all main pages are available.As far as details about the exam, it should not be done on this forum
1 -
Understood. I'm not asking for details about the exam content. True, man pages are there, but when something goes wrong, fumbling through man pages when you have a very limited time to submit answers, on top of the anxiety, is easier said than done.
1 -
No, I know you didn't do anything inappropriate As far as anxiety goes, I've always disliked time-limited exams as in the real world usually the quality of your solution is more important than how long it took to get it (most of the time) and if you reduce anxiety people usually actually finish the test quicker. Those who take forever do not do better, they often do worse because they overthink things.
But given the nature of a certification exam, time limits are needed and it is up to the exam designers (not us) to make sure the amount of work is reasonable for a normal human. Everyone has different methods for dealing with anxiety and exam prep. Centuries ago, when I was a student, I never studied the morning of an exam, if I could I'd go to the beach or something and zonk out. Others needed to cram up until they entered the room or they get even more anxious all morning We are all different
2 -
If your second attempt is the same as your first attempt like your are not sure if your command is correct or not DON'T GO .. you will waste your time easily , The exam should be 2.5 hours NOT 2 hours its SO LIMITED and STRESSFUL
-1 -
Making exams longer is more stressful for most people and I know that folks have worked hard to keep the time down. If you feel there is too much content on the exam that is a different question and you should take it up with the exam people, not the training folks as we have nothing to do with that.
I do know that studies show that if you are going to pass in two hours, more time such as 3 hours does not change the pass rate on any exam, just the stress.3 -
the content on the exam is not that much and is not difficult for whose have at least five-six months experiment with terminal , just for people they have to master the content and do not focusing on alternative tools and they will pass , just one point about Chapter 28 .. pardon me is a joke anyone who needs to enter this exam can use these graphical environments blindly .
-1 -
0
-
The examination time should be at least 2.5 hours. The performance-based examination is little difficult then multiple choice based questions.
2 -
Last time I took it there was 30 questions and only 2 hours. I totally agree that 4 minutes a question is way too low when some questions take 6-8 minutes even when you're proficient in the subject.
2 -
Hi, me too I did not pass my first attempt. I do not think the time for the exam is not enough, what I notices is that for some questions if you have made a lot of practice can be answered very quickly, it gives you more time to think about the resolution of some more 'complicated' questions. Me I am convinced that if we perform a lot of practices based on the official course the exam can be passed. To be anxious, it is a normal during an exam, the only solution is to learn to manage your anxiousness.
1 -
Magnesium is a natural element that can help with anxiety in general, that being said , Im sure I will super nervous when the time comes, That is why I am practicing so much , I enjoy linux, I do day dream about being a sysadmin even though I dont really know any serious programming.
0 -
Hi @chris66 ,
If you want to become a sysadmin, it will be very important if you develop scripting abilities. Nowadays many job descriptions asks for some programming skills. Especially for everything related to YAML con files and the associated tools.
Regards,
Luis.1 -
I failed badly on the first attempt and squeaked through on the second, but I only worked at it for a month or so (time pressure; I was unemployed at the time and looking to add stuff to my resume). Now I have to recertify and I'm giving myself lots of time to work through it.
If you really do know it well enough that you only need to look up command line options then switching back and forth between a working session and a man page in screen should let you work fast enough to do it in two hours. If you get stuck on a question just move on. The object is to attempt as many of the questions as possible. Let the ones you know cold buy you time for the ones you have to work at a bit. But don't get stuck on something. If you have to think about it for a minute move on.2 -
@luisviveropena said:
Hi @chris66 ,If you want to become a sysadmin, it will be very important if you develop scripting abilities. Nowadays many job descriptions asks for some programming skills. Especially for everything related to YAML con files and the associated tools.
Regards,
Luis.Thanks Lewis, I have not looked into Yaml much yet, I am familiar with the basics of Vim more than enough to know that I like it more than Nano, I mostly thought Yaml was used for Aws, but I do plan to practice Linux Academy's course on it, What I have done on Java and Python I understood and even enjoyed to a degree.
Now as far as scripting what do you mean beyond editing files?
0 -
Hi @chris66 ,
Now as far as scripting what do you mean beyond editing files?
I mean being able to do some programming is highly appreciated these days. For example, now that we have the DevOps culture everywhere, teams works not only together, but we also need to have a good understanding of what the another guy is doing. And how we can collaborate in the "pipeline".
Regards,
Luis.0 -
Ah yes, I am continuing to study software development for that very purpose. I have no desire to be a developer, dought my creative ability, but I want to know what they are doing. Thank you
1 -
It's a pleasure!
Regards,
Luis.0 -
Yep, I failed my first time. Currently preparing for the resit. I think I failed for a few reasons - mainly time management. I tried to answer things in sequential order when I should have done a read through first and answered the questions I could get through quickly first. I wasted a lot of time working out some of the 'harder' questions first. Also, my unfamiliarity with this type of exam environment. It threw me a little bit. Overall I wasn't unhappy with my performance - I know how many questions I answered and my score relative to this reflects I was on the right track. My advice for anyone doing it for the first time would be to have a plan and stick to it - two hours go by really quickly. I think I will do better next time.
0 -
Best of luck for the next time!
Regards,
Luis.0 -
I failed my first time, but I don't have more than a week to try and catch up on things I failed but should have known. I do not know if the questions are the same and just in a different order or if they completely randomize questions. I thought about the read though and then tackle method but thought that would take up even more time. What I did not like about the exam that I feel took the most time is that some of the naming conventions for directories could have been both shorter and less complex though copy and paste saves that and the text was tiny IMHO.
0 -
2x failure here. 2 years in a row I've registered during the cyber monday sale, then 51 weeks later I try to cram and take the exam with a few hours' review and no time to recover and do the retake. I'm a certified procrastinator, if nothing else. It all seems a bit overwhelming when I sit down to start things in December, and so I just keep putting it off until it's too late.
Not this year, though. I did the math and at 44 chapters, x about 15 slides per chapter, x 2 minutes a slide to read and take notes, I'm looking at 25 hours to cover the concepts. Plus say 1.5 labs/chapter x 30 mins/lab, another 30 hrs. So let's say 60 hours total just to get through all the material. If I put in 5 hours a week, I can take the test in 3 months and be reasonably confident, with plenty of time for a retake (and before my next performance review at work!). Having that mapped out is a help for me, and it's probably an overestimate since some of the material I use regularly a work. I suspect the labs (which I didn't do) are the key to doing well on the exam.What I found challenging during the actual exam was trying to remember things that I've used before in a work setting, but not recently enough to recall it cold or get to the right spot in the man pages. I actually agree with Coop, more time just leaves me fumbling through man pages to attempt questions I just have no business trying, since I didn't study or never encountered such a problem (e.g. exotic options for diff). This is a difficult exam that draws from a lot of material. There are no shortcuts.
I better pass it this time around; I'm already past the break-even cost, even with cyber monday discounts!
1 -
Didn't see any cyber monday discounts this round.
0 -
just google "linux foundation cyber monday" and get:
https://training.linuxfoundation.org/cybermonday/1 -
Saw the banner after the fact. Thanks :-)
0 -
Hello everyone.
Maybe my question can be stupid but just I would like to know if you can use the man page during the test ?
thank you0 -
I'm going to take the exam/test this week, November 8... I'm a little stressed because I have just one attempt caused by my membership that will expire in December 1. "A silver bullet"
0 -
Wish you the best of luck @nicolasmendoza , you can do it
For me, I passed LFCS on the first attempt after just over a month of training with LFS101 and LFS201 (spent a lot of work hours studying the material when I shouldn't be doing so :-P), but only just. I think if one is able to complete most of the lab exercises in LFS201 without too much hesitation and without looking at the solution then (s)he is probably ready for the exam. Though I would definitely recommend going the extra mile and digging a bit deeper in topics where the LFS201 course notes and labs only skim the surface.
2 -
@donaldsebleung is it possible to use help or man page during the test if you have a doubt during the test ?
0 -
yes, you have a normal system with such basic software installed
1 -
I failed mine and I felt pretty good about it. I have emailed to see if there is some form of breakdown for me to see. I must've got areas wrong where I thought I'd got them right. I also want to know where my strengths lie and where I need to improve. Just being told a percentage is not much help. Also, it would be great if the Foundation could provide a few screenshots or a video of what to expect. I've been using Linux for years at home and studied for around five months non-stop. I've used courses on here plus Udemy and CBT Nuggets. None of them prepared me for the exam sufficiently. I wish there was a way that you could summarise exactly what needs to be learnt instead of doing it in a general way.
0
Categories
- All Categories
- 216 LFX Mentorship
- 216 LFX Mentorship: Linux Kernel
- 783 Linux Foundation IT Professional Programs
- 352 Cloud Engineer IT Professional Program
- 174 Advanced Cloud Engineer IT Professional Program
- 80 DevOps Engineer IT Professional Program
- 146 Cloud Native Developer IT Professional Program
- 136 Express Training Courses
- 136 Express Courses - Discussion Forum
- 6.1K Training Courses
- 44 LFC110 Class Forum - Discontinued
- 70 LFC131 Class Forum
- 42 LFD102 Class Forum
- 226 LFD103 Class Forum
- 18 LFD110 Class Forum
- 36 LFD121 Class Forum
- 18 LFD133 Class Forum
- 7 LFD134 Class Forum
- 18 LFD137 Class Forum
- 71 LFD201 Class Forum
- 4 LFD210 Class Forum
- 5 LFD210-CN Class Forum
- 2 LFD213 Class Forum - Discontinued
- 128 LFD232 Class Forum - Discontinued
- 2 LFD233 Class Forum
- 4 LFD237 Class Forum
- 24 LFD254 Class Forum
- 692 LFD259 Class Forum
- 111 LFD272 Class Forum
- 4 LFD272-JP クラス フォーラム
- 12 LFD273 Class Forum
- 135 LFS101 Class Forum
- 1 LFS111 Class Forum
- 3 LFS112 Class Forum
- 2 LFS116 Class Forum
- 4 LFS118 Class Forum
- 4 LFS142 Class Forum
- 5 LFS144 Class Forum
- 4 LFS145 Class Forum
- 2 LFS146 Class Forum
- 3 LFS147 Class Forum
- LFS148 Class Forum
- 15 LFS151 Class Forum
- 2 LFS157 Class Forum
- 23 LFS158 Class Forum
- 6 LFS162 Class Forum
- 2 LFS166 Class Forum
- 4 LFS167 Class Forum
- 3 LFS170 Class Forum
- 2 LFS171 Class Forum
- 3 LFS178 Class Forum
- 3 LFS180 Class Forum
- 2 LFS182 Class Forum
- 5 LFS183 Class Forum
- 31 LFS200 Class Forum
- 737 LFS201 Class Forum - Discontinued
- 3 LFS201-JP クラス フォーラム
- 18 LFS203 Class Forum
- 128 LFS207 Class Forum
- 2 LFS207-DE-Klassenforum
- 1 LFS207-JP クラス フォーラム
- 302 LFS211 Class Forum
- 56 LFS216 Class Forum
- 52 LFS241 Class Forum
- 48 LFS242 Class Forum
- 38 LFS243 Class Forum
- 15 LFS244 Class Forum
- 2 LFS245 Class Forum
- LFS246 Class Forum
- 48 LFS250 Class Forum
- 2 LFS250-JP クラス フォーラム
- 1 LFS251 Class Forum
- 150 LFS253 Class Forum
- 1 LFS254 Class Forum
- 1 LFS255 Class Forum
- 7 LFS256 Class Forum
- 1 LFS257 Class Forum
- 1.2K LFS258 Class Forum
- 10 LFS258-JP クラス フォーラム
- 118 LFS260 Class Forum
- 159 LFS261 Class Forum
- 42 LFS262 Class Forum
- 82 LFS263 Class Forum - Discontinued
- 15 LFS264 Class Forum - Discontinued
- 11 LFS266 Class Forum - Discontinued
- 24 LFS267 Class Forum
- 21 LFS268 Class Forum
- 30 LFS269 Class Forum
- 202 LFS272 Class Forum
- 2 LFS272-JP クラス フォーラム
- 1 LFS274 Class Forum
- 4 LFS281 Class Forum
- 9 LFW111 Class Forum
- 259 LFW211 Class Forum
- 181 LFW212 Class Forum
- 13 SKF100 Class Forum
- 1 SKF200 Class Forum
- 1 SKF201 Class Forum
- 795 Hardware
- 199 Drivers
- 68 I/O Devices
- 37 Monitors
- 102 Multimedia
- 174 Networking
- 91 Printers & Scanners
- 85 Storage
- 757 Linux Distributions
- 82 Debian
- 67 Fedora
- 16 Linux Mint
- 13 Mageia
- 23 openSUSE
- 148 Red Hat Enterprise
- 31 Slackware
- 13 SUSE Enterprise
- 353 Ubuntu
- 468 Linux System Administration
- 39 Cloud Computing
- 71 Command Line/Scripting
- Github systems admin projects
- 93 Linux Security
- 78 Network Management
- 102 System Management
- 47 Web Management
- 61 Mobile Computing
- 18 Android
- 31 Development
- 1.2K New to Linux
- 1K Getting Started with Linux
- 370 Off Topic
- 114 Introductions
- 173 Small Talk
- 22 Study Material
- 797 Programming and Development
- 302 Kernel Development
- 477 Software Development
- 1.8K Software
- 236 Applications
- 183 Command Line
- 3 Compiling/Installing
- 987 Games
- 317 Installation
- 93 All In Program
- 93 All In Forum
Upcoming Training
-
August 20, 2018
Kubernetes Administration (LFS458)
-
August 20, 2018
Linux System Administration (LFS301)
-
August 27, 2018
Open Source Virtualization (LFS462)
-
August 27, 2018
Linux Kernel Debugging and Security (LFD440)