Bad, bad Wendell. Zero progress on my cert goals this year. How about you?

Back in January, I posted about our collective new year's resolutions regarding certification. We had a pretty healthy response on the survey as to what certifications you each planned for 2008. I promised then to help in an ever so slight way by asking you each quarter about your progress. Hopefully, stopping for a few minutes to consider your current progress will be worth the time. So... how's your progress?

My own personal story shouldn't be used as a gauge. I tend to do a better-than-average job of balancing work and home, but to do that, I seldom let work encroach on time at home unless I just can't avoid it. Translated, when work takes too much time, then things like certification prep and skills development don't get done. This year hasn't quite worked out for work projects, and I've getting eaten alive with a project that's taking waaaay more time than I projected. In my case, I was hoping to pass the CCVP exams this year, but my motivation wasn't related to getting a promotion or getting another job - I'm not looking, cause I've got a pretty sweet deal already. So don't use me as a test case.

But enough about me - let's talk about how we're all doing. I've created a few informal surveys so we can get a sense from everyone about your progress, and if you're not making as much progress, why not. So, take a few minutes to do some honest self-assessment. If you set 2008 certification goals back in January, how far should have gotten by today? Then, ask yourself, how much progress have you actually made? For example, if your goal like mine was to pass all 5 CCVP exams by now, and I'd planned to do 1 every 2 months, then I should have passed 2 and be started getting ready for the 3^rd exam. I've done... nothing. So, the math is easy in my case, but you get the idea. Here's the survey:

I'll be curious to find out how you're all doing, and see how many of you are showing me up, since I've had to answer in the 0-50% range!

Next, for perspective, I'd like to hear about why you've been successful. That's harder to survey, but if you're willing to post, let us know the one most important factor that's helped you keep on track.

Finally, on the flip side, if you're not making the progress you'd like, what's the #1 problem that's holding you back? That's somewhat easier to survey, so I've offered a survey for that as well. Feel free to post regarding these challenges as well.