Brain Dumps - Will They Come Back To Haunt You?

Brain dumps are like this - you are hungry and you eat some greasy, high fat thing that looked good but now sits like a rock in your stomach. Sure it fed your hunger but your taste buds didn't savor the experience. And now you have a stomach ache and you are paying for it.

You want brain dumps because they are a quick solution. You want them to make sure you pass. I can see how they can be attracting. Look beyond that for a minute. Think of what you are robbing yourself out of:

You know when you are studying and you reach a difficult topic you just can't get? And you go at it and finally in a few days you get it? Imagine the feeling for a minute... Are you exhilarated? Do you feel smarter? Do you gain confidence?

Do you know what it's like to finish studying and know you are ready for the exam? You have put so much time into this project, now the anticipation to pass the exam is sweet. Can you feel that joy of being ready? Can you feel that anticipation?

You have just finished your exam. A few months ago you knew nothing or very little about the subject and now you are sitting for an exam!! Do you know the feeling of starting something new and finishing it? How is your confidence now? how is the pride in yourself now? Pretty high I should imagine - and I can imagine it because I experience it.

You passed and you are at a job interview. The interview manager is asking you questions. You can answer. You feel pretty cool. Do you feel your chances are good getting the job? How great do you feel? Your life took another step forward, didn't it? You added to your knowledge base and now you have expanded your mind. You are cool.

Will brain dumps come back to haunt you?

You bet. You feel nothing. Exhilaration - knowledgeable - powerful - pride in yourself - confidence? none of that. You know that you did something wrong but of course you try to cover the bad taste in your mouth with excuses. I will get to those.

I bet when you are in an interview you are praying you aren't asked anything. I bet even if you get the job by mistake (you might be lucky and interview with a not so bright interview manager - it happens) you are praying that your lack of knowledge won't be uncovered.

I'm not going to give you the answer to that. You already know it.

Now let's tackle your excuses:

-- You have already studied so you aren't really cheating

-- You want to make sure you pass because you can't afford to book another exam if you fail

-- You can't afford the study materials because you are sooo poor

All these are excuses - and don't confuse them for reasons - they are not reasons why you cannot do something - they are excuses. All these summarize you up as having no confidence, being a weak character - and a person that doesn't overcome difficulties. You are not building yourself up, you are taking yourself down a notch. And because how we think reflects what we do, in all areas of your life you are like this. I wouldn't want to be you.

Brain dumps hurt everyone else even if you don't realize/care - and everyone else also includes you

You know how people steal from the supermarket? Well, what does the supermarket do to cover their costs? They take measures which hurt you and everyone else. They raise prices of products because they have to cover all those things that were stolen and they have to raise prices to cover the extra security they will be implementing. So you pay more for your groceries. What other consequence does it have? Now you are getting your bags checked all the time. Inconvenience.

Want to take a trip? Go to the airport and expect to be inconvenienced because of the terrorists. Be prepared to wait in long lines because everything has to be checked thoroughly.

The few spoil it for the rest.

And its the same with certifications.

One of you doesn't hurt the industry but hundreds, thousands of you? Hundreds and thousands of you go to job interviews and are uncovered. The certification loses value. Certifications get a bad name. Exams are made more difficult. And you know that as an IT professional you will need to certify throughout your career, so do you think you aren't hurting yourself when you go for the next certification? Now because of your actions and others like you, you are paying more for certifications and they become less valuable than they used to be - which means you have to try harder.

https://my.westminster.edu/ics/Campus_Life/Campus_Groups/Tiny_Housing_Project/Discussion.jnz?portlet=Forums&screen=PostView&screenType=change&id=9956977c-a7ac-4cc9-ad7f-fa158c84be51

https://my.westminster.edu/ics/Campus_Life/Campus_Groups/Tiny_Housing_Project/Discussion.jnz?portlet=Forums&screen=PostView&screenType=change&id=d59436af-196c-4abb-915c-a1733a044acd

https://my.westminster.edu/ics/Campus_Life/Campus_Groups/Tiny_Housing_Project/Discussion.jnz?portlet=Forums&screen=PostView&screenType=change&id=128d4eec-8f22-430b-9f1b-e73360abe1eb

https://my.westminster.edu/ics/Campus_Life/Campus_Groups/Tiny_Housing_Project/Discussion.jnz?portlet=Forums&screen=PostView&screenType=change&id=2cfabbb7-fa3e-4963-9d3e-aba634454654

Brain dumps are like this - you are hungry and you eat some greasy, high fat thing that looked good but now sits like a rock in your stomach. Sure it fed your hunger but your taste buds didn't savor the experience. And now you have a stomach ache and you are paying for it.

You want brain dumps because they are a quick solution. You want them to make sure you pass. I can see how they can be attracting. Look beyond that for a minute. Think of what you are robbing yourself out of:

You know when you are studying and you reach a difficult topic you just can't get? And you go at it and finally in a few days you get it? Imagine the feeling for a minute... Are you exhilarated? Do you feel smarter? Do you gain confidence?

Do you know what it's like to finish studying and know you are ready for the exam? You have put so much time into this project, now the anticipation to pass the exam is sweet. Can you feel that joy of being ready? Can you feel that anticipation?

You have just finished your exam. A few months ago you knew nothing or very little about the subject and now you are sitting for an exam!! Do you know the feeling of starting something new and finishing it? How is your confidence now? how is the pride in yourself now? Pretty high I should imagine - and I can imagine it because I experience it.

You passed and you are at a job interview. The interview manager is asking you questions. You can answer. You feel pretty cool. Do you feel your chances are good getting the job? How great do you feel? Your life took another step forward, didn't it? You added to your knowledge base and now you have expanded your mind. You are cool.

Will brain dumps come back to haunt you?

You bet. You feel nothing. Exhilaration - knowledgeable - powerful - pride in yourself - confidence? none of that. You know that you did something wrong but of course you try to cover the bad taste in your mouth with excuses. I will get to those.

I bet when you are in an interview you are praying you aren't asked anything. I bet even if you get the job by mistake (you might be lucky and interview with a not so bright interview manager - it happens) you are praying that your lack of knowledge won't be uncovered.

I'm not going to give you the answer to that. You already know it.

Now let's tackle your excuses:

-- You have already studied so you aren't really cheating

-- You want to make sure you pass because you can't afford to book another exam if you fail

-- You can't afford the study materials because you are sooo poor

All these are excuses - and don't confuse them for reasons - they are not reasons why you cannot do something - they are excuses. All these summarize you up as having no confidence, being a weak character - and a person that doesn't overcome difficulties. You are not building yourself up, you are taking yourself down a notch. And because how we think reflects what we do, in all areas of your life you are like this. I wouldn't want to be you.

Brain dumps hurt everyone else even if you don't realize/care - and everyone else also includes you

You know how people steal from the supermarket? Well, what does the supermarket do to cover their costs? They take measures which hurt you and everyone else. They raise prices of products because they have to cover all those things that were stolen and they have to raise prices to cover the extra security they will be implementing. So you pay more for your groceries. What other consequence does it have? Now you are getting your bags checked all the time. Inconvenience.

Want to take a trip? Go to the airport and expect to be inconvenienced because of the terrorists. Be prepared to wait in long lines because everything has to be checked thoroughly.

The few spoil it for the rest.

And its the same with certifications.

One of you doesn't hurt the industry but hundreds, thousands of you? Hundreds and thousands of you go to job interviews and are uncovered. The certification loses value. Certifications get a bad name. Exams are made more difficult. And you know that as an IT professional you will need to certify throughout your career, so do you think you aren't hurting yourself when you go for the next certification? Now because of your actions and others like you, you are paying more for certifications and they become less valuable than they used to be - which means you have to try harder.