Education

Do you ever have a few minutes to kill and you're not sure what to do?  Get certified. 

OK, getting certified in something may take longer than a few minutes, but doing a test is an easy way to tell how close you are to the final goal.  For instance, there is a company called Brainbench that lets you write tests to "certify" yourself in various areas.   While many of these exams do cost money, I prefer looking up the "Free" exams.  Through this route I have taken an exam on Shorthand (I passed, but barely), Internet Security, Writing English, Typing, and others.

I've done these exams for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I want to test myself to see if I actually know a topic.  I've been talking a lot about Education, recently, and how it is important to keep yourself informed about a topic.  The Brainbench site has a number of FREE exams right now on topics like .NET Framework 2.0, RDMBS concepts, Programming Concepts and Software Testing.  While I am not advocating this particular site, I am advocating education. 

If you are more serious about your education you can try for any one of a number of Microsoft certifications . There are a lot of sites that help you out with studying for these exams, with Transcender being one of the oldest companies in the business.  Or, for those who prefer studying at their own pace with a solid reference, most of the Microsoft exams have associated books.  (Imagine that, they charge for the exam and they charge for the book for studying.  What a racket!!!!) 

It doesn't really matter which route you choose, just go out and learn.