Because you opened this article, you are probably preparing for the LPIC exam right now, or you are thinking about to do so. Here are eight tips for you regarding LPIC exam prep:

1. ZEN of the LPIC exam – It’s all about preparation!
Because you opened this article, you are probably preparing for the LPIC
exam right now, or you are thinking about to do so.
Here are eight tips for you regarding LPIC exam prep:
Tip #1: Prepare well!
First, check out exactly what LPI expects from you. Look at their “detailed
objectives” regarding LPI 101 and LPI 102 so that you are ready to plan
you preparation appropriately.
Tip #2: Find the right study material for you!
There are lots of possible study materials to choose from, and also lots of
sources hoping that you will choose to use them.
Find out (if you don’t already know) what kind of learning type you are,
then choose the right study material. Pick a classroom training, buy a
book or subscribe to an online training with videos. Most importantly,
make sure you are dealing with up-to-date training material. I often hear
that students order books or subscribe to an online training only to
discover later that the materials they have purchased were not up-to-
date.
Tip #3: Take your time!
The learning process is a time consuming one. If you are new to using
Linux, you probably will need extra time to adapt to the new environment.
Learning lots of new commands and learning to use the command line
itself will challenge you to change your own habits regarding how you
move through a system. Studying 1-2 months for an exam is like this is
absolutely normal. Nobody who is relatively new to Linux completes LPI
101 exam preparation in 1 week. If someone says they have, ask him or
her a few in depth questions about the exam topics. ;-)

2. Tip #4: Study and don’t cheat!
Certainly there is the possibility to get certified by just taking the practice
exams, memorizing a few hundred questions and then passing the test.
Don’t do this if you are really planning to work in a professional Linux
production environment. I have seen these kind of “System
Administrators” crying in front of their Linux servers, or worse having
been sent back home by a client because they rebooted some server
without permission to do so, or because they deleted important files
accidentally by using a single command, one they didn’t understand. The
goal should be to “learn” something about Linux with the goal of
certification. Don’t forget: What you have learned will stay with you for a
long time!
Tip #5: Install a Linux system!
To practice for the LPI exam you surely have to install at least one Linux
distribution on your own system. Generally, according to the detailed
objectives of LPI, you need experience with one rpm based distribution
like CentOS as well as a Debian-package based Linux distribution like
Ubuntu. If you have a spare machine, install both types of Linux system
on it. If you do not have any spare system, you could use an environment
like to VirtualBox install a virtual machine on your computer. (There are
Linux, Mac and Windows versions of VirtualBox available). You can then
install all Linux Distributions inside this virtual machine. Check it out, it’s
pretty easy.
Tip #6: Take practice exams!
The best possible preparation for a situation is always a simulation of the
real experience. ;-) Find practice exams equal to the original LPI exams
and practice a lot with them. In this way you will gain experience
answering the style of questions that LPI asks on their certification exam.
The same applies here as for the all training materials: make sure you find
practice exams which are up-to-date!
Tip #7: Take notes during the exam!
Although you may not take notes you make with your when your leave
the exam location, notes you make during the exam may be helpful
during the exam itself. If you encounter a question you cannot answer
directly, skip it and return to it later, making notes about the question you
don’t understand. The notes are important: often you will encounter hints
in parts of other questions that can help you answer the skipped question
at a later point.

3. Tip #8: It is not the end of the world if you fail the exam on your
first attempt!
Think about that always: nobody will die if you fail an exam! This will help
you to be calm when you enter the exam center and will help you to stay
calm during the exam itself. When I have failed examinations in the past,
it always made me stronger. I sat down and studied the topics which
where not clear to me again. Repetition helped the content sink in, so that
I could successfully perform better on the test next time. So, you failed?
No problem, just make something positive out of that!