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When I heard about Ginna's situation, I knew I wanted to interview her and have her share what helped her pass the NCIDQ Exam.
Learn how Ginna passed the NCIDQ Exam after time away from interiors
Ginna spent years in sales before coming back into interior design and had started a new job, so she needed to come up to speed fast without wasting any time — plus, she's a busy mom.
Ginna Dombroska's NCIDQ Journey
[00:00:00] Lisa: I am here today with Ginna Dombroska. She was a member of Qpractice, and she passed first try all three exams at once. And she started with us in an unusual job situation. So why don't you tell us about how that was for you and what you had riding on passing the exam?
The Stakes of Passing the NCIDQ Exam
[00:00:22] Ginna: Sure, I had been out of design for approximately six to ten years. I can't recall exactly how long, but I'd been in sales and wanted to go back into design. But in order to get the job that I needed to pass the NCIDQ or at least be headed towards that route. What I had riding on the line was if I wanted to get back into design as a professional with experience, I needed to pass the exam and I needed to pass it quickly.
[00:00:47] With that, I was hired under the assumption that I would pass the exam. I had three months to study and three months to pass it. All of it.
[00:00:57] Lisa: Yeah. And so that's because also the firm that you were working for the types of projects that you were on were government projects, and that is required.
[00:01:05] Ginna: Yes, if you want to do business with the government, you need to have your certification. If I did not pass it, I likely would have been devoted to a junior designer or an intern for lack of a better word. And that's a huge difference in salary.
[00:01:18] Lisa: So that money was on the line as far as what you would be able to earn. And then you went ahead and paid up front for your study and you were able to get in and get out. I know you got every penny's worth, but you were able to do it quickly, even more quickly than many, many people.
Ginna's Study Strategy
[00:01:34] Lisa: Tell me about your study strategy because it is one that I've been trying to emphasize to our members is that it's not about how hard you work or how much you read; it's about really getting specific on what you need to know and that will vary from person to person. tell me about how you use the quizzes to pinpoint what you needed to study.
[00:01:58] Ginna: I started out reading every chapter, highlighting, making notes. I quickly learned that was not going to work for me with the life that I had. I have two boys, I have a full time job, a commute, an hour, two hours every day. I didn't have time for that. So I decided to do less. And the way I was going to do less was skip it and go right to the tests.
Take practice tests
[00:02:20] Went right to the tests. And could quickly see, oh, you're only getting half of them right. Well, why are you getting these wrong? And I liked that Qpractice would tell you where in the resources to find that chapter or that specific thing. So I could quickly pinpoint what it was I did not know well and I could quickly see what I needed to study.
[00:02:42] So that allowed me to basically use what I missed in the quizzes to know how to study more efficiently.
[00:02:48] Lisa: And another point that you mentioned, was you knew where to go, what to do, or what to look at. Then when you found that, what did you do with it?
[00:02:57] Because I know a lot of people, they take a quiz and they miss an answer and they go, Okay, well next time I'll answer the answer that was the right answer, but they haven't really learned the why.
Observe and ask questions at work to pass the NCIDQ Exam
[00:03:07] Ginna: It's going to be a combination of using your work experience and using what you're reading to try and make it make sense.
[00:03:15] So you've got to understand why you missed what you did. And if I couldn't understand why I was missing something about HVAC or something that I did very little of, I also would use that as an opportunity to go into my office and ask other people, show me examples of what this would look like on a drawing.
[00:03:32] Show me examples of how this is. I tried to incorporate real work experience instead of just reading text. So I tried to understand it instead of just memorizing answers, because that's not how you're gonna pass.
[00:03:43] You've got to understand what they're asking, and only answer what they're asking, if that makes sense.
[00:03:49] Don't try to read too much into it, but keep it simple. And that was a great way for me to take all the information, congeal it down, drill it down into what I really needed to study. Because really, most of us who have been in this business for a while, you already know half of this stuff. Oh yeah. It's the other half, the technical stuff, that once you pass, you can just look it up online.
[00:04:11] So, that's the stuff that you need to get into your head on how to figure it out.
[00:04:16] Lisa: Yeah, there are some things that you would need to memorize, some codes and standards and things like that, but I think a lot of people focus so much on, flashcard type of memory that when it comes to the questions where there's a scenario and it requires understanding if they haven't done what you did, which is go back and connect it to on the job experience, and that's so critically important, then they're missing that connection, of how things work, the big picture.
Balancing Life and NCIDQ Exam Preparation
[00:04:48] Ginna: I'm currently into a new job, but now I work remotely. I work from home. A dream job in that I'm making more money, I'm working from home, and it's another government job where you have to have your NCIDQ. I would not have this flexibility and this job if I did not pass it, and I'm glad I jumped all in and did it, because otherwise I would have missed out on all these opportunities.
[00:05:11] Lisa: Yeah, definitely. It does open the door to opportunities and experiences that you wouldn't otherwise have available to you.
[00:05:21] So another thing that we talked about was because you went all in, you needed the support from your family and you let some things slide while you're studying for the exam. And another important thing is you can't do everything so you're gonna have to really be picky and choosy about how you spend your time and let some things go.
[00:05:38] Ginna: It's hard for me to do because if I'm surrounded by chaos I feel chaotic so I need things to be in their place. I mean we're currently under going under a renovation here in our kitchen and It's driving me crazy, but I was constantly reading what other questions other members had and other suggestions that other members had.
[00:05:55] And somebody suggested, we just ate on paper plates and paper cups and we ordered out and I let things slide, I had to do that.. And my family had to pitch in and realize that I wasn't going to be cooking dinner every night. Yes, we're going to have pizza and Wendy's a couple of nights.
[00:06:09] Yes, we're eating on paper plates. Grandma's would kick in. My husband kicked in. Friends at work. It was amazing the support I got. Once I said, I've got to pass this. This is very important. Even on my phone, I moved, my apps that can distract you.
[00:06:25] I had to move those off and set those to the side and I moved the Qpractice prominent apps up front. So that's what I would check in the morning every day, instead of my Facebook. And that was my routine. I'd study a little bit in the morning, I'd study a little bit at lunch, and then I'd come home and study.
[00:06:42] And by study, I mean take the quizzes, read, understand, that kind of things.
[00:06:46] Lisa: And you said a little bit in the morning, a little bit at lunch, and that's another thing, all those little bits add up, even if it's five or ten minutes in the study group, or watching one answer vault video, like that kind of stuff, it's not like sitting down for hours, it's that little here and there, and then actually gives you your brain time to take that information and hold on to it rather than overloading it all at once.
[00:07:12] I'm glad because that makes it doable for people. They can work it in, fit it in with work and job and family. And then the bonus is that you retain it better that way. And I think that's something that we can all take advantage of those little spare moments.
Easily study for more than one exam at a time
[00:07:29] Ginna: Yeah, and you've got a path on exactly when you should study what and how. And there's no reason why someone shouldn't take all the tests at once, because you're studying for them all anyway. The way that your program is lined up, a little bit of it falls on each of the different categories. You've got to pinpoint exactly where you're going to connect the dots and, because it was all online. That so prepared me for this test.
[00:07:51] The other thing is taking the quizzes; you can start to realize where you're failing in time and where you need to focus less energy and just go from there. Trust your gut instead of thinking things through so much.
Qpractice Community Support and Resources
[00:08:01] Ginna: So, the quizzes the members that you have to chat with and talk with, everybody's going through it and everybody has good questions and different ways of learning it.
[00:08:09] There was one gal that posted, I remember, we're all visual, most of us should be visual people or we wouldn't be in this program, but she posted a lot of visuals on how to remember the different different codes but I can see the images in my head of how to remember those.
[00:08:23] That was helpful. Yeah.
[00:08:25] Lisa: She made her own flashcards. And that's another strategy. Yeah. That's what it was. So things like that you can do, and I'm sure you can even go through what you do on the job and go, Hey, that's one of those screenshot, while you're drawing or something like that.
Use the Qpractice Study Group to help you pass the NCIDQ Exam
[00:08:40] We have such a diverse community in the study group, that really have a lot of expertise in different areas. We have people that work in healthcare, people that do government work hospitality design, all types of different fields of specialty and expertise. So that's very important as well.
[00:09:01] So, as far as bouncing things off other people, and having them explain a scenario as to how it relates to a situation they see when it's something, you may not have encountered. Not everybody works in all those things, but when you put us all together, somebody's done it.
[00:09:15] Ginna: Yeah, it's a great network to know and to be in.
Final Tips and Encouragement
[00:09:18] Lisa: Well, I am so grateful for you sharing your study tips and how you were able to make the most effective use of your time. And I want to encourage our members to take Ginna's advice you can do those bite sized chunks and do great.
[00:09:34] Focus studying and get just as good, if not better, results than trying to do the all encompassing, , reading everything. exactly.
[00:09:44] Ginna: Exactly. Yes, just do less, apply the information, take the tests, immerse yourself in it, and you can pass. You can.
Don't get overwhelmed because this is the right path to follow.
You can pass the NCIDQ Exam.
Join designers like you, and move ahead in your career!
