Make Time to Study

In 2019, April 26 is still just a Friday. It's also, however, the day that Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters, and that makes it more than just any old Friday. The way that superhero worship and comic book lore have come to dominate American pop culture in recent decades, you kind of get the feeling that we might someday have holidays that honor the made-up sacrifices of Earth's made-up mightiest heroes. It's an open secret that Iron Man (probably) dies in the new movie. April 26 = Tony Stark Day?

It's also an open secret that the plot of the new Avengers movie involves time travel, which was introduced to pop culture way back in 1895 by H.G. Wells, but really perfected by Star Trek as a means for movie and TV characters to patch up the most heinously tragic boo-boos of the universe. You also have The Terminator and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure pitching in there, but the "save the whales" plot of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is how we really got to this "cosmic spackle" conception of time travel.

Time travel eventually became so commonplace in Star Trek that the writers stopped even trying to explain it. There's a seventh-season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where a character visits his younger self from 40 years in the future. Um, so how did that actually work? Here's the exact quote: "I met a man in the Cambra system. ... He had the ability to send me here, to this time." Well, OK then. That settles it. Need to fix something you've always regretted? Just go find a guy in the Cambra system.

In the world as we know it, time is both precious and immutable (which perhaps explains why we so consistently mangle it in fiction). Time management is one of the most important skills required for both personal and professional success. There are, as mom always reminded you, only so many hours in the day. Figuring out how to maximize your usage of that time is essential. Every decision has what economists call an "opportunity cost." If you choose X, then you are also giving up an opportunity to choose Y.

For that reason, you should always try to ensure that choosing X, whatever it is, will do more than just reward your decision in the moment. For example, choosing to study for and (eventually) pass a certification exam, offers both the immediate reward of increased skills and knowledge, and the long-term benefit of secure employment and better pay. And you can make that decision even stronger by choosing TestOut courseware to help you prepare: We can improve both your knowledge retention and testing outcomes.

Maybe someday we'll actually have the technology to "slingshot" around the sun, or even just go look for a man in the Cambra system. (Bill and Ted start out using a time travel telephone booth, but even just finding the time to mess with time takes more time than you might think, as the movie amusingly makes clear.) For now, however, your future is in your hands, and yours alone. Let us help you follow through on certification decisions that will make a big impact — both now and in the future.