algu bro,
i myself havent found any suitable place to put my first big step.. try to imagine your 1st chemistry class and the person in front doesnt bother if you're catching-up with his class.. he keep saying all the ambiguous basic terms/words that you dont know..

.. its better we prepare ourselves with the basics..
one more thing.. if you're working in an analytical environment... then you found several methods to prove your analysis.. but have you ever question urself.. what differ one method from another and what's your results requirements?.. i'm trying to find-out how are we evaluated and we try our best method to get it done..

..
logically.. n00b like me cant say much.. but information from those who has the experience might help us n00bs to get a hold of ourselves.. something like you have a number of references for the exam.. each reference has their difficulties to understand from one topic to another.. which would be your best reference?