I think compass work is simple in concept but takes a bit of learning and practice to become a useful navigation tool.

Since I was a kid in Scouts I could probably set and follow a bearing, like in a simple orienteering course (go 100 paces @ 220 degrees). But it wasn't until this year that actually understood enough to use a compass in conjunction with a map for actual backcountry navigation. To learn this, I worked my way through the Mountaineers' Wilderness Navigation book.

I just got back from a backpacking trip and it was a very rewarding experience to be able to use the compass and map to figure out exactly where we were when we were unsure of our location (we thought we were further along the trail than we actually were and I was getting concerned we'd missed a fork in the trail and were heading in the wrong direction).

While I am definitely still a beginner, I know I wouldn't have been able to do that had I not put the effort into doing that book work first.