Renewed Motivation

Well how about we move the goalpost from August of 2023 to August of 2024? I’m currently torn on the direction I want to take my studies. I am really interested in Network Engineering but the IT market at the moment is extremely tight so employers know they have their pick of the crop. This has me also considering a Level 1 Helpdesk/IT Support/Desktop Support entry which means the A+ certification would be meaningful as well as the CCNA. I imagine with hundreds applying for each of the job postings a lot will at least have an A+ so I want to be at least amongst that group when applying. That left me wondering how to approach my studies.

Do I focus on just the CCNA? Do I focus on the A+? What I plan to try and do is do both. I plan to learn and lab two or so topics for the CCNA then do a few topics for the A+. I am very proficient in desktop hardware so the A+ Core 1 should not pose a problem. Software however is a very weak spot for me so studying the Core 2 will be where I concentrate the most for it and is the reason that I want to learn it even though I hope to get a more “advanced” cert like the CCNA. I completed two really good courses on Udemy from Jeremy McDowell and Neil Anderson. Since I am not in the industry and do not do this everyday, doing the lab exercises turns out to be an immensely important step that I did not always do so the information did not stick as well as I thought it would.

When I was in high school I was one of the students that never completed homework at home, I never took any notes in class and major projects were all completed the night before they were due. I simply paid attention to the teacher and the information magically just stuck without very little effort on my part. Thirty years later I attempted to apply the same methods and it turns out that 48 year old me will have to put in a bit more, OK considerably more, effort than I did then.

I am only covering two to three topics depending on volume of information to learn per day versus the one lesson after another and trying to take it all in over one or two weeks time. The ANKI flashcards provided are truly helping to remember important tidbits since I am completing them daily instead of just once or twice. Most importantly any labs that are or will be provided will be done in a timely fashion.

What is pushing this newfound motivation? Life. Circumstances are changing and where I am now will either be just barely not enough or fall short of what will be needed to sustain living single. I plan to document my learning on this blog once I figure out just how to do it the way I imagine it. When it comes to websites my knowledge begins and ends at entering the URL into the address bar so this in itself is also a very new experience for me.