Hi!

I started this article back in June and it’s August now! Time flies when you’re not looking. This’ll be part one of the B Plot to my life: getting my CCNA.

The Story So Far:

A little over a year ago, I made the switch from pursuing a job in Data Engineering and Administration and pivoted into Systems administration. I’m planning on making a longer form article on the switch, but the skinny is that I’ve been learning something new everyday while I’ve been on the job. I’m supporting what I’ve learned on the job by preparing for the CCNA.

Why the CCNA?

Here’s one of my lines of thought with gunning for the CCNA. When I approach a problem in tech, I’m usually just concerned with solving the problem in front of me. If I can’t get a host to respond on a switch, I’ll debug for that specific problem. This approach to problem solving is fine for day to day stuff, but I’m worried that I’m holding myself back by not having more holistic knowledge of running a network for my firm’s office.

I’m pursuing foundational knowledge, stuff that I’ll be able to use on the regular on top of the specialized systems and services that I maintain in office. I’m using the CCNA as essentially a framework to acquire that knowledge. Kinda how I’ve used my website as a means to pick up webdev skills and keep version control practices fresh in my mind.

Additonally, once I actually do get the cert, I feel like it’s a good feather in my cap to distinguish myself further for future opportunities.

So that’s the Intro. Mostly.

I’m going to be a little more transparent with my updates than I’m comfortable with–mostly because I’d like to come up and tell you (you in this case being everyone I know that I’d share this with and even potential employers) that everything is sick, that this has been a super linear journey so far, and that test day is just around the corner but no. Noooooooo.

I’m probably nowhere near close.

I’m trying. The hardest lesson I’ve learned from this eight month journey is that balancing your life today with the life you want is really, REALLY hard. And subnetting is harder.

More to come. Stay tuned!