12 Mar 2023
When speaking with technicians and apprentices, I often find that they lack direction in their learning pathways and careers. They ask “how do I get there?” and not really know the answer, this is completely understandable, the modern technology world is vast and media encourages the current trend, often skipping over the fundamental knowledge prerequisites. Learning has become easy, not in the sense that absorbing information or being able to apply your skills in a practical sense is easy, but the availability of learning material, which can lead to being overwhelmed by the staggering amount of courses or interactive study platforms available.
In this article I will express my thoughts and opinions, what I wish I knew and how I would go about tackling my learning if I could start again. I will also lay the foundations for what I want to focus on and how I will achieve my targets.
I’ll start with what sound like a cheesy statement. “You are the best investment in life”, this is true because only you have the ability to grow, achieve and enjoy your life, this applies to everything not just learning and your career. When I started my career path, I already had a passion for technology, but I was foolishly under the impression that formal qualifications were the most important aspect of a career. Because I felt this, I found it hindered other avenues of learning, and its those avenues that turned out to be my biggest and best forms of study. This doesn’t mean that formal qualification did not hold value, they were excellent for getting my foot in the door, so to speak with employers. If I were given the opportunity to restart it all again, there is very little I would change. The key takeaway for me would be to prioritise some my of personal investments, do not let the thought of failure or the unknown hinder my decisions and remember that there is always time, not everything has to be rushed, this is true to life in general, “take the time to enjoy the journey”.
The three items I would change are:
These points are very personal, but the rationale for these are; I would consider my time in college completing various BTEC and HND courses in IT a waste of 5 years, they offered me very little in terms of real learning. Whereas my first apprenticeship was a door and eye-opener, firstly I was lucky to find an establishment that provided a broad job role and the freedom to explore, I stayed here for absorbing as much as I could and obtained my degree, through two apprenticeship schemes at no cost to me. During my apprenticeship time, I started home development through virtual machines and deploying a low powered home lab environment and obtaining some old equipment for a workplace lab, which really allowed me to expand my knowledge and I wish I started earlier.
A good starting point for anyone wanting to create their own home lab would be:
Over the years there is always one course I mention over and over, for its excellent learning material and being able to provide a vast amount of fundamental knowledge, this is Cisco’s CCNA. Although the CCNA 7 introduced, what I would consider many unwise changes in terms of the exam, I would still consider the learning material to be some of the best, that combined with Cisco’s Packet Tracer and their provided lab files.
I strongly believe in teaching what you know and sharing information, not only does it help others it also re-enforces your own knowledge and can help to identify areas for further study. Below I have provided some lists, which I hope you find useful.
A list of online resources for free studying that I would consider to be good:
Cisco NetAcad - Python, Cybersecurity, IoT, Linux and Networking Essentials
Jamf 100 - Introduction to Apple device management
Microsoft Learn - Anything Microsoft, although often will require Azure credit
FreeCodeCamp - Various programming languages and web development
YouTube - no particular order
Recommended desktop software that I have personally used through my journey:
When I look to set new learning goals, I need to firstly consider what will impact my career. Although I am a big fan of hobby projects and learning more technologies, I prioritise “the skills that pay the bills”. Therefore my current work study priorities are, but not limited to:
For my own interest and sometimes to bolster morale when I get stuck on a work project, I like to have side projects or topics that I am learning, these tend to be studied and implemented at home, away from the work environment where I am free to play around. My current list includes
When curating your career path, its important to remember everyone is unique and your journey will be too. Do what you love, but keep stretching yourself in all directions because you never know what hidden gems you might find.