IT & Networking: Plumbing the Bits

Computers: Back to Beginnings

Millennials grew up at a time when personal computers were becoming accessible, but not yet ubiquitous. I’ve long been grateful for the chance to learn primarily from books, play video games on devices dedicated to the purpose, and not to blur the two. Instead of Chromebooks in every class, my high school had a computer lab used every once in a blue moon. My college days were spent on a 15” MacBook Pro with a dual-core processor that still works.

Information Technology

All along the way, IT was in the background, making sure packets got delivered. Although I was a tech-savvy kid, sometimes I did need to bring my laptop to the Genius Bar, ask the Campus Help Desk about installing software, and so on.

CCST

My first step on the way to a career in IT is the Cisco Certified Support Technician - Networking. I am going to focus on networking. There are a fair number of entry-level certifications (marketed towards career changers like myself) from other providers. There is ITIL 4 Foundation, as well as the CompTIA A+. I will sign myself up for the the A+ certification shortly after the CCST, for the sake of some resume strengthening.

So far, while completing a Udemy prep course, I have really learned a lot.

• I can now count from 0 to f
• I can go from decimal to hexadecimal to binary
• I get IPv4 now, so my prior experience with setting up network servers has paid off
• I really want to buy a whole bunch of loud, ancient networking gear from Cisco, rolling the dice on whether they require an active license?

In all seriousness, this specific niche is really compelling. The infrastructure underlying every business, school, and agency starts and ends with devices connecting to each other and the wider Internet. I want to climb up on a ladder to connect a PoE Access Point. I want to crimp my own RJ45 Ethernet cables for fun and profit. I want to be bombarded with the sounds of a thousand fans in a data center (perhaps).