Career, Technology

Skill Set Upgrade: Creating A New Foundation

As I had mentioned in the first post I did on stress management, the solution to one of my problems is that I have need to update my skill set. As I want to make this not just a surface change, but tear down to the bear bones redesign of my skill set, I have decided to begin at the beginning: the operating system that is to say.

Sure, I could have gone Windows, but I wanted something a little more… Unix. As a long time Mac user I like the fundamental architecture of the system and getting deeper into that area is something that I would like to add to my repository. So, I turned to The Linux Foundation and their certifications. Now, you may be wondering why start here?

Because its a core skill set. One that will give me more options to grow off of as I branch out, but also partially its a function of affordability. The training and certification exams happened to go on sale. So I grabbed them while they were more affordable.

So for the ~$300 I spent I now have vouchers to sit the LFCA, LFCS and LFCE, with some training thrown in along the way, and recommendations for free training for the tasks that I don’t get a paid course on… which are mostly on EdEx.

Before you ask, no I don’t buy into the idea that certifications will in and of themselves change my career. I know that this idea, along with the self made tech genius billionaire who dropped out, is one of the great mythos of the technology industry. I firmly believe that you need some kind of more formal education, training or experience as a foundation to grow from.

To use a somewhat trite but nonetheless effective anthology, you could think of my education as a little black dress. It is an easy to understand, versatile piece that matches with just about everything else in your closet. Whether you pair it with black heels and pearls (a simply, basic skill set very similar in tone to your current one) or you go for boots and a combat jacket (a deeply functional group of additions) or get all boujee and add a pink feather boa and a glitter gladiator sandals (a rarer or flashier skill set) it all just works with it.

But without the dress… lets just say it falls apart quickly. So you need some kind of a foundation to build on, and the certifications will do that for me. They are the metaphorical statement earrings that I will build a set off of in time.

So, its a start.

Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s