It's been a bit since the last time I've posted. I took some time during the winter break to catch up on some house work and with the holidays it was nice to spend some time with family and friends. But with the start of the new semester I wanted to touch back again on my journey through school.
The last couple of weeks have been spent preparing mentally for the next step in my educational career. At the end of the first semester I found myself quite excited at the prospect of bulldozing through more courses and getting ready to take certifications in hopes to ensure the ease of acquiring some job opportunities. I made a solid attempt at passing the CompTIA Net+ exam but came up short...like a thumb nail distance short. That was a little bit of a shock. I had done such a great job during the first semester that I honestly thought I would need little preparation to acquire the cert. Alas, that was not the case. So, I will not be making the mistake again and have rescheduled the exam.
Putting that past behind me I looked to get a solid head start on these next set of classes. This semester I'll be taking another 4 classes, each with an even more in depth look into networking and computer management.
First, the continuation of my Cisco classes, Cicso 2. I'm again very excited to get back to work with the cisco equipment. I had the most fun in the labs for that class, as well as the learning tools available. Talking with Mr. Stark before the end of the last semester, he eluded to the fact that the lectures will start to get smaller and the labs more challenging which is what I'm really looking forward to.
Next, MS Server class. This is the class I really wanted to get the most hand-ons with. I've had little interaction with the server platform, with the exception of a few simulations. I have a really solid understanding of how to manage it from the client side but as more small businesses now lean toward expanding I really want to be able to fill confident with working and managing domains/services. The little I have gathered so far still excites me about the infinite amount of layers that a server OS can control and I look to really get the most out of this class.
Then we have ITSUP's A+ class. I've already begun doing the labsims and reading the book over because this is one area that I've always been extremely comfortable with. Working with computer hardware was one of the first things I ever did well with computers and as the years have past I've only gotten better. Building, repairing, and troubleshooting systems is what I enjoy most when it comes to computer technology. I can't by any means take the class lightly but confidence consumes me and I hope there are still challenges that await me in this class.
Last and from what I've been told, the hardest of my classes will be ITSEC Security+. It's only the introduction to computer/network security but by far the most complex. It's meant to provide understanding and implementation of security on not any one type of system but really the inner workings of all variations. Having only used simple tactics to secure my own homes network and computers this class should give me a better understanding of how to implement or identify better security measures.
Well, that's just an overview of what I have coming up. I still feel I'm in the right place, doing the right things for my future and my family and continue to stay motivated. I look forward to sharing more as this new semester takes shape.
