I just absolutely love this graphic, perfect representation of the Cisco struggle!
Moving forward I will be posting non-Cert related technologies!
After completing my CCNP R/S Certification also earning me the CCNP Enterprise upon track changes, I started with some CCIE track topics like MPLS / DMVPN / Heavier VRF studies, however I have ultimately landed on Cisco DevNet Associate as my next take down!
The CCNA / CCNP is still a great foundation Certification, but diversify your studies!
When looking at the new tracks I decided to go the DevNet route as its all completely new, I find the challenge of learning something I have never worked with before gets me learning juices flowing once more, however right now is time to diversify your skillsets if ever!
The term “Hybrid Engineer of the Future” has come to pass, today is that future we spoke of just a few years ago, and it is more important than ever to not necessarily be ready to hit the ground running in with a DevOps skillset but demonstrating you are forward thinking.
Python Scripting, Docker / Kubernetes, AWS or Azure Cloud, VMware Suite of Products, F5 Load Balancers, Palo Alto, VeloCloud / Viptela SD-WAN, you cannot know too much!
2020 has come and gone in the blink of an eye, and its time to GRIND to stay relevant!
Your first goal should always be getting an IT Job and keeping a solid work history, getting certifications that make sense / demonstrate you bettering your skillset to perform your job, hiring managers have overwhelmingly told me they’d rather see a HelpDesk person with a CCNA / Azure Associate / Linux+ / Security Certs that make sense to their job than a CCIE who has no work experience because they spent half their adult life passing the CCIE Lab.
Even if its resetting passwords and nothing else while you study other topics on the side, work history is mandatory for jobs, and gaining certs that are maybe unnecessary for your job role will only show extra drive to continuously improve yourself as a company asset!
I figured it was time to update this page, as I have been studying for the DevNet Associate as my next exam take down (followed by ENAUTO) to re-certify my CCNP status, however I will be getting deeper into the underlying / open source tools that drives CI/CD and DevOps.
That and AWS, I love playing in the Cloud with API Gateways / Lambda / DynamoDB / Etc, if I can’t afford to run it in AWS it gives me ideas of how to setup a similar home lab with Docker / MongoDB / Django / Flask / Etc.
As always thank you for stopping by, and I hope my posts help guide you to success!
I am having a hard time not deviating from the DevNet Associate Blueprint into labbing Automation technologies, so I hope my posts don’t get too inconsistent to be helpful, however I will do my best to curate the notes once I get a breather here.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky, NHL Hall of Famer
Keep putting those shots on net, and you will eventually score a game winning goal! 🙂
The DEVNET GRIND! 