A month into the new year means a new approach to a career. Institutional learning is still frustrating so I need fix that problem first. My past approaches to tech haven’t panned out because I had no proof of my work. I also haven’t broken the habit of fleeting from one thing course to another. In this article, I’m going to layout my plan for getting into tech by this time next year.
1) Research the tech job I want
This the first issue I need to confront. Over the years near free learning platforms have opened made skill training accessible. However, a perpetual FOMO( fear of missing out) has always cause me to jump from path to path. The reason for this came from my desperation to low paying service jobs. I was so desperate to have any marketable way out of the psychological stress that I would lose focus. This is a pattern that continues as of writing.
To fix this pattern, I’ve started to actively research the jobs in tech I want. The ultimate goal for this writing is cyber-security. I’ve decided on this field because of projected growth for job openings is expected to increase. However security is not an entry level position, especially for someone with no formal education. Fortunately doing searches for skills that these jobs require is always readily available. Following security research groups social media pages is a start as well. These pages are pretty good at discussing present threat landscapes and potential threats that could effect anyone.
This leads to next point learning identifying the skills needed for the career change.
2) Learn the skills necessary and start a portfolio
Now that I’ve identified the field I want to get into it’s now a matter of learning what you need to know. Security is a very broad topic and has many topics to be known to be even remotely successful. The issue I faced in the past before is that I lacked foundational knowledge and proof that I knew what I was talking about. It doesn’t how many online courses I place on my linkedin profile. None of that matters if I don’t have any proof that I’ve done any work to backup what I say.
This is something I really need to address because, I’m not confident enough in my coding knowledge where I’ve actually made anything on my end. Coding, networking protocols and problem solving are the core skills needed for the security. To show my work I’ve decided to learn to make a github account and build back a resume site. Learning to contribute to repositories will put show my willingness to collaborate with others and show a proof of skills.
3) Use this blog to keep track of my progress
The final action I need to take is to keep a record of my progress. I intend to use these blog post to keep me honest. By chronicling my trials, errors and successes it shows accountability on my end. While there is a community out there to help me along, I know life often gets in the way when trying to make big changes. So by recording my progress it gives me personal motivation. These steps are the first of many to make my life better and I’ll see where it goes from here.
Thanks for reading.