Hello students, I wanted to do a quick video on how to get started with IT and what to study.
The world of IT is constantly changing and IT professionals often find themselves in a situation where they have to learn new topics and relearn the same materials. There is always a new, updated way of doing the same thing. Best practices are constantly emerging and you know today is obsolete tomorrow. This is unlike other professions when an individual with a bachelor's degree is set for life. Can we go to a dentist and tell him that his method of extracting a tooth is outdated and that now he has to relearn how to do their extractions?
The same goes for civil engineers. I know that they have exams such as PE and a bunch of other certificates that might be required for their projects. However, the laws of physics and the formula for building a bridge are unlikely to change. This is why I always advise against choosing a career in IT if you don't like to constantly study and become a lifelong learner.
I think it was back in 2017 that I bought a book on SharePoint. Once I was halfway through the book, I decided to do some of its LAB and practical steps. I learned that the 3-year-old book is pretty outdated and the entire platform is changed in such a way that most of the book content is irrelevant.
I recently purchased a book through Manning early access program("MEAP"). The book's writing started in 2019 and got published in 2022. When I started the book, I noticed that some of the material is already outdated and there is a better way, rather a more updated way of doing the same thing. Even the book's author is bothered by the same issue and openly talks about how when he was almost done with his book he noticed that a good portion of it needed to be updated.
I have the book and I know he didn't go back to update it. The profit on this book is made and unless it is selling massive copies he won't bother to release an update that requires rewriting one or two-thirds of the original book. Instead, he decided to write a new book with a different title and the race continues. The same thing is observed on Udemy and other platforms such as Pluralsight.
So, the strategy that I came up with is to study for a certificate instead. Please let me tell you that I am not a fan of exam taking and I know studying for a certificate is comprised of taking the exam. These exams are very difficult and are design in such a way that even if you know the material you still have a good chance of failing the test. It's simply a money machine and the more you fail the exam the more money is made. You can study for a cert without taking the exam. But why?
Simply because I need to know what topics to study and in what order. Depending on what you want to become, there is a sequence of certs that you could study for. Let's say that you want to become a cloud administrator. In this scenario, it is logical to think that you have to know some system essentials, then system administration, and finally the administration of the cloud platform of your choice. By choosing to study the material of a relevant certificate, you'll exactly know what to study and in what sequence.
CompTIA has made an awesome certification path that has multiple tracks comprised of different levels and available options in those levels. I have made a video on how to make sense of the pdf, i.e. how to read it as it is packed with info. In this video, I give you an example of how you could start from the essentials and go to the professional levels. Please watch the video and share your thoughts with me.
Enjoy!