So I’m gonna take a backseat on the CompTIA A+. I hate hearing this phrase myself, but it epitomizes ‘jack-of-all-trades but a master of none’. And I’m seeing the only job it really qualifies you for is a help desk.
In weightlifting, some personal trainers like to put you through those combo exercises. The famous one is holding 2 dumbbells where you squat, curl, and press. These exercises are looked down on in the fitness community and I see why. It’s not that you’re not working the muscles by doing those, it’s that you’re not working them to the maximal effect you would be if you just trained them by themselves. So instead of me bouncing around on these A+ sections and paying for 2 exams, I’m gonna go deep on one section at a time and get the cert that’s specified for that section.
I’m of course going to get some data certs eventually, but I’ve recognized that outside of that, the 2 supplemental sectors I should be focusing on are Security and Cloud. Data obviously needs to be protected and cloud is a huge and growing platform for housing data.
The prime certifications for both of those require work experience. So starting off, the best I can do is go for the vendor-based ones so I have the fundamentals along with vendor-specific knowledge which should hopefully make me somewhat versatile.
Regarding the security posts, I’m not gonna post every single thing I learn about it. I should be ok with the fundamental stuff but I’ll have to calm down as it gets more advanced. I’m not trying to get an irate email telling me I’m the reason some company got hacked. So I won’t be posting specific answers from the exams, but I’ll do my best to give an overview without being harmful.
I got a list of certs I’m considering, but for now, I’ll just teach myself the fundamentals of the 2 sectors. Right now my main focus is on algorithms, so these might be spaced out. Eventually I’ll be posting the fundamentals on cloud and security.
Grant Abraham 