Yeah, there are such things.
The Phoenix Project has characters as wooden as Ayn Rand’s, but as a modern description of IT operations (with some unrealistic timelines), it’s not bad.
Category: education
Have you used your local library to learn about tech? Programming? Web site design and construction? If not, why not?
I haven’t been getting those materials from my local library, in Birmingham, AL. They didn’t have what I needed. I’ve bought my own books and training materials. Among them, off and on, was subscription access to Lynda.com. I’ve used Lynda training materials (first for websites, then for ongoing design software training) for almost 20 years. Until the past few years, it was not easy to afford.
Two and a half years ago, while attending a WordPress conference in Toronto, one of my fellow attendees, Alex Sirota, told me that Lynda.com had a library program (He has a write-up on his professional blog.) It’s been a big success for the Toronto Public Library system, with city residents using it to learn needed skills quickly. This is a great example of the idea of “city-as-a-platform”, in which the city/region/state works to make it easier for more residents to pick up in-demand skills.
I’m currently using Lynda.com to learn about systems administration and security, and Windows 7 & 10 deployments. Since my last use three years ago, they’ve added more IT and programming related materials to their existing design-software core. Most of it is introductory through intermediate, but it’s enough to give me direction as to what I should be studying next.
CompTIA has put together some new materials on what to expect when studying for and preparing to take the CompTIA A+ exams. Check it out at http://courses.certification.comptia.org/
Update December 30th, 2018. We had a great series of boot camps over two years. As part of taking on that role, I wrote and passed both of the CompTIA A+ exams in 2017 and then the Network+ exam fall 2018. If you’re a young adult between the ages of 17 – 29, living in Alabama’s Jefferson County, who is unemployed or underemployed, I encourage you to check out current (paid for!) coding and data analytics boot camp options at Innovate Birmingham. Innovate Birmingham is working to ensure that valuable (and well-paid!) tech training is available for all.
I’m moving on to new projects, but am still deeply committed to mentoring those coming up in the regional industry behind me.
Why the CompTIA A+ exam?
The A+ is an entry-level tech industry certification that verifies that you meet a certain level of knowledge about computing hardware, operating systems, peripherals, and networking. It has two parts; the 220-901, which focuses on hardware, and the 220-902, which focuses on operating systems, networking, security and the command line(s).
See? I earned a thing!
If you have been working with Windows computers for while, have learned how to work at the command line, and have been working doing computing support, it will take you a week or so of study after work to prepare for each exam. If you’ve been using Windows (and a smart phone) but haven’t stepped into the back end or explored some of the finer points of the operating system, it will take you longer – but with persistence and focus, it’s completely doable.
Currently, in Alabama (especially in Birmingham), there are more jobs open where the certification is requested than there are people looking for work who hold it. Demand is expected to grow. Entry level positions are usually as a computer support specialist, with progression to system or network administrators, or to business analyst (usually other areas of education or knowledge) common. If you’re willing to put in the time and work (40 – 60 hours for someone with experience, up to 300 hours for someone new to tech), this certification opens doors. The CompTIA website has a career path roadmap PDF available for download. If you have other qualifications as well, it can be the start of a well-paid tech career.
I don't rush to recommend particular companies or programs. However, I've been using Treehouse for the past few months to get up to speed on WordPress - and have had a good experience with it. If you don't know anything about WordPress, want to learn more about how the framework works, and how to customize it, and are a visual or audio learner, this is a good learning tool.
