[PLUG] What certifications to take?

Chuck Hast wchast at gmail.com
Tue Jan 17 05:48:55 UTC 2017


First, even though this is sort of off theme as far as what the list is all
about, there
are two groups of people that I have found had good info for me. The people
I am involved with in the Linux world, and those in the Amateur radio
world. I
have not been quite as active in either one after moving out to the NW but
I try
to keep up with those and other activities, when I lived in Tampa, amateur
radio
was a quick ticket to a new job, usually I was able to find something in
just a
very short time, I am finding out that not getting networked out here had
made
that a greater issue.

But in general I try not to burn bridges behind me, and an old employer in
the
EAS and satellite location business wants me to come back. They have been
good to me and it is time to pay them back. There are not many loyal people
employment wise it seems. These people are. But they do not have that much
going right now and will not need me full time until perhaps March.

Meantime the state of WA has a program to re-train, they are offering to
pay for
my getting some certifications, I have always wanted to get a some
certifications
in IT and networking, but being a field service guy I was never in one
place long
enough to get it done right. I have that chance and people offering to pay
for it
so that is where I am trying to go. I got HACCP certified by another
employer
back a few years ago, and I have some other pieces of paper that say I can
do
a few other things.

Right now I am trying to clean up as much of my learning as I can so I can
go
in and get the CompTIA A+, Network and may if time permits get the Linux
cert. By that time my new employer should be ready for me full time and I
will
start doing work for them.

You all have been a great source of encouragement in this and all of it is
good
guidance and information.

Thank you all and now back to my studies (a little going off on a tangent
with
a Raspberry Pi 3 when I get too saturated with the training materials)
¡¡Viva el
RPi!!



On Mon, Jan 16, 2017 at 9:02 PM, Mike C. <mconnors1 at gmail.com> wrote:

> >
> >
> > As a field service person who also is trying to do my own contracting I
> > guess I am a hybrid between the two. In some positions and jobs just
> > explaining what
> > I have done has been a big win. Others they wanted to see certs or
> > licenses.
> >
> > It is interesting that I have gotten a lot of jobs based on the fact
> that I
> > am an amateur radio operator (ham radio) and that I have published some a
> > few
> > times in the amateur radio networking conferences.
> >
> > Also there are other jobs where the fact that I am HACCP certified has
> got
> > me in the door also.
> >
> > What I have found out is you can never tell what the sweet spot is but if
> > they advise you that it is to your advantage to have a certain type of
> > certification in the job descriptor and application requisites then it is
> > best to try to
> > have those pieces of paper to back you up, just as when they say you need
> > a passport
> > and the available time to travel, having the passport and being willing
> to
> > travel causes some of them to perk up. I have a passport and a Global
> > Access card,
> > and am used to 95%+ travel. The down side is some of them will then think
> > that you are over qualified and back off.
> >
> > So if you can have a well rounded set of creds and background and figure
> > out
> > just how much to tell so as not to go under or over you will get the job.
> >
> >
> I must say Chuck that I'm a bit envious of what you're doing. It's a
> direction I've tried to go in for many years, but haven't been able to pull
> it off yet for various legitimate and lame reasons.
>
> I have a background in radio as an Avionics Tech but I never got my ham
> radio license and it's somethng I've thought a lot about lately. I used to
> travel quite a bit as a contract Network Engineer.
>
> I've also run into the over-qualified claim, but most often that was for
> perm/f-t positions. Currently, my interest lies more in Linux and
> privacy/security.
>
> Unfortunately, I rarely make to a PLUG meeting but maybe someday I'll make
> your acquaintence and we'll have an interesting chat.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Mike
> _______________________________________________
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>



-- 

Chuck Hast  -- KP4DJT --
Glass, five thousand years of history and getting better.
The only container material that the USDA gives blanket approval on.



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