Cisco Certified? From 0 to CCNA in…

For some time now I have been studying networking; specifically Cisco IOS.

A friend of me suggested that I might be good at networking. He works in enterprise network support at a very large technology firm I am sure you all have heard of. I never pass up an opportunity to learn, so I was in. We started a group, meeting once a week for 2-3 hours, and studied for our CCNA certifications.

As time progressed, our group got smaller. A change in shift here, a change in life priorities there; before you know it, it was just he and I. He has a CCNA certification, and I am truly indebted to him for his help, but my studying fell behind. Work, home projects, life in general has gotten in the way. It feels self defeating to start a journey and not finish it.

Changing careers can be hard, which I knew, but didn’t fully consider. Learning a new trade is more daunting than it would initially seem; there is much that I do at work almost instinctively and I seem to have forgot that there was a time that I did not know those things. Getting a job without gobs of experience is also extremely challenging; it’s a fight to sell yourself as a person with drive, potential and promise (but not experience).

I am resuming my studies, and I do plan to finish. I have never thought of myself as a quitter, and I’d really like to emerge from this experience victorious. The help and head start given to me by my friend is something most people don’t have access to; and I intend to put that energy back into my studies.

To my friend I say thank you; and to all of you I say: You can do it.