A prosperous and rewarding IT career demands continuous learning and manifesting knowledge with IT certifications.
Lots of IT professionals got into the industry, attracted by its secrets and possibilities. It is a continuously evolving field that has no limitations. You can always come up with a new solution to the problem, technique, or approach. Nowadays, it is the truth to live by.
I have been observing people my whole life, and I came up with a thought that all the successful people I know are united by the same feature – curiosity. They have a desire to spend time learning new things. The best question a person can ask during an interview is what the worker can do to stay updated in this industry. The answer will show what person stands in front of you and whether he or she has a potential in IT.
Lots of people shuffle the responsibility from themselves to their company or trainings, saying they are too busy actually doing the work. Though the training provided by an employer is a great idea, there should be a passion in this person to work and grow. I’m sure there is no need to put in an enormous amount of time for it. How then? I’ll tell you.
At the beginning of my career, one manager advised me to read about technology at least 1 hour a day. I have been doing it since then. One day, it takes me 20 minutes; another day, I can give a few hours to it. However, since then my life has always been filled with breathtaking news about my industry. When I don’t have lots of time, I watch lessons on YouTube on coding, on different languages; sometimes, I’m interested in simple facts, because learning should be diverse.
If I want to learn something good and deep, I google a book or check if there is content from conferences. Two of the most useful are Cisco Live and AWS re:Invent, and both offer free videos of conference sessions and are amazing, showing you lots of new stuff.
Besides curiosity in your field, there is always a time when you must take actions to give others evidence of your knowledge. Experience is a good way to do so, but your resume would not stand out from the thousands. It can be done in lots of ways, but the most concrete is certifications.
It doesn’t mean certifications can beat experience. It will just show you have such qualities as setting and accomplishing goals, ability to learn and develop. Certification examinations are specific and ask you to learn particular information, and you must adjust to the way they check it; you might not like the process, but you know and cope with it. It is very similar to the way people try to adapt to a new company or job position. Sometimes, you will not agree with the way it must be done, but you know you must do it and do it in a specific way to reach particular business results.
What certificates to obtain? I don’t think it matters, until it has value and use to you and your potential employer. However, nowadays, there is a huge demand for professionals with certifications in security, software development, and networking and can give you an additional point for your resume.
Technology is cool because you never stop learning, and for the same reason, it might be irritating. However, a little time each day will serve you in a long run, especially if your experience is empowered by one or two certifications. Curiosity is the key.
