This is something I have been fighting for most of my life.
I am not a technology geek. My interest in it - and especially computers - has always been limited to the bare minimum of what it takes to learn to work one (I learned to program on an Apple IIe back in the day, if that at all conveys some sense of how long ago it was since I first ventured into technology). And I have fought learning more, as that knowledge pool is ever changing and I simply cannot compete in it.
But IT falls into my wheelhouse of responsibility (if you can believe that). And more and more, the growth of what we are doing and what we are using has become disjointed and ineffective.
And so, off to the bookstore I went to buy a book on Networking.
I do not pretend that this is something that I will ever be really good at. But I came to the realization that I could either be overrun by the event - or I could take action first and maybe actually come out looking like a hero in all of this.
A second item - not ever far from my mind - is that my skill set (more and more) needs to be even more differentiated in an industry that is global and in a business where it often seems that companies are laying off more quickly than they are hiring. Anything that would differentiate me - especially at my age - is worth looking into.
The worst case is that I learn how to set up my home network correctly. The best case is that I actually set the technology course of my company. Either way, there seems little to lose.
Talk about going into the mouth of the cat! That book you’re reading is probably already obsolete. I remember learning to program when the tech geeks were still at war. I learned rudimentary FORTRAN, did okay with BASIC... and totally sucked C, then Turbo C, and then Turbo C++. Couldn’t program today to save my life.
ReplyDeleteComputer geeks are a dime a dozen TB. My experience as an old fart on the job market in a recession economy is that there will always be work for us. Employers value experience and work ethic far more than credentials. Where I work all the kids have titles and their credentials on their cards but they’re just sops to typical millennials. I make more money than any of them but I work harder too. Oddly enough I am happier now than when I made 6 figures. Everyone’s mileage may vary I suppose.
Good luck and God bless, TB.
ReplyDeleteWhat little programming I used to know was in IBM DOS.
Hubby did networking for the Navy/Marine Corps before he retired.
Definitely can not hurt to learn something new. :-)
Merry Christmas!
Glen, I remember back to Basic (I remember the day I first saw a TRS-80 Model 1. It was like the heavens had opened). But yes, I can barely operate the darn things today.
ReplyDeleteThat said, this is as much a "Get out ahead of the curve at work" as it is trying to learn a new school. Basically, our IT network is stitched together with glue and goodwill and it is under my responsibility to fix it. We have contractor to do that; what I need to be able to do is at least understand the comments with some sense of not looking like an idiot and being able to explain it to senior management. Trust me, I have no illusions about ever entering the space. IT is a young person's game at this point.
Thanks Linda. It is mostly just learning concepts of networking, but any knowledge is useful!
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