Last month I passed my Linux Essentials exam. Be it a low-level exam, it was one that I was happy to have obtained (that, and the fact it never expires is so dope). I took a week off from the realm of studying and asked myself “what’s next?”. The new Linux-certified ambitious me wanted to take this thing and roll far into it. I started reading forums and articles as to why Linux is so important to understand and learn. I was going to go for CompTIA’s Linux+ certification, but decided it’s time to move on from CompTIA and go for another vendor: Red Hat. It makes sense to do Red Hat since the environment I work in is comprised of Windows and Linux (RHEL) servers.
Long story short: While I was digging into Red Hat, I started to realize that although I like the fact that I now understand basic Linux commands and even hold a conversation with a Linux admin, I really miss Cisco and working on earning that CCNA, even if I don’t get to be a Network Engineer just yet.
Taking a step back from work (I’ve been on stay-cation since last Saturday), I’ve realized some things:
- Getting down the goals and objectives of my current job is what is important (monitoring, knowing who to reach out to for jobs, daily tasks, etc), and I’m doing that.
- Work doesn’t need me to become a RHCSA/RHCE (Red Hat Certified Systems Administrator/Red Hat Certified Engineer), so why am I putting so much pressure on myself?
- If the Linux Admins need me, I know the basics to get around a terminal and do the grunt work.
- I want to be a Network Engineer, plain and simple.
I want to be a Network Engineer. I stopped working on that path due to moving back home and getting an idea of what the new job entailed. Now that I’m settled in, there is no reason why I can’t continue to reach my goals.
As for the Linux stuff, I’ll learn what I need to along the way. I feel like there will be a big benefit to knowing both Windows and Linux environments, but Cisco is where I want to be.
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