The most epic of journeys all begin with a single step. Done and done!
I'll be perfectly honest, I have never had a blog before. It feels a bit like talking to myself on the internet, so I suppose it is right in my wheelhouse after all!
I suspect that most people choose their majors according to their passions. They take the spark they feel inside and find a way to stoke it into a career and choose their major accordingly. This was not my path. In fact, the first 15+ years of my life have been spent working in lending: a career I have no passion or love for, but that makes up for it by also not being a reliable source of income. I did not even consider Cybersecurity as an option until I finally hit my breaking point in my career last year. I could no longer justify working a job I hate and still not being able to pay the bills. I chose Cybersecurity not out of passion, but out of pragmatism. It was the perfect confluence of a (relatively) cheap degree, high projected income, and greater than average projected job market growth. I didn't expect to love it, but I at least wanted something that would enable me to provide a more comfortable life for my daughter.
I am happy to report that this has been one of the best choices I have ever made for myself. Granted I am still at the beginning of my journey with only two and a half terms under my belt, but I haven't felt this excited to learn since I was a teenager. It's a lot of new information, and the learning curve is steep, but I am completely dedicated to mastering this new field, and my intention is to document my experiences as I go along. Who knows, maybe one day someone will find this blog and it will help them on their journey too. Either that or THOROUGHLY confuse them. Either would feed my chaotic-neutral soul.
Today I took the practice tests for the Comptia Fundamentals+ and the Comptia A+ certifications, and passed both of them! Which obviously was very exciting. As soon as I have finished this current course I am going to take the Fundamentals exam. I will probably wait until after my next course is completed to pursue the A+ cert. But once I have that the plan is to start actively looking for a job of some sort in IT or cybersecurity to get my foot in the door. As long as it pays enough to pay the bills it's an option.
One of the things I have been struggling with a bit is the fact that all of my courses are online, which means that the labs are digital rather than hands on. I have found this to really make absorbing the information a bit more difficult, but I have found a solution! I went onto Facebook marketplace today and found an old wiped computer tower that someone was willing to donate. I will be able to use that to get some hands-on experience with disassembling and assembling computer parts, identifying components, etc. I really think this will help me cement the information more effectively. I also downloaded PC Building Simulator on Steam at my brother's recommendation. Combining my love of gaming with learning the skills I need!? Sign me the hell up! We shall see if it is actually helpful or if it's just a source of fun.
And with that, I don't think I have anything else to add yet. So! Until next time, my imaginary readers....
Roll for Initiative, and Cast Firewall
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