If you're in Information Technology or want to break in, you've got to be ready when opportunity comes along - and you do that by planning ahead and working today. Learn how from Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933.
I was reading The Big Moo: Stop Trying To Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable this morning, and I’d recommend a copy of this to anyone who wants to improve their career and their future. And that’s all of us, right?
There was one particular line that really stood out to me: Betting on change is always the safest bet available. That describes life perfectly, but it also describes a career in Information Technology perfectly as well. There is no field in the world that has the constant and never-ending changes that IT does. And every single one of us can look at this as a massive opportunity for personal and professional growth.
Is that how you’re looking at it? I remember when I passed my first certification exam back in 1997. Man, I thought I knew it all then! But I quickly learned that you’ve got to keep learning in IT. I also learned that if you’re willing to put in the work and make the sacrifices, there’s no other field with the limitless potential for growth and excellence.
Like everyone else, my career has had its ups and downs, but I always kept learning and growing. Today, I’ve got my dream job, working with students and customers just like you – to help you create your own future.
The next 18 months are filled with endless possibilities, particularly with the rapid growth of VoIP and Microsoft Vista on the horizon. There will be those who rationalize their inertia, saying “I’ll never have to support those, so I don’t need to learn them."
There will also be those who see VoIP and Vista as enormous opportunities to learn and advance in their careers and their lives. These people will get started today, learning the fundamentals of Cisco and advancing their networking knowledge in order to be ready for opportunities as they come along.
You can’t start studying and learning when the opportunity arrives – you’ve got to be ready when opportunity knocks. If you’ve been putting off studying for a Cisco or other computer certification – and I know the summer is a really good time for putting off studying – get back on track today.
Because you never know what opportunities are going to come along – but you do know that when they do, you’ve got to be ready to take advantage. After all, opportunity really does knock only once!
