Hiiiii.

I know I ghost this platform for months at a time and that’s unforgivable and inconducive to my goals.

And I don’t really have an explanation other than I crashed and burned out really hard.

Also, this post may seem quite informal as I want to be more authentic in my writing and I would prefer anyone who reads to receive this information as if I am speaking and not just regurgitating information.

Updates

Per my last post, I was clearly doing too much at once and I honestly can’t believe I ever tried to push myself to those limits. Since my last update, I have dropped MLH, NuCamp and CodePath.

My current focus is now building on my skills to reflect my professional tech career so far.

Unfortunately, I still don’t feel confident calling myself an engineer of any sort, regardless of my professional experience. I’ll eventually write another post discussing my burnout and how I plan to counteract that, but the TLDR is that imposter syndrome recently consumed me to the point of psychosomatic stress. It amazes me how I never know or am triggered to the fact that I am experiencing stress until my body starts to catastrophically respond.

In other news, I am still enrolled at WGU while in search of my next position.

Upcoming Goals & Projects

• I am due to finally obtain my AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner & CompTIA A+ this month (December 2023).

• I'm hoping to have obtained the entire CompTIA Trifecta before February 2024. I hear that Security+ is a doozy, so if I need to give myself until March 2024, then I'll extend myself such grace.

• I'm considering "dialing my career back" in a way that allows me to revisit fundamentals in order to solidify the knowledge gaps I'm having in DevOps at this time. Then maybe once I feel more confident, I can fully fully dive into Cloud and Cybersecurity like I really want to. (Also, I would love any advice on this! I'm considering roles like Network Engineering just so that I can have those fundamental stitched into my synapses. 😂 Slide in my DM on Twitter/X @ItsRaeDickerson, lol.)

• I am still learning Python and I may even dabble in Go again, but I won't pressure myself to do both if it gets to be too much. I'm working on a simple DevOps project and I'm having trouble deciding which language to use. I'm hearing that both are great options based on my experience.

• I'm considering other certs such as the CKA, CDA, and even the CCNA. I haven't fully made a decision because pursing certs outside of my degree program is just another form of pressure and could be another burnout waiting to happen. I'd like to avoid that, lol.

Tools & Resources

To study for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, I'm using the Tutorials Dojo AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 Video Course.

To study for the CompTIA A+, I'll be using the Mike Meyers Udemy Course.

I met a really cool senior engineer who told me about Front End Masters, so I'm also checking out their DevOps course in the meantime. (The DevOps course by Educative is also lookin' cute, but I'll chill...for now. Lol.)

If I have ANY time after all of what I'm doing, I'll tackle some TryHackMe rooms but once again, I will NOT pressure myself. 🫣

I'm a huge fan of Angie Jones and I wanna try these Test Automation University courses in DevOps Testing and Python Testing, but once again, that might be doing too much. Just wanted to put the resource out there in case it could help someone.

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I wish I had more conclusive updates and honestly, I should turn these updates into a /now page. Maybe one day (but not today)! 🤣