I've seen it happen time and again to programmers, network
engineers and administrators, and other IT personnel. They get a
solid IT position, a good-paying job, and they get comfortable.
They stop keeping up with the latest technologies, they stop
studying, they no longer keep their CCNA, MCSE, and other
industry certifications up-to-date.... and then one day, their
comfortable job is gone. Maybe they get laid off, maybe the
company moves and they don't want to move with it... but for one
reason or another, they're in the worst position possible. They
have no job, and they have allowed their IT skills to
deteriorate to the point where they are no longer employable.
If you're in IT, you must be constantly learning. You must
continually take the long view, and ask yourself three important
questions. First, where do you want to be in three years?
Second, what are you doing now in order to reach this goal? And
finally, if you were laid off today, are your current skills
sharp enough to quickly get another job?
That third question can be the hardest of all to answer
honestly. I'm reminded of Microsoft announcing years ago that
they would no longer be recognizing the MSCE 4.0 certification,
since the network operating systems that certification was based
upon would no longer be supported by MS. (Keep in mind that this
change was announced months in advance, giving those holding the
MCSE 4.0 plenty of time to earn the latest MS certification.)
Some MCSE 4.0s just went nuts. Microsoft's certification
magazine printed letter after letter from angry MCSEs saying
that their company would always run NT 4.0, and that there was
no reason for them to ever upgrade their certification.
This wasn't just denial. This was career suicide. Let's say that
their network never moved from NT 4.0. Let's also say that they
got laid off yesterday. Would you want to go out into the
current IT workplace and have your most recent network operating
system experience be on NT 4.0 ? I sure wouldn't.
The fact is that you've got to continue studying, continue
growing, and continue learning new things if you want to have a
successful long-term IT career. If you plan on studying only one
topic, getting into IT, and then never cracking a book again,
you're entering the wrong field. And for those of us who have
been in it for a while - again, ask yourself this question: "Am
I prepared for what would happen if I were laid off today?" And
if you're not, do something about it!
About the author:
Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage
, home of free
CCNA and CCNP
tutorials! Pass the
CCNA exam with Chris Bryant!
