Hello! Haven't been here for a little over 3 years (heard about the recent D2R hype and well, here i am) and figured i'd make a blog since i've always wanted to make one. This blog will be about my journey to receive as many IT certifications as needed to pursue a career in AWS Cloud or Cyber Security, particularly in Architecture or SysOps. A little bit of background, i have around 8 years of IT experience, but mostly as a full-stack developer. I'm looking into moving away from the programming field and dedicating the rest of my career into the fields mentioned above. Without further ado, here we go!

Obtained Certifications:

• AWS Cloud Foundations - 11MAR2021. Took me about 2-3 weeks to obtain it. I recommend AWS Academy for reading and Udemy for Practice Exams.
  

Future Certifications:

• CompTia Security+
  
• AWS Cloud Develop
  
• AWS Cloud Architect
  
• AWS Cloud SysOps
  
• CISM Level 3
  
• PMP
  

Currently Working On:

• CCNA R&S. Been about 2 weeks so far, using NETACAD for course learning. Am thinking about purchasing Boson for Practice Exams.
  

12APR2021 - I have a day off today and i'm supposed to review all my module exams but.. It sure is tough to stay motivated when the weather outside is perfect for the beach / being lazy, sigh. Do you folks have any professional goals that you're pursuing? Especially with COVID and the ridiculousness with still having to pay full college tuition for virtual classes, i believe certifications or trade schools are becoming more important by the day. Thanks for reading!

13APR2021 - Definitely didn't review my module exams, although taking a day off was a great refresher! Took a practice final exam and it wasn't too bad... which has me a bit worried haha. The first "semester" exam is scheduled this Thursday so here's to hoping i do well!

15APR2021 - Passed the first semester exam with a 84%. Honestly speaking, i'm not sure if the NETACAD course is enough to pass the actual CCNA 200-301 exam. I may have to look into other resources (like the Boson practice exams i mentioned) to get a bit more hands on experience and review. Its great for an introductory into networking though! Onto Semester 2: Switching, Routing, & Wireless Essentials!

20APR2021 - Its been a little while! Hope everyone had a great weekend. The next two weeks are going to be busy, i'll be going over the chapters in an accelerated pace so hopefully i can keep up. Currently slightly ahead of schedule so that's good, but can definitely fall behind if i start slacking off (which is so easy to do unfortunately). Just finished covering Spanning Tree Protocols and EtherChannel, and currently learning about DHCPv4 / v6, StateLess Address Auto Configuration (SLAAC), and First Hop Redundancy Protocols (FHRP). Lets get it!

22APR2021 - Ugh i didn't really study too much today. It took me like a minute before i realized i was reading the same line over and over again and nothing was saved in my brain lol. I'll probably take it easy today knowing i'll be a bit behind, but i can catch up on the weekend. Just recently started playing a little bit of neopets again and its been a nice change of pace :). Its almost Friday!