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01.23.06
Beware The Comfort Zone
By Chris Bryant
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 and The Ultimate CCNA
Study Package. |
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