5 years

Noticed the other day that it's been just past 5 years since I've switched career to IT. I was planning on being an architect with at least 1 VCDX by now, but both are at least a year or two away.

My wife tells me that I've settled for the comforts of my current position and cert level. I can't really argue against her assessment. I'm spending too much time goofing off and being distracted.

I hope other on TE are working harder towards their goals than I am.

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OctalDump

There's this thing (it has a name) where when we look forward in our lives we assume that we will be basically the same as now, just older and maybe wiser. But when we look back, we can see so much change is so much of who we are, what is important to us.

When you made your goal 5 years ago, you did it on the basis of what you knew then, what was important to you then, but things have changed. Setting goals is a good thing, but sticking too rigidly to them is foolish. They are just a means to some other end, giving some meaning to your life and helping you "pursue happiness", if they no longer serve that end, it makes sense to change them.

Perhaps where you are now is the best place to be now. Comfortable doesn't always mean complacent. I think take a look back on how far you've come.

alias454

Settled or enjoying the fruits of your labor? To continue in the same vein as Octal, I would look back to why you wanted to become an architect with at-least one vcdx, my guess is It wasn't that you wanted a vcdx, you wanted what you thought it meant to be someone with a vcdx whether that meant freedom, respect, power, prestige, money etc. The certifications are nothing more than a means to an end. Here is an interesting way to think about learning programming http://norvig.com/21-days.html. Many of the underlying concepts apply elsewhere.

Dojiscalper

That is a very awesome post! For the past few years I've been realizing the same sort of thing as the OP. I started 20 yrs ago in IT and after some time I ended up in field service, life got in the way and many years later I'm still in field service. I only stayed because it's been comfortable and the pay has been nearly as good as other higher level IT positions and I work about 30hrs per week. The downside for me is there's absolutely no chance of promotion unless enough people die. So I'm stuck at the same pay, same job, and got sick of driving +1,000 miles/week. I've recently moved to Charlotte, NC and decided this is the time to make changes and see where I end up.

OctalDump wrote: »

There's this thing (it has a name) where when we look forward in our lives we assume that we will be basically the same as now, just older and maybe wiser. But when we look back, we can see so much change is so much of who we are, what is important to us.

When you made your goal 5 years ago, you did it on the basis of what you knew then, what was important to you then, but things have changed. Setting goals is a good thing, but sticking too rigidly to them is foolish. They are just a means to some other end, giving some meaning to your life and helping you "pursue happiness", if they no longer serve that end, it makes sense to change them.

Perhaps where you are now is the best place to be now. Comfortable doesn't always mean complacent. I think take a look back on how far you've come.

Christian.

I believe the goals we set up in our life have to be backed by a real motivation. If you are just chasing something just for the sake of getting it, at some point that desire will fade, in many cases before reaching it. With so many certs and levels, it's easy to get lost trying to have them all but our subconscious already knows it's not worth it so you focus on something else like enjoying your free time.

You already have many vmware certs, I don't believe having one more will really change your status, especially if you already have experience to back it up. Maybe you settled because having another bullet point in your resume is not really worth it. At least that's what's happening in my case when I realized I kept looking for certs to do in the future and I didn't see the point in adding more and more. In the end vendors create certifications to push their brands into companies and promote their products or services, is not like you really need a bunch of them to work in your field and progress.

Mike-Mike

i have the opposite problem. I can never seem content, I always think the grass is greener, and there is more money to be made. Even though I'm paid pretty well, I think, oh man, if I made 20k more, then I'd be living the life

Mishra

Being comfortable and enjoying it is such a wonderful thing. Think of how many people stress from paycheck to paycheck.

I think it's such a blessing. Goof off if you like it, you've earned it.

coreyb80

I'm finally comfortable from where I was 3 years ago before I joined the IT world, but I've also found myself complacent. I've decided that I will be enrolling in WGU March 2016 to obtain my Bachelors in Networking. Thanks OP I definitely needed the push myself as well.

Deathmage

Being complacent doesn't get you anywhere in life, that's been my driving force the past year. Hard works gets you places, not by dreams about going places.

dave330i wrote: »

Noticed the other day that it's been just past 5 years since I've switched career to IT. I was planning on being an architect with at least 1 VCDX by now, but both are at least a year or two away.

My wife tells me that I've settled for the comforts of my current position and cert level. I can't really argue against her assessment. I'm spending too much time goofing off and being distracted.

I hope other on TE are working harder towards their goals than I am.

You could blame the wife for being a distraction I bet that would make things interesting. I tried that on my fiance' recently, didn't go over so well

I learned that I may-be a technical nerd but when the fiance' is a LPN nurse she can do subtle things like mixing certain herbs in your coffee that make you run to the bathroom.... I can out and she was like, are you ok? ... I was like.....you! .... she said don't mess with me. I found out a side of her I just now see, will make our lives interesting.

hurricane1091

OP probably earns 6 figures. OP gets the right to slack off if he wants.

I'm 24. I'm not going to get a cert every year til the day I die. At some point I am going to stop or seriously slow down. I want a CCNP next year, then my MBA the year after. And if I get a 90-100k senior level position after, I'll probably become a little complacent too.

paul78

Just my 2 cents - but it doesn't have to be about being complacent - there is nothing wrong with being satisfied with life so you can appreciate it. I'm pretty sure no one ever laid on their death-bed wishing that they should have gotten one more tech certification.

@dave330i - at 5 years into your career, I'm sure you have many more to go

Taking a year to enjoy where you are isn't always so bad.

Dakinggamer87

I know for myself my drive for certifications has gone way down because I spend more time in other areas of my life. I am very content in that regard and if I cert up it's only if it's required by my company or for renewal as needed.

@dave330i: There is nothing wrong with enjoying where you are at in your life at the current job you are at. I know for myself I have been at VMware for almost 3 years and I love it for the most part. I still work on improving myself as I'm a firm believer in hard work/ethics and so forth but I am not going to push myself over the edge. I take more pleasure from doing fun activities such as hitting the gym, gaming, traveling, church, and community service. The only major milestone I plan to tackle is my Master's next year and I think one of the reasons I personally slowed down is to enjoy life for what is truly means as I hit 100k+ around the age of 26-27 so my desire slowed in that area. Taking time to step back is always great to balance yourself out. Always strive to do better is my motto but also it's important to reflect on your progress and where you started. Enjoying the blessings from along the journey!!

@paul78: Agreed enjoy life it's short enough as it is

kohr-ah

My drive to get cert after cert after cert has gone down. Way down. However my drive to learn technology has gone up. Fiddling and tweaking with Junos now, Linux, Fortinets, large virtual labs, esx, automating in python. That is what I have learned I am enjoying.

So it seems my 5 years my priorities have changed but for the better. Cert is just a piece of paper showing people that I took time to learn the material but to be able to show how it works in depth and be excited about it seems like I am going the right way.

NOC-Ninja

Im still pushing it but not as hard when I was studying for CCIE. I have more/bigger responsibilities now and recently started grad school.
Im definitely happy on my accomplishment if I look back 5 years. I never thought I will ever become a CCIE and handle multiple/BIG projects.

dave330i

Thanks for the all the comments.

There is a significant financial benefits in obtaining a VCDX, so it's not just another cert. I believe there's a 6 month window for me to attempt this before my knowledge becomes dated.

On the flipside, I can achieve all my goals w/out VCDX. It'll just take few years longer. It's nice having options, but sometimes it's a pain to make a decision.

Danielm7

Agree with everyone else. For what it's worth, when we hire someone at the architect level we look for 7-10+ years in the role, so I'd say you're doing just fine. With that said I don't know anything about the VMWare path so that might not apply.

bpenn

I read an article about a nurse who watched many elderly people pass in nursing homes. She said that the number one thing they regretted was spending their whole lives working long hours and grinding away, losing time with their families and the possibility of traveling. I understand growth and the desire to be successful but I think there should be a balance. I want to continue to pursue growth but I also want to spend as much time doing the things I like to do, also. I only have one shot at this life and I am going to do what ultimately makes me happy.