Good IT things to learn for the workplace or future jobs?

Whistlestop

Hi,
my experience is within Active directory, configuring cisco switches and routers and doing a bit of virtualization (vmware,hyper-V), upgrading desktop PCs. Are there any good IT skills I can learn outside of work which can be achieved fairly easily and quickly in a home environment (i.e. where you have a couple of PCs and a basic switch) which maybe beneficial to improve my knowledge and allow me to present a better skill set for future jobs which are aimed at 1st or 2nd line support?

hope to hear some ideas soon.
thank you.

NetworkNewb

Scripting on how to do things faster and more efficient.

EANx

Both VMware and Microsoft have free virtual labs you can use. VMware: https://labs.hol.vmware.com/HOL/catalogs/catalog/681, Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/handsonlabs

poolmanjim

I have found that by building and maintaining my homelab I actually prepare myself for work every day.

I work as a Windows System Engineer and manage a host of Windows servers. We use WSUS for our patching (fun fact: even if you use SCCM, you really use WSUS for patching). I also use WSUS at home for my patching. A few weeks ago I was installing updates at home and ran into some weirdness and ended up spending an afternoon sorting it out. A few days later, I ran into a similar issue at work and because I had troubleshot it in lab, I was equipped better to troubleshoot it at work. This is the most recent of dozens of examples of this happening.

Labs are safe places. You can break stuff and if you do, you're the only one who hurts from it. Use your lab to learn. Break stuff. Fix stuff. Explore technologies that your company is never going to let you work on in fear it may break production.

Also, I second scripting. Just be careful here in the workplace. I have found sometimes that the script I want to write takes me longer than doing the task. You have to figure out how to measure your automation gains.

SteveLavoie

poolmanjim wrote: »

Also, I second scripting. Just be careful here in the workplace. I have found sometimes that the script I want to write takes me longer than doing the task. You have to figure out how to measure your automation gains.

I agree with this point, however many task need to be done more than once so at the second time, you really start to save time. Also, script are more predictable, even with all the best attention, if you need more than 2-3 step, on many iteration, there will be a variation.

NotHackingYou

Soft skills are #1

ITSec14

+1 for soft skills. Seen many people get promotions based solely on the fact that they were well liked and communicated well.

krokodilo

Toastmasters International.

Helps build soft skills + confidence. Also, you never know when knowing how to speak in front of an audience may come in handy.


Most clubs are workplace-based (strangely the oldest in Western Europe, which is in England, isn't) and 15% of their membership work in IT, the highest sector of all their members. As of writing there's 66 threads on this forum referencing Toastmasters, nearly all mentions are recommendations.

Based upon your CV I think you'll fit in perfectly, at least at my club, which is very informal and full of people with interesting life experiences.


It's also a fantastic place to Network, or at least learn how to network.

krokodilo

ITSec14 wrote: »

+1 for soft skills. Seen many people get promotions based solely on the fact that they were well liked and communicated well.

For many years, I conducted courses each season at the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia, and also courses for the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. A total of probably more than fifteen hundred engineers have passed through my classes. They came to me because they had finally realized, after years of observation and experience, that the highest-paid personnel in engineering are frequently not those who know the most about engineering. One can for example, hire mere technical ability in engineering, accountancy, architecture or any other profession at nominal salaries. But the person who has technical knowledge plus the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people-that person is headed for higher earning power.

How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie

Jon_Cisco

One machine and some virtualization software can get you started. What are you interested in?

You can run servers on a virtual machine or simulate networks with GNS3 or packet tracer. Between free trial software and youtube you can learn just about anything. I recommend two or three screens if you can do it. Helps a lot when watching videos.

Good Luck!

DatabaseHead

IT things to learn. Put another down for scripting. Python.

cabowabo

Wireshark

krokodilo

DatabaseHead wrote: »

IT things to learn. Put another down for scripting. Python.

That's very true. I've used Python scripts for everyday things.

DatabaseHead

krokodilo wrote: »

That's very true. I've used Python scripts for everyday things.

You can do so much with it. Build full blown web apps, script against OS's (tasking), stats and predictive analytics......

Our team has hired people who come from IT backgrounds into BI and solely based on their ability to manage data and build apps with Python. It's pretty silly to be honest.

If I wasn't so invested in SQL, Data Warehousing and Tableau I would go full throttle into Python.