I’m trying to retake the medication that I took back in high school (Concerta) so I can study for and eventually take the Comptia A+ exam. The idea being that I’ve a decently-paying remote job that will benefit both my wife and I. My wife, however, refuses to let me get my meds. This isn’t the first we’ve had this conversion and every time she says the same thing: “You just need to focus naturally”, “It’s all in your head”, “Doctors are only in it for themselves” and so on. There’s no getting through to her and I’m tired of trying to get to reason with me. I think I’m going to get my meds in secret and hide them. I know that this is a bad idea but she leaves me no choice. Any advice?
Not going to comment on the meds, but if you are just taking A+ in hopes it will help get jobs, I’m not sure it’s the best time spent. I’ve been in IT for over a decade, and no one ever cares about A+ cents. Some of the worst techs I’ve interviewed have had A+, and some of the best did not.
If you focus more of building random projects, setup a homelab for example, I think you’ll gain a lot more real world knowledge which goes a long way in interviews.
I’d say do both. Get the cert, but do cool shit in your spare time.
Not in IT, but I’m convinced ive been hired many times because I do a lot of interesting stuff people find useful, like repair cars (simple maintenance to full on engine rebuilds and some body work), read a lot of books, recording and mixing music, repairing electronics etc. It shows them right off that I’m a problem solver who is agile, which is what they really want.
Some of the worst technical people I’ve ever worked with had bachelor degrees in computer science, so there is that.
I beg to differ. Certs are the way to get your foot in the door. It used to always be about the degree but now they’re only interested in what certs you have, the shift happened right after getting my degree.
Are any of the other certs better, like the Sec+?
Honestly not really, having them might help you get an interview, but if there is a more knowledgeable candidate that doesn’t have any certs at all, it’s likely they will still be chosen.
The best thing you can do is just be curious. Do you like networking? Setup some vlans at home and truly try to understand how they work. Don’t just memorize the steps you need to set one up.
More interested in server admin? Setup Proxmox on an old laptop, host a simple website on it. Figure out how reverse proxies work, and what they are used for.
There’s essentially endless paths you can take, just find something you think is cool and learn a ton about it. Interviewers can easily tell if you are passionate and knowledgeable, and those trump any certs 99% of the time.
Get everything you can get. Start with the A+ then get the Sec ones. A+ gives you a good foundation to get going and the more certs you have the better your chances. You can get a helpdesk job with A+ and from there you can get other certs.
Stick to your plan, don’t let people put you off.
As for your partner, get the meds and don’t tell her. Women over-think these things and despite what they’ll have you believe, they will underestimate what you’re feeling just as much as we can do to them. It’s that human “it worked for me, it’ll work for you” mentality we all fall into sometimes.
Stay consistent with your studies and good luck on your exam.