Am I still marketable?
Hello World
For the past 18 years I have enjoyed my career in IT Healthcare at Mayo Clinic. Always feeling like I was valued in the company and not worrying much about whether my job would be there tomorrow or not. I’ve held a few different positions that have given me experience with helpdesk and desktop support, server and telecom administration, some project management, and even data cabling. Currently I have a position as a Senior IT Systems Engineer in our IT Monitoring Operations Center. But after 20 years I still feel like I have a lot to learn because I have not kept up with continuing education. If it was decided that I wasn’t needed anymore, how quickly could I find a job? I currently have an Associate degree and 18 years experience in healthcare. But I have no idea what that would get me with another company.
These Day's
In my current position, I am learning more about how other applications interact with each other and perform on the back end, but my technical skills are not being used as much. And once kids started to come along, I didn’t have the time I used to for keeping up with the latest technology. My resume would be stagnant over the past 10 years. Thankfully I have a good core of friends around me who care about me and my future to just let me sit around and continue to let my talents plateau.
Near term goals
Since I currently hold zero industry certifications, that feels like the best place to start. I have industry experience; I just need to gain technology specific experience. I have decided to start working on Cloud based certifications. More specifically Microsoft Azure. In the little free time I have, I have been working on self study options as well as working with a friend who is very knowledge both with the application and certifications. I won’t lie to you, trying to juggle a full-time job, family activities, and sleep while working on this has been difficult. Some weeks I haven’t been able to do any work. Other weeks, I feel like I made good progress. But this is what needs to be done in order to make myself marketable to other employers as well as my own.
AZ-104
With the help of Mayo Clinic, I have currently taken the AZ-104 test twice (the first one was just a gauge to see where I was when I started) and although I have failed them both. I am optimistic that I can do this if I stay on track. I have committed to bettering myself for Mayo Clinic, the patients we treat, myself and my family. Thankfully those around me are just as excited to see me succeed and see how far I can go.
