🚀 It's About that (Tech) Time Again! Leveling Up With Certs & Automation - Let's Talk About It!
It’s January, and it’s go time!
Happy new year, newsletter fam!
It’s officially 2024, and #TheTechHustle crew is back in action with the very first newsletter of the year—and we brought a lot of good ish with us.
First things first, though: How’s the new year treating everybody so far?
Things have been moving fast but sailing smoothly on the TTH end. It’s all about goals and growth for our crew this year—and the best part: Y’all are a part of TTH!
Like the title says, we’re in the mode of leveling up! With that in mind, this newsletter will be very instrumental in helping relay knowledge to you all throughout the year.
You can learn about the value of a newsletter on this post written by
, our lovely intern and contributor. She so eloquently breaks down what a NL is and how we’ll use them to explore and encourage the intersection of tech and the culture.Alright, alright…enough with the small talk, let’s get to the gold.
If you’re new here, WELCOME. If you’re true here, WELCOME BACK.
Let’s get this thing in motion…
👨🏾💻 Tech Talk Gems: IT Certifications & Automation
What’s up, good people!
Suffice it to say that the January’s podcast convos were full of gems💎
I’m talking straight knowledge that will be especially helpful to those of you who may just be starting out or are ready to get to the next level in your tech journey.
This month we were talking about IT CERTIFICATIONS 📜🏅and AUTOMATING YOURSELF OUT OF A ROLE 🤖 (in a good way, I promise!).
No matter where you are on tech trail—systems engineering, cloud engineering, sysadmin, DevOps, etc.—this is for you.
#TheTechHustle Podcast 🎙 can be found on ALL podcast platforms and YouTube
🔗 Gems from Season 2, Episode 7 (TTH Podcast)
Mentee Question: BobbyD, which IT certifications did you get? And which ones would you get if you had a chance to start over?
Glad you asked. Some of you may not know this, but I didn’t go the traditional school/college 🎓 route. My break into the industry was done with certifications, and that’s why I strongly recommend them to my mentees and anyone interested in tech.
Here’s my list of ⭐BobbyD-approved⭐ IT certifications for leveling up:
👨🏾💻 CompTIA A+: Coming in first on the list with the highest recommendation is the A+ cert. This was the first certification yours truly got back in 2001. It’s a foundational, entry-level certification that will teach you about computers from the bottom up.
👨🏾💻 CompTIA Network+: This is another one I secured early in the game and that set me up for a lot of success in the industry. Again, entry-level and foundational.
👨🏾💻 CompTIA Linux+: Entry-level, foundational, and another one I have under my belt. This cert opened up the opportunity for me to ascend in my skillset and eventually work at Twitter. Highly recommended.
👨🏾💻 RedHat Certifications: Consider the RedHat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification. This right here, this certification right here! When I got this certification, doors were flying open! It takes the crown 👑 for leveling up.
The goal is to open up your skillset. Don’t stop with this list. I recommend going after certifications that others seem to be less interested in or not want to pursue. Find an untouched niche, get certified in it, and pave your path forward.
Trust me, this route is a lot easier (and in a lot of ways, more profitable) than going after a 2- or 4-year degree. Nothing against those who do! But you can validate your ability to be an engineer or admin or whatever other role with a certification or two.
Leave a comment and let us know what certification(s) you’re pursuing or thinking about getting to level up!
🔗 Gems from Season 2, Episode 8 (TTH Podcast)
Mentee Question: BobbyD, what were some of the things you worked on during your time at Twitter?
Ahhh, the obligatory reflection on my years as a Twitter engineer.
No complaints!
So, I’m a big proponent for the concept and practice of automating yourself out of a job. And before you get your connections crossed, hear me out!
I’m not saying it in the sense of creating systems that will take over your role entirely and result in you being laid off. Far from it. I’m talking about using automation to free up your time so you can be more productive in other areas.
Storytime:
Your boy worked at Twitter for a decade, and in that time I made my way up to Staff engineer (high-level engineer) managing large infrastructures around the world.
One of the best parts of my job was having the freedom to invent some pretty cool software, one of which was called AUTOBIRD.
In a nutshell, AutoBird was about automating the process of getting the tens of thousands of computers in our data center geared up to serve production traffic—this included automating the boot process, operating system installation, and making sure everything was ready to go. All within 1.5 hours. It was me and a team of seven other engineers responsible for creating this software, and believe me when I tell you it was one of the best projects I worked on while at Twitter.
It automated me out of having to handle the tedious task of prepping computers.
(For the whole story, check out S2E8 of #TheTechHustle Podcast 🎙️💎, streaming on all platforms. )
But, I’m telling you this to explain the power of automation, and how in the right context, it can be your best friend.
I recommend learning a programming language that will help you create systems and software that take some of the load off your plate so you have more time to level up.
Python: This one is easy to adopt and learn, and it’s one that I find works best for most tech candidates. It’s a very phonic language, meaning the way you read it is the way it works. It has a ton of libraries and frameworks that will make building automation a breeze.
Java: An interpreting programming language. Great for back-end dev, OOP and foundational programing.
GoLang: Produced by Google. Lower level language, but strongly recommended.
Rust: Next-level programming language. A compiled language you can use to write code that runs even faster. Modern version of C and C++.
Life Lesson: It’s easy to think that automation will take over your role and replace you. I get it. I’ve heard the horror stories too. But in actuality, it makes you more adaptable, giving you the space to work on other things instead of the same thing for years. That then gives you more room to scale and grow in your tech career.
Shameless Plug: #TheTechHustle has a GitHub repository where you can learn Python. Get a basic understanding of how Python works and where it fits in, in the world of programming languages.
💡 Raymond’s Nuggets!
Let’s give my man Raymond the respect he deserves as he steps in with nuggets and valuable info that keep us on our toes and in the game!
There’s only one rule: Don’t call him Ray Ray!
How Long to Beat 👀 (Howlongtobeat.com)
This questionably named site is actually a valuable resource for gamers 🎮 who want to manage their time better. HLTB provides estimates for how long it will take to beat your favorite games. It’s geared toward people who play single-mode campaign games.
Ninite 🖥️ (Ninite.com)
If you’re the ‘tech head’ of the family, chances are you get harassed by family members and friends to fix any- and everything computer-related or electronic. If it plugs in, they think you can fix it, right?
That’s a collective experience for all of us.
Well, now you can just send them to Ninite after a fresh OS install. This site is exclusively for Windows users and will conduct a fresh install of applications. Because, honestly, a fresh install may be better than trying to ‘fix’ whatever’s going on.
IFIXIT 🔧(Ifixit.com)
This one is for the handymen (and women). IFIXIT is a community of fixers who help each other repair things. Stop overpaying for repair services. Get all the details and DIY instructions you’ll need to do the repair yourself.
WeTransfer 💾 (Wetransfer.com)
How many times have you tried sending a large file only to get hit with the ‘This file exceeds…’ message?
Yeah, don’t worry about that anymore. With WeTransfer, you can send files up to 2 gigs for FREE.
Level up, level up, level up!
📰 DHustle’s News & Current Events (January)
Y’all know it wouldn’t be a newsletter without our guy DHustle checking in with current events, right? Here’s a rundown of the biggest news of the month.
A lot has been lot going on in January. The top of the year and a lot of big news coming from some of our favorite brands and businesses:
Sony’s Standalone Headset. Sony has announced that it will be releasing a standalone MR (mixed reality) headset with a 4K LED screen and unique controllers. No price on it yet.
There’s a lot of competition in VR (virtual reality) right now, with names like Sony and Apple securing their seats in the industry.
Apple Vision Pro. The Apple Vision Pro—Apple’s first 3D camera—is now available for preorder and is set to release on February 2. You can secure one for $3,495—a price Apple says is likely to attract highly motivated buyers.
AR smart glasses are said to be pushing the limits at CES 2024. Several companies are putting in their best to be industry leaders, while others are stepping their game up to be able to compete.
Alaska Airline Mishap. Passengers on one of Alaska Airline’s passenger planes were in for a surprise early in the year. On January 5, a door flew off one of its 737 MAX 9 planes at 16,000 feet, resulting in an emergency landing. Some sources say it was due to ‘loose bolts,’ while others claim the door was not properly secured before takeoff.
Malfunction or user error? We may never know.
JetBlue CEO Steps Down. And for the first time in history, a woman will lead the airline. Joanna Geraghty has become the first woman to lead a major US carrier.
Bitcoin ETF. Bitcoin is now being offered on the NYSE. This is a major move that is now giving everyone the access to Bitcoin.
Microsoft Copilot. The AI software is now being offered for $20 per user. Referred to as an ‘AI companion,’ the software has the ability to adapt to your needs and offer help where you need it most while working in Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Excel.
#1 Microsoft, #2 Apple. After holding the spot of most valuable company for an entire decade, Apple has officially relinquished its title to Microsoft. The latter is contributing its continued success to AI. Regardless of how they did it, this is a MAJOR accomplishment for Microsoft.
👋🏾…Not Goodbye, Just See You Later…
That’s all for January, fam.
Hopefully there’s some info you found valuable in this newsletter. Take what resonates and use it to get you started on the next phase of your tech journey.
There’s always another way to level up.
We’ll give you the ladder if you’re willing to climb!
Until next time! Peace!
Special shoutout and thank you to our sponsor, Mar-velous Creations.
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