Read the Words for Training Contest Essays

[Kasia]

If you participated in the Words for Training Contest on Train Signal Training and would like to publish your essay on our forums please do so here!

Then make sure to post the link to your essay on Train Signal Training in the comments to this article: http://www.trainsignaltraining.com/free-training-contest-winners/2008-07-25/

Thanks :)
Kasia

[gortega]

Essay

What are the most important goals you have set for yourself as an IT professional (or an aspiring IT professional) and how do you plan to achieve them

My name is Gerardo Ortega and I come from Bayamon, Puerto Rico. I obtain a Bachelor Degree in Computer Science with specialization in Network Administration, from the Interamerican University, Bayamon Puerto Rico Campus. I want to describe the most important goals that I want to achieve as an IT Professional and how I will work for it. One of my goals is to become a IT Auditor and Consultant. For this goal, I have to prepare very well in some skills that are required to assume this type of work. I have to be very Customer Service Oriented and more with the clients, that are our reason of work. I as an IT Professional, with my knowledge and the knowledge that I can obtain I could help my clients to be more productive in their enterprises. Also, as an Auditor, I can verify if the information systems are working as the way they should and if not, I can provide some recommendations of how they can fix that errors and be better in their work.
The way that I will use to achieve this goal is seeing the training videos of Train Signal form IT Network Administration and practicing the labs from networking tools. Some of the jobs that an Network Administrator do are: Revision of server logs, installation and configuration of Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, etc and creation of users, groups, group policies, and others. As an IT Consultant I can revise policies of the company and verify if they are up- to date and as an IT Auditor, I can make recommendations in case of found a failure in this policies. One important goal of an IT Department is that they should always have a DRP (Disaster Recovery Plan) so in case of an emergency, the enterprise can have a continuation of their operations without too much administrative effort. I’m studying actually a Master Degree in Science of Information Systems Auditing. With this Master Degree, and obtaining the CISA certification I will have the basics to become a successfully IT Auditor. Another thing that is very important and I will do to is obtain certifications and expertise in networking and security. The security field is very competitive in the IT field, and there is no too much people certified in this field. The ethical hacking and security is very important to make a closer look at these themes because the security in the information systems infraestructure are a crucial part of a organization and not all the organizations have their infrastructure secure as the way they should. This is one of the main reasons that make organizations to loss productivity, money, etc. as a failure of information security.
Another goal that I have was obtain the opportunity of have my own IT Consulting company. As a CEO of this company, I can search potential clients to make solid network infraestructures with servers, routers, computers and more, so the productivity of this organizations can be better. To achieve this goal, I will work hard to learn more about different technologies like Microsoft, Cisco, Linux, VMWare, and others, that are solid companies in this industry. Another thing that I will do is certify. The IT Certifications are very important in our industry because they validate your knowledge and experience in a specific technology.
I have other goal that I want to make is help other people that want to become certified or better in the IT industry. For this, I can prepare courses with focus in different technologies that help this people to be successful in the IT Industry. The purpose of this document was to show the main goals that I have as an IT Professional and the things that I will do to achieve or obtain this goals.

I will appreciate your comments about my essay. Enjoy it!

Regards

Gerardo Ortega

[dynamik]

I forgot about this, so here's mine:

For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed about being in the IT field. I have been using computers since I was a young child, but my obsession for technology didn’t fully bloom until I was in high school. My freshman year, I was starting quarterback on the varsity football team, and I could bench-press 350 pounds. I thought I had everything going for me. However, something was off. I could sense it as I walked down the halls. People would smile and adore me, but it seemed disingenuous.

One day, I peeked out of a classroom to see what was really going on. I was shocked and horrified at what I saw. Everyone was congregating around them, the nerds and the geeks. Their skills were unparalleled. I could pick up a dozen computers simultaneously and carry them from room to room, but they could make dozens, maybe even hundreds of computers communicate through a network of cables. I couldn’t even grasp the concept at the time.

Was it magic? I was determined to find out. I started by bullying them ruthlessly, but they were resilient and resisted my best efforts. I tried to make amends and have them teach me their ways, but they said I was hopeless. I can’t really fault them for thinking so. The spacebar was the only key my fat fingers could press without mashing down all the adjacent ones as well. Then and there, I told myself that IT wasn’t for me, and that I had no future there. However, I could never get it fully out of my mind.

Things only got worse once I was in college. These guys weren’t the amateurs from high school; they seemed like pros. They knew how to unlock iPhones and acquire the latest albums before they were even released. Some could even eavesdrop on other users’ wireless traffic. What kind of Voodoo was that!? All I could do was watch from the sidelines. The fame, the women, I wanted it! I was overcome with jealousy.

Regardless, I stuck by my resolution. I continued with athletics and went on to quarterback my college team as well. I achieved a decent level of success and popularity. I dated all the cheerleaders, sometimes taking three or four out at the same time. They always seemed eager to go, but once on the date, they often had a vacant, distant look in their eyes. I knew who they were really thinking about. I hate to admit it, but similar things were on my mind as well.

I put up a brave front. I tried to ignore what was happening to me. I would watch basketball recaps on Sports Center, but I was really converting the scores to binary in my head. I went to the bookstore to get the latest Sports Illustrated, but Windows IT Pro always caught my eye. Well, I couldn’t see it because it was obstructed by a popsicle-stick craft magazine, but I knew it was there. I fantasized about being on the cover, being one of the few people in the world to possess those elite skills! People would roll out the red carpet no matter where I went. The thought was just to tantalizing to let go!

The sad part was that I knew even the college kids were small-fries in the grand scheme of things. The true IT professionals are the ones that we never see, the ones working busily behind the scenes. They facilitate the transportation of millions of people’s thoughts, ideas, and emotions every second. Without them, websites like YouTube, MySpace, and I Can Has Cheezburger? would not exist. They have dramatically changed the course of the world, and that realization, in turn, changed my life forever. I diverged from the path I had followed for years, and started working towards a career in IT.

I have dedicated my entire being to this pursuit. My muscles have all withered away. My skin is nearly translucent from the lack of sunlight. Without a wheeled chair or Segue, I’m literally immobile. What more could I possible give? I have nothing left to sacrifice. I feel as if I’m almost there; it can’t be much longer before my dream is fulfilled…

I hope everyone got a laugh out of that :D

I'm not trying to spam for another forum, but if you're interested in seeing a few reactions I got at another forum I frequent, check here (http://techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36702).