New Computer

[CougTek]

I don't mean the computers will fix themselves, I meant that they are being replaced with tablets! I am pretty good with a PC if I do say so myself, but put a clumsy touch interface on it and I'm a goner.

Want to learn something relatively simple that will garantee you a job in the foreseable future? Learn the Cisco CLI for their switch. Probably half of the IT world runs on Cisco switch and AFAIK, there is and has been a short supply of people knowing how to manage them properly. It's boring, but it pays well and it grants you access to pretty high-end hardware so you can widen your knowledge field.

 

[Bozo]

Actually learning any of the older OSs will be a huge benefit down the road. Things like AS400 and Open VMS are still being used and probably will for quite some time.

 

[CougTek]

Learning how to program a Cisco switch is something accessible to a teenager. Just buy a used one off eBay and play on it following the documentation available on Cisco's web site.

Now tell me how a fifteen-years-old is supposed to get access to an AS400?

 

[ddrueding]

Learning how to program a Cisco switch is something accessible to a teenager. Just buy a used one off eBay and play on it following the documentation available on Cisco's web site.

This is something I can attest to. Two of my first roommates went this route; finding old hardware on eBay and spending months building up and tearing down configurations. Within a year they passed many of the CCxx certification exams and went directly to $80k+/yr. They are now easily double that. All without a college degree by working/studying 10hrs/day on something (I find) incredibly boring for more than a decade.

I couldn't do it that way; the work was too dreary. And if they weren't at the top of the game now they would be in trouble; most of this work is being done from India at the moment.

 

[sedrosken]

The whole "buying" thing is a bit of a problem. I'll be looking at getting a summer job, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[P5-133XL]

Look into downloading Cisco emulators, if buying isn't an option.

 

[ddrueding]

The whole "buying" thing is a bit of a problem. I'll be looking at getting a summer job, but I'm not holding my breath.

They were buying way old equipment; stuff that would have been tens of thousands at one point ended up being less than $300.

 

[LunarMist]

I'm not really interested in Cisco, I need the updated CPU/mainboard RAM. (Maybe there could be another thread about computer careers?)

 

[ddrueding]

Sorry for the derailment, but I don't think there is a significantly better CPU for you in the foreseeable future. A mainboard might be necessary to get you more RAM and SATA3. It might also give you better OC'ing capabilities (along with a monster cooler).