Learning about Networking

I recently moved to Raleigh, NC after my husband got a job out here. As I get older, I seem further east from my roots in Colorado, but I love the travel and experience to meet people in all areas of the country. Not to mention, I have seen so many great things that I am truly grateful for the opportunity to spread my wings and grow because each area I have left my mark in, I also learn new things.

As I settle into the area, I am trying to find a job. I really want a job in PR or communication. I have been applying around the area to anything and everything I think I would love.

But I also started a new daunting project. I want to get a Cisco certification in networking because I think it would help further my job prospects. I am also a person who loves to learn and have attention to great deal so I think it would be something I am good at and may like. It also gives me an interesting project to work because a lot of job searching is about waiting.

I am trying to go for CCENT. It is an intro certification for people who know nothing about the area of networking. But even if I stick with PR, this certification can give me a huge advantage. If I not only know how to use existing tools to network but how to create these networks, I can do a lot with outreach. Journalism is all about networking and knowing how to fix what you work with can be incredible.

The project is no easy task though. I am learning the basics of how a computer functions and it is even more complex than me. Symbols and computer language can get quite confusing but it is an amazing little world what a few wires and networking cards can do. So far,  I have learned about File Transfer Protocol (FTP), severs, and a few networking systems, TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) and ISO (International Standard of Organization). While I will not bore you with the details of how they work (and it would take me awhile to condense 35 pages of solid learning out of my Cisco CCENT book), I am really excited as I put these words into life and open up my computer to try things for myself.

Even though I am on chapter 2 of 18, I would whole heartily recommend anybody interested in journalism to really learn the basics of networking because it puts it into a whole new light. It's amazing how fast technology can work and how the Internet work. Heck this blog post is being hosted over a server - and with the command  protocol of HTTP, you can see it.

Once I get my CCENT, I may push forward toward CCNA. Luckily, I have a technology nerd husband who can help me along the way!