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Being on graveyard should not be synonymous with digging graves. Specifically my own.

I’ve covered an exceptional amount of ground, and been able to stay consistently employed for the past several years (minus a few breaks along the way), but the matter of being employable is a different story. I say that I’ve covered an exceptional amount of ground because just about every piece of knowledge I have has been acquired through my own means, and with no formal education being involved. And for a while, this worked. It would seem though that I am nearing the end the line.

My two options are: 1) To go back to school and get a degree. Going back to school is an intriguing idea, but the amount of time involved (as well as money required) is nothing short of daunting. Despite my own fears about this, I don’t think it’s completely off the table.

The other choice is: 2) Force myself to learn things that I have not bothered with. I can, with no second thoughts, call myself a jack of all trades, but a master of none. I’ve been talking about this for a while, but the three things I feel I should cram into my cranium are:

1. Learn a programming language. I’ve toyed with Python for a while, based on the fact it is more forgiving to new and aspiring programmers. However, interest levels have always been on the low side, and somehow I can never budget the time out to give it a fair chance. That’s my fault. The other choice is Perl, which is what every successful programmer friend of encouraged me to do.
2. Pick up some knowledge of databases. MySQL is the 800lb gorilla with this stuff, and from a little bit of searching, it appears there is plenty of information for someone new to read up on. I’ve heard many good things about PostgreSQL, but it seems like the documentation assumes that you already have some background with DBs. So, for now, MySQL it is. Eventually, however, I would like to have some confidence with both of them.
3. Network certification. The Cisco Certified Network Associate (“CCNA”) is the place to start with this, and it is not difficult to get. It does require a bit of reading, and fucking around with routers (physical or virtual, doesn’t seem to matter much…) in order to have a decent chance at passing the tests involved. The costs are negligible versus the potential gains it can have on income.

It’s been a very long time since I have made any type of personal commitment to learn anything completely new, but if I can push forward, and get my hands nice and dirty with these things, I may be able to get out of this rut I am currently in.