On this episode of The Smart IT Podcast, I welcomed Terry Kim, CEO and Founder of NexGenT, to the show. We talked about a path forward to both those looking to get into IT for the first time and those looking to move up in their existing tech careers. We discussed about the the opportunities out there, from working with a wide array of companies to one day opening up their on IT consulting firms. We discussed several insightful areas, including:
-There is a better way to break into IT.
-There are ways to work your way up the opportunity ladder.
-The value of real world hands on experience is moving up in your career, taking on more complex roles, and increasing one's salary.
-The birth of "Zero to Engineer", including the story of training young adults how to build mission critical networks to support soldiers on the battlefield.
-The high cost of college and the challenges of "paper" certification. How the lack of hands-on experience shows up in the interviews process.
-At NextGenT, students can learn networking, DevOps/Cloud, Big Data/ML, product UI, blockchain (2024). There are opportunities for making money and taking on less student loan debt. Training times of 4-months versus 4-years.
-Problems with certification and cheating on exams. Not what CIOS are looking for (they want hands on experience). People need need practical hands on training and real world experience. His programs includes capstone projects. Program based on job readiness framework, tested and validated in the military.
-Network engineering is feeder to cyber security. Beside software engineer there are other areas in tech lots of opportunities. For example, there are hundreds of thousands of cyber jobs in US.
-Opportunities for people to work directly for companies (small and large like Fortune 500), consulting firms, technology manufacturers, service providers, governments, manufacturers, technology providers/resellers, and Cloud providers.
-Networking is the plumbing on the Internet, providing the backbone for billions of devices on the network. The networking engineering role is evolving and being enhanced. Networking Infrastructure is continually being updated and improved.
There are incredible opportunities to make 6-figures without being a doctor or lawyer. A true American dream. We have to rethink the idea of needing a 4-year degree. IT is about skill stacking. There is a path to finding work you love to do, with less student loan debt, in a shorter period of time. This is an exciting time to explore a career in IT. This is an exciting time to move up the ladder. There are ways to get unstuck. Take you career to next level by upskilling into new areas like DevOps/Cloud and AI, moving into management or a architect role, or transitioning in consulting.
#networking #certification #skills #training #networkengineering #cloud #devops #ai #machinelearning #it #technology #career #smartit
Brilliant Beam Media Syya Yasotornrat
Show Notes Resources
Terry Kim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/projectkim/
Project Kim: https://www.projectkim.com/
Terry on X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/projectkim
NGT Academy: https://ngt.academy/
NGT Blog: https://nexgent.com/blog
Zero to Engineer: https://zerotoengineer.com/
Zero to Engineer - Book
Free copy of Terry's new book: zerotoengineer.com/book
Hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Engineer-American-Financial-Technologies/dp/B0CKGS8BWY/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1699287687&sr=8-1
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Engineer-American-Financial-Technologies/dp/B0CJL3GH9C/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1699287687&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Engineer-American-Financial-Technologies-ebook/dp/B0CJX3X3MN/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1699287687&sr=8-1
