>If they think you are young, they will probably think I am still a baby
>being only 19. I have my CCNA, 1/4 CCNP and actively seeking MCSE 2k. I
>also have an AA degree and also seeking my bachelor degree in computer
>science. I plan on getting my CCIE within the next few years. I have
>worked with an internet company for more than three years now. I have
>been told that I am impatient and immature, but I am not one to just sit
>around. If anyone can help me dispel some of these notions I would be
>greatly thankful. Also if someone veterans can give some pointers/tips on
>how to make it in this industry, that would also be helpful. I hope all
>this hard work pays off!
>
>Dale
You're giving me interesting flashbacks, since I started around your
age. This will be a rambling response that I hope has some useful
points.
Speaking for myself only, I have to look back and say I was, at that
age, impatient and immature. But I also was more productive than
many of my older peers, both as a writer/editor and as a programmer.
Not sure that I will articulate this well, but if I had 20/20
hindsight, I would have been somewhat more proactive about the
package I was selling to employers. My first wife, who also was in
the field, referred to me, in my early 20's, as someone that should
be locked into a room, to which software specifications were slid
under the door, raw zebra meat thrown into three times per day, and
from which polished code would slide out of a different slot.
The irony was that I got into the more technical areas of computing
via the publications/documentation track (admittedly, I had started
in a different technical area), but didn't make use of these
strengths until later in my career. It took me several years to
understand that it was often less important (even in days where
resources were really tight) to write extremely small yet cryptic
code, that wasn't clearly documented for subsequent maintenance and
testing. Admittedly, much of this insight was gained from the hot new
field of software engineering and structured programming, which I
tend to think really started with Dijkstra's 1968 (IIRC) paper "Go To
Considered Harmful." The absolutely best book from that period,
which, while not specifically network-oriented but giving incredible
insight into architecture vs. design vs. implementation, was Fred
Brooks' _The Mythical Man-Month_. This book recently was reissued in
an updated edition.
In the aftershocks from the sixties, there were lots of "human
potential movement" workshops available, which I found significantly
improved my people skills without hurting my technical abilities.
Leaping forward to the early eighties, I remember my first wife (she
of the raw zebra meat metaphor) commenting, in shock, that I was
just as technical as I ever was, but that I had also become a GOOD
manager. In that role, I thought of my principal role as coach --
helping people that worked for me do their best.
There's an underlying message in lots of this, both from technical
and people perspectives. On this list, you'll see it expressed as
"what problem are you trying to solve." Something always to ask!
>
>
>On Mon, 26 Feb 2001, Mel Chandler PMI wrote:
>
>> I'm 29 and all I ever hear about is how young I am (I guess youth is
>> automatically associated with inexperience) But I've been around. I've
>> done a four year tour in the Navy in the Advanced Electronics field as a
>> Sonar Technician on a Submarine. I've worked for some fortune 500 companies
>> like Airtouch, IBM, Boeing, AST, Bergen Brunswick. I have some certs to
>> back me up, but no matter what I do, it just never seems to be enough... Oh
>> well, maybe after I have a PhD and CCIE I'll get someone to listen to me.
>>
>> Mel L. Chandler, A+, Network+, MCNE, MCP+I, MCSE, CCNA
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Network Analyst
>> Information Services
>> PMI Delta Dental
>> (562) 467-6627
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
> > From: John Hardman [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>> Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2001 9:30 AM
>> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Subject: Re: what is the average age of people in this stuff?
>>
>>
>> LOL!
>>
>> I am 36, and have the same problem, thank Cisco that they put a ? in the
>> IOS.
>>
>> Don't worry about it, most of the people I work (worked) with in the network
>> business are between 20-60 with the majority being in their 40's.
>>
>> They say that memory is the first thing to go, I just wish would have told
>> my body that!
>>
>> --
>> John Hardman CCNP MCSE+I
>>
>>
>> ""rtc"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED]">news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
>> > I'm 40--am I getting too old for this stuff? Cant remember anything worth
>> a
>> > damn,
>> > especially the commands nd command syntax
>> >
>> > _________________________________
>> > FAQ, list archives, and subscription info:
>> http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
>> > Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >
>>
>>
>> _________________________________
>> FAQ, list archives, and subscription info:
>> http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
>> Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>> _________________________________
>> FAQ, list archives, and subscription info:
>>http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
>> Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>
>_________________________________
>FAQ, list archives, and subscription info:
>http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
>Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
_________________________________
FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
