So jeah it’s been a wihile since last time I posted on here, and there has been times where I had the possibility to post about it. But to be frank, it was but on the famoud “back burner”.
So there was quiet a few reasons as to why I have changed field, I was working as a SOC operator. Working shifts that where out of this world. I did not think working shifts would be a problem, thinking that is not going to be a problem. Oh was I ever wrong, I did not handle the shift work well at all. I basically could not get enough sleep when we changed start time 2-3 times a week. Let’s say I began 07:00 Monday, Thuesday, then off Wensday. But then start 23:00 on Thuesday etc…. We had a shcedule that had changes like that 2-3 times a week, pluss the 2 weekend shifts friday-sat-sun 12 hours.
Problems falling a sleep resulted me in staying awake from shift to shift change to be able to go to work at all, turns out this was a pretty shitty strategy it turns out…. Well it came a point where I was loosing so much weight, it was becoming a serious health concern. I was left with no choice really other than to get a job where I had normal working hours.
At the same time I was asked if I would be interested in working in another department for the same company, there was essentially a shortage of man power. The department was basically not able to handle the workload that they were assigned, there was done some lack luster “changes” done to the department structure. The good old “lets smack several departments togeather and call it a day” Because then they would be more ppl in the department that is struggeling with work load ? Well that is not how it works, the workload remains shared over the same number of ppl…..
So I was asked if I where interested in joining the Server/vm (linux vnware) team. I said yes in a heart beat….
So how does one transition from SOC to a production/Infrastructure team? I had no prior experience working in this side of the field, well I was an apprentice handling support for a county, but still cant be compared to the infrasturcture we have at my current possistion. So how did I handle the transition ?
READ BOY READ!!!!!
If i got a dollar for each subject I lacked experience / knowledge in or was totally blank… Oh I would be well-off, Ive constantly been reading up on new topics, rereading material on things I hadn’t touched since I was studying in school. Keep in mind that I took a 2 year “after education” for Network and IT security. So never really focused on the production side of it, so I have to double down on the apparently gaping holes.
You know nothing John Snow….
I have come to pretty harsh realization these past few months, I really felt like i knew something about protocols, infrastructure, services etc…. NOPE
Well let me be more specific, there was a wast amount of stuff relating to HOW and WHEN and WHERE I was pretty much oblivious to, since I was never exposed to the production side of IT. It where never something I had to consider/worry about, one might argue that it is “practical application” of the technologies. As one of my biggest inspiration sources once said…
“The more I learn, the more I realize how much i don’t know”- Albert Einstein
Its kinda a sadistic truth to those words, what I have come to realize is that the more I learn about a technology, the more I see how it can be used in conjunction with other technology and built upon. And how that again can be used in other cases etc, it is like an never ending sea of possible combinations. And we are moving at a speed in deleting new technologies that improve, replace or both existing technology that again have new ways of being used in “practical application”
The back log….
So that is where I am now, in the Covid-19 days, working from home. Reading up on subjects I have discovered I need to know more about, that is basically how I have managed this transition. I’ve kept logging every subject that I have came across that i need to learn more about, like say spanning leaf, FCoE, Fabrics, Storewize, Ansible, Tower, Forman, Catello, SpaceWalk, Puppet, Winrm, And I have also been designated as a member of the group that is working with implementing new solutions for automation, and new use cases for our infrastructure. There are challenges ahead, but do I welcome them with open arms….. I’m overwhelmed with the possibility to challenge my self and contributing, something I see now I was lacking. Turns out its not healthy for my sanity to be sitting idle for to long. I need something to “solve/fix/do/fiddle” with, and I am apparently not the only one finding the aspect of comming to work and not doing anything the most dreadful thing, where as most “normal” people might find that “lucrative” I do not. My head always has some “cogs” turning twisting about in there, so for my part and many with ADD/ADHD “idleness is the root of all evil”. I’ve never been more satisfied with my career than I am today, even tough it seem stressful. I find it peaceful to think about that I have something to do everyday, and I am able to work on projects from start to finish!