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I usually don’t post about certifications, but October always has a back to school feel about it, so I thought I’d share some recent certification milestones and thoughts on life-long learning.
Earlier this year, I recertified my CCIE through to 2028, at which point I will be a 20-year CCIE and as my kids like to point out, very old. Before 2008, I had spent 10 years developing skills through certifications in Microsoft and Check Point, as well as CCNA and CCNP. This was all motivated by the most obvious benefit of life-long learning, career development.
These certifications were almost entirely developed through self-certification and investment of my own time in my late 20’s and early 30’s. I did this to take control of my career direction, and it’s led me through promotions, a successful contracting career, CTO roles and now to the formation of my own business at Starfish. It was challenging but more than justified by the sense of achievement and the confidence I got from these skills.
Although my dedication to learning slowed after my CCIE, as I focused my personal time more on my young family, I did manage some entry level F5 certifications and lot of renewals. However, 17 years later I’ve found renewed enthusiasm, and I’ve started on an Nvidia certification path. Earlier this month I completed the Nvidia Certified Associate: AI Infrastructure and Operations and I’ve begun work on Nvidia Certified Professional: AI Networking, which I am hugely enthusiastic about.
While the benefits of learning 20 years ago were very focused on my career development, in my 50’s the motivation is different. Continued learning helps with mental health and maintaining cognitive ability, as well as motivation, purpose, and fulfilment. All these things contribute to a wider wellness in life. By happy coincidence, next week I will be at Nvidia GTC in Washington exactly 17 years to the day after my successful CCIE lab back in 2008. If anyone else from my network is attending, let me know, it would be great to meet up.