ccna,and other networking certs

[Freecare Spiritwise]

My thought is pretty much everyone is given X amount of luck (i.e. opportunity) and they either capitalize on it or they don't. But again I'd say that it's no coincidence that most successful people have the same traits in common, and you can pretty much factor luck out for these people. When you have the right attitude, a decent brain and enough desire it's just a matter of time. If it's not this opportunity it'll be the next one, and they will always come if you look hard enough.

So yeah, I've always been a lucky bastard, but I don't attribute my success to it. I worked very hard to put myself in a position to take full advantage of the opportunities that came my way, and still do. I took some huge risks and had some moments like that Will Smith movie where my electricity is shut off and the landlord calls the fire department because I'm borrowing power from my neighbor with an extension cord. So I would say the luck doesn't come unless you put your chips on the table and throw the dice. Throw the dice enough times and they will come up your number.

Oh, and the way I hooked up with the temp agency was part of a plan to put myself near the computers I wanted to work with. So I spent a week cold calling out of the phone book. I called every employment agency and pretty much every local business that had the word 'computer' in its ad. The cool thing about an employment agency was that it exposed me to so many different companies and people and it was no strings attached. I worked for some huge companies like Verifone, and had a good rep with the agency.

[Kulaf]

That's a rough one Klast. One the one hand you might be able to leverage that opportunity into a partnership with your friend......and that is how I would approach it. Let him know that you are in it for the long haul if you join him you want a piece of the company. Any jobs he gets in the future worth doing are going to require more than him anyway. Unless he is a great project manager as well as doing all of the work.

On the other hand you have job security......and time for your family. I am guessing that the virt job is going to involve a ton of travel and time away......might not be something you are willing to do. Involve your wife in any decesion you are going to make and make sure she understands the toll it might take on your time together.

This is one of those decesions that you look back on no matter what you end up choosing and wonder......what if?

[Freecare Spiritwise]

If you don't take chances, you don't make advances...

That's a rough one Klast. One the one hand you might be able to leverage that opportunity into a partnership with your friend......and that is how I would approach it. Let him know that you are in it for the long haul if you join him you want a piece of the company. Any jobs he gets in the future worth doing are going to require more than him anyway. Unless he is a great project manager as well as doing all of the work.

I wouldn't even say a piece of the company. And any guarantee would pretty much be a lie, but let's say a reasonable expectation of a permanent gig. Hopefully by definition a friend wouldn't hang you out to dry anyway. So the friend should be honest about the future of the gig, and you should have a decent plan on how not to starve if it all goes south, as well as a plan for where to go when it goes peachy. Maybe you don't want to be configuring virtual servers 5 years from now. You gotta have a plan, Stan.

On the other hand you have job security......and time for your family. I am guessing that the virt job is going to involve a ton of travel and time away......might not be something you are willing to do. Involve your wife in any decesion you are going to make and make sure she understands the toll it might take on your time together.

This is one of those decesions that you look back on no matter what you end up choosing and wonder......what if?

True, but who wants to look back and have a lot of regrets? Like looking back at yourself in 8th grade when you were too big of a pussy to ask that girl to the school dance. I'd rather look back on failure and at least know that my balls were large. My wife and I have talked about this at great length. If I bet the farm and lose she and the kids are still right there with me. I can't stand fair weather friends anyway, and either way she's smart enough to understand that barring some tragedy, our chances of ever going hungry are slim to none.

[Kulaf]

After rereading I started thinking about this section:

Anyway. This friend worked his way up in the virtualization world until he had enough skills to go in to business for himself. He just landed a contract with a huge company that wants him to transition 4000 servers to virtual machines in 12 months. He cant do it by himself, and needs ho hire some help. He knows my level of computer ability, and wants to hire me. He offered me 1.5 times my current salary. He will teach me everything I need to know. The training, the experience and the money. What it can do for my future. How can I say no?

I assume that you would be an independent contractor so this might be a total wash when you factor in your tax load and paying for your own medical etc.

Something to think about.

[Freecare Spiritwise]

Yeah, a freelance gig should pay a lot more for those reasons, and even a little something on top of that for the extra risk involved. If you're making 30k a month then the medical is no big deal. If it's 5k a month and the medical is 2k a month - not such a great deal.

[Ddrak]

What Freecare said - 1.5 is about the starting point moving from full time employment to contract. You really won't gain much - remember no holiday pay (including public holidays), no medical, lots of tax messes, etc.

You'll probably want to look at taking some sort of liability insurance too and setting up a proper company rather than working as a sole trader.

Dd

[Klast Brell]

If 1.5 puts me even with where I am now then I am not actually making more take home. to take on the risk I would have to get more then 1.5 I think.

[Freecare Spiritwise]

If 1.5 puts me even with where I am now then I am not actually making more take home. to take on the risk I would have to get more then 1.5 I think.

That was my thought. Whatever the medical costs, plus the cost of an accountant to do those extra taxes, plus something to make up for the security you're leaving. Risk is fine, but the reward has to be in there somewhere. Minimize the risk, maximize the reward.

[GINLAAN]

If 1.5 puts me even with where I am now then I am not actually making more take home. to take on the risk I would have to get more then 1.5 I think.

Its double edged.
Take what you make more or less and get the exp needed or shoot it down....And hope you get lucky sometime down the line... How many more times do you think your going to get this chance in the future???... This could be the one and only time.. For alot of people it is....tough decision it is...I would chalk it up to thinking to myself "How many more times do i really have left in life to actually start over?" At my age i would have to think maybe 1 or 2 at best before the younger crowd shit kicks in. Regardless though you should get more the 1.5

[Mukik]

Klast,

You take that ccna test yet or ?

am plotting for either thurs this week or wednesday of next...

[Klast Brell]

It will take me at least another 18 months before I'm ready to test. The CCNA track in my school is broken in to 4 semesters. I took the first class last fall semester. CCNA2 was filled by the time my registration window opened in the spring. I have CCNA2 registered now for this Fall. CCNA 3 and 4 will be another year's worth of classes.