Entry #2: Jobs for Me, Jobs for Thee.

 Starting with this entry, I will be starting a series of posts that briefly explore various career paths. I’d like to look at various aspects such as: what the average responsibilities are, required qualifications and the future prospects of the field. While this is not hard limit, these will primarily be focused on careers in the IT and engineering fields. Without further ado, let’s begin with:

Computer Network Architect

A quick overview of this job tells us that their primary purpose is to design and implement computer networks. While that is shocking, digging deeper, we will find that they are also responsible for helping to adapt these networks to ever changing needs. Whether setting up a LAN for a single office, or a WAN that supports a large organization, Network Architects are vital to modern businesses.

Free Image - AI Generated

With a certain amount of technical familiarity, a small business could probably get by with setting up their
LAN in house. However, larger operations require complex networks that meet specific needs. They need to be reliable and secure. Which is likely why this career has such high demand and promising growth forecasting.

Currently, the median pay for Network Architects is a hefty $130k per year. Pair that with projected job security of 13% expected growth over the next 8 years, and this is a pretty tempting looking career path. The catch is that it is potentially a 9 year investment to get there. That being said, once you have your Bachelor’s degree, you’ll be able to gain the required experience in another well paying position. While this career certainly is high on my list, I'm not entirely convinced it will be my best path forward just yet. And so, readers, I'll see you the next time I have a self-generated prompt!

Entry #1: This Calls for an Introduction!

    Greetings, Reader! These days I find myself up to my ears in responsibility. Take the kids to school at three different locations and times. Go to work and then actually be productive. Home maintenance and renovations on the weekends. And I decided to throw college in on top of it all. Would I like to build small models, intricate models of mecha? Absolutely. Take up blacksmithing to make myself an awesome battleaxe? Who wouldn't?

    Unfortunately, my budget on time has become quite limited and I don’t have much opportunity to pursue my myriad interests. Luckily for me, one of my favorite hobbies happens to be incredibly useful. It is one of humankind’s oldest professions (no, not that one!). The process of taking raw materials, shaping them as needed and applying heat to transform them into, hopefully, delicious nutrients. I am of course talking about the art of cooking!

    Cooking is a discipline that involves all five senses. You feel the texture of the ingredients. Smell them as they cook. See as they alter on a chemical level. Taste them to adapt your recipe as needed. You even listen for sounds that tell you if your temperature is correct. It is an exploration of new flavors, new experiences and even new cultures. If you allow yourself to be curious about new tastes, you can experience things you never would have otherwise.

    But it isn't just me being a romantic. As previously stated, it is extremely practical. We all need to eat, and cooking for ourselves can not only be the most delicious way to do that, but also the most cost effective. You can keep a hold of your budget while exploring the culinary world. It also lets you control what you eat and how healthy, or unhealthy, your meal is. You can prepare your meals in advance to save time. Even if you don't enjoy the depth beyond calories that cooking has to offer, it is a skill everyone should develop to some degree of competency.

    

    And so, I implore you to take your first steps on a culinary journey. Check out some YouTube cooking channels. Buy an interesting looking cookbook. Try to recreate your favorite childhood recipe with the help of a family member. Or perhaps you already cook for yourself. Take the next step, don't just cook to eat. Cook to experience. Dive deeper into the techniques and the theory. Try making your own bread. Make a homemade sauce. Learn how to pickle. Pickle this, pickle that. Pickle everything!

Entry #0: A Tale of Two Tech Blogs

     I've been wanting to incorporate more news articles into my daily routine, but most primary news sources cover too broad a field of topics for my taste. And so I wanted to find one that focused primarily on the Technoloy industry. I'll give a brief overview of two that I looked into.

    The first blog, Gizmodo, is a name I've certainly heard before, and I'm sure I've read an article or two from them in the past. However, this is my first time taking a moment to explore their blog as a whole. What I found was that they cover a small set of topics that mostly overlaps with my interests. Making this a good candidate for daily visits.

    Firstly, the cover Tech news. Which is that baseline I was looking for, so check. But they also offer science articles that piqued my interest. Add in some politics and entertainment posts (of the nerdy variety) and I could definitely spend my morning coffee here.

    Apart from these, they also review tech products, cover AI news, post light-hearted videos and even cover shopping deals to some extent.

    I find their website to be aesthetically pleasing, if simple. And the option of a light and dark mode always makes a website much more enjoyable to visit. 

    My second stop was TechCrunch. I know this blog has been around for some time now and I've seen at least some of their previous iterations. Personally, I'm not a fan of the current look. Something about it rubs my eyes the wrong way. And by contrast to the prior contestant, no dark mode. Points deducted.

    

    The next thing I noticed was that the articles on the landing page weren't overly interesting to me. Perhaps I just caught them on a day that didn't appeal to me personally. But the good news was that as I dug into the topics directly, I was able to find interesting and informative articles to draw me in.

    Apart from the Tech, I was somewhat interested in the tech business categories, but I really enjoy the cybersecurity and app news sections. In addition, but of less interest to myself, they cover Apple specifically, and AI news.

    Overall while I enjoy Gizmodo more, both blogs have plenty to offer within this specific area of news.