DevOps-Minus 2 days and counting - It's never easy to start:

Do you have your dream job? Finding a job you enjoy is not easy. Sometimes, it can seem like you've found your dream job, one that will keep you engaged and interested for many years. Sometimes, you can tell you're not going to get much out of it.

Hi, I'm Dominic, but my significant other calls me DoDo. I'm looking at becoming a DevOps DoDo, and this will be my log of that transformation.

I am doing this course as part of the UK Governments' National Skills Fund, where eligible people in the UK can take part in a free or heavily subsidised Skills Bootcamp with the aim to retrain and help the recovering economy.

I left school after my A-Levels and went straight to work. My brother, an IT manager in London, managed to secure me a three-month contract in IT Support where my role was very much equivalent to a work experience role: Changing the backup tapes (yes, tapes!), directing basic IT Support calls, replacing ink toners and helping my brother with testing the new programme he had created for the company on as many of the most popular and current phones we could purchase. Eventually, life decided to throw some obstacles at me and I was unable to pursue this field and had to take any job I could. I have been trying to re-enter the IT field ever since, but always come across the Experience Paradox: You need the experience to get the job, but you need the job to get the experience.

I tried several times, years later, when I was medically retired from the police force due to an Auto-Immune disease that meant I couldn't walk. I tried to complete the Cisco Certified Network Associate's exam, then went on to HTML/CSS to be a web developer and finally tried my hand at Android App programming. None of them succeeded, however, due to discipline, support and health.

This time, I have managed to secure a place on a Purple Beard Training course that will teach me the basic skills of DevOps with the aim of getting a job in that field at the end of the course. My training will start on Wednesday Evening and last several hours. This will be the same routine from now till March: Two nights a week, 3 hours a night of fast-paced learning with the exception of Christmas and New Years' week. Once I have finished, I hope to complete (and pass) an exam to get a certificate, although that is optional.

This blog will be my log and experience as I couldn't find much - if any - discussion of the process and the experience whilst doing my research.

Tomorrow, I will be writing on more details about the National Skills Fund and how I applied to join the course and what the requirements are, as well as what I have been doing to prepare.

I hope you find this blog interesting and informative, please don't hesitate to add any questions or comments below.

Happy Coding!