I haven’t taken the CCNA yet — but I’ve already laced up my running shoes. The track is clear in front of me, painted with subnet masks, routing protocols, and the occasional cryptic Cisco exam question that looks like it was written during a power outage. This is the race I’m signing up for — the one where the finish
Tag: CCNA
As someone serious about becoming a network and cybersecurity engineer, I’ve explored countless YouTube channels and online courses. Some are entertaining, others are flashy, and a few — like David Bombal’s — are what I’d call “boring-awesome.” And I mean that with full respect. In a space dominated by influencers chasing views, Bombal stands out because he isn’t performing —
Let’s be real for a second: You want to learn networking, but Cisco gear costs more than your rent, your electricity bill, and your weekly caffeine addiction combined. And let’s not even talk about the sound your laptop makes when you try to run GNS3 with a full topology—somewhere between a jet engine and a dying hyena. Enter Packet Tracer,
I’ve always dreamed of working for Microsoft. In high school back in the Philippines, I imagined myself as a software engineer—writing code, building tools, and maybe even contributing to Windows itself. But unlike some of my classmates, I didn’t have my own PC. Instead, I lived in the school computer lab. My only access to technology was through shared lab
So here’s the deal. I’m currently working in IT. Solo. For a water district. I manage the entire infrastructure while answering questions like “Why is Outlook slow?” and “Is this phishing?” (Yes, it always is.) And in between moving servers and mentally moving to a beach somewhere, I started thinking: What’s next? I already have degrees. I’ve done the certs.
This Network and Cybersecurity Engineering Thing Is Hard (I Just Wanted to Be Cool) When I first got into network and cybersecurity engineering, I had dreams. Big dreams. I thought I’d be some kind of cyber-James Bond—sipping coffee in a dark room filled with blinking LEDs, typing furiously as firewalls fell and bad guys cried. What I didn’t picture was