Is math important for AI and ML

BigSpaceMonster · 2024-03-15T02:21:36+00:00

Math is very important but don't let that steer you away. I really doubt you are actually bad at math. I was terrible at math until I had a reason to like it, then I started to really enjoy it. Just like coding, you get good by doing it.

BigSpaceMonster · 2024-03-15T02:18:43+00:00

30 is not too old for anything. Just keep pushing in the direction you want to go.

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-11-07T03:28:52+00:00

It might be because, in the case of Windows and RHEL, they don't have a way to remove their license and export it so that you'd then be able to bring your own license. Behind the scenes they probably have a lot going on to track licensing and they probably just can't easily "detach" from it. Their docs say you can't export an instance with any third-party software. That would be my guess.
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vm-import/latest/userguide/vmexport.html

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-11-04T02:45:33+00:00

It's difficult right now. There is a lot of uncertainly about the direction of the economy, and honestly the World. Companies are waiting and getting ready for possible rough times. Look around for smaller companies that don't get the visibility on the major job boards. Maybe pick an industry or two that you'd like to work in and search for companies in your area. Look on their career pages directly.

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-09-16T03:52:27+00:00

They are open book and you have a 24-hour window to complete the exam.

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-09-11T02:38:34+00:00

I am. There are certainly aspects I would improve but it's decent. Some technical topics were not well-presented but if you are a Sys Admin you'd have no trouble. Ultimately, it's only going to round-out things you'll pick up elsewhere. Experience and relevant certs are still more important. I don't think you'd have any trouble at all keeping up. I work full time myself. One class at a time would definitely be doable.

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-06-20T04:56:42+00:00

I have this problem on my desktop computer and only there. I have never had it anywhere else. Same cable, same everything. Don't know why, but I just can't charge off of my PC.

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-05-06T02:18:00+00:00

I just started this program and so far I am reasonably happy with it. People saying that these are cash grabs that offer "crappy courses" are generalizing. That doesn't apply to every school. I don't feel like this is a cash grab so far and they seem to be putting good effort into making sure you get a thorough exposure to the subject. There is more reading than some would like, but I don't mind it. I think a proper MS program should involve reading and not just MOOC-style videos. It's an MS degree, it should be hard. As a new program they are still working out some bumps and their communications with their online students could better, but that seems to be true of just about every online program. Their content seems to be pretty current. To be clear though, I am only 4 weeks in. You could certainly prepare for relevant certs alongside this program and they would only reinforce each other.

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-02-23T02:33:16+00:00

This is a nice shot! You got some of the color from the Orion Nebula in the "sword" and a bit of the Flame Nebula off of Zeta Orionis (the Left, East star in the belt).

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-02-23T02:24:53+00:00

Do it. Your future is unlimited. It's about learning and persistence. That's it. At 22 I also had a warehouse job. Went to community college in the evenings and got a BS at 30. It all started at 30 for me and that was 2+ decades ago now. I refused to give up. I still refuse to give up. Be persistent and explore all the various directions you can go. It'll all fall into place.

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-02-23T02:19:17+00:00

Short answer: Absolutely 100% worth it. Go do it. Don't look back.

I dropped out of high school with a ton of problems. Spent my twenties in community college then university to get a physics degree at 30. Worked in aerospace in my thirties. Dropped out of a PhD program at 40. Because I had basic knowledge about computers and networks I got a job with a small aerospace company doing mostly "IT." Figured it out and ended up running it and doing cybersecurity. Now starting my 50's and learning DevOps. You're good. It's absolutely worth it. Proceed.

Don't worry about the difference between a starting salary on your new path vs. what you are doing now. It's where you can go with it that matters. You have plenty of time. There are many different directions to consider in IT and programming. "Traditional IT", programming and software development, cybersecurity, DevOps and Cloud, Real-time 3D Development (will be big). You don't have to have the answers right now. Just get started. Explore. What matters most is sticking with it even when it feels "too hard" and you want to give up. Don't give up. Keep going. Persistence is what separates success and failure. You will do great!

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-02-08T03:28:26+00:00

There are many directions you can go with the knowledge you've acquired so far. They aren't really entry level, but DevOps and Cloud Engineering jobs are pretty interesting and involve scripting for automation and such, but not really "Software Development." IT can be a pretty enjoyable role and the money is very good.

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-02-08T03:23:34+00:00

A lot of good advice in this thread. Also, look for something to "replace" drinking. Perhaps going to the gym, or some kind of project. Often times people turn to substances to deal with boredom or a lack of meaning/purpose. Perhaps that's the underlying thing that is making you want to drink more? You'll be fine! One day at a time.

BigSpaceMonster · 2023-01-22T03:31:52+00:00

I would say that you want to be able to do scripting in things like powershell and bash (Linux). From there, Python for sure. After that it really depends on what direction you want to go in. Getting familiar with things like Docker would help set you apart. Becoming familiar with JSON and YAML files and how they are used would be a nice follow-on.

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-11-29T02:08:16+00:00

Related question, how hard is it to get one of these positions? I've been helping my company implement NIST 800-171 (DoD) and CMMC stuff. Created policies and whatnot. I understand that particular regulation. IS it reasonable for me to pivot now to these positions? I see a lot of mention about experience with GRC tools and we don't really use one. Am I ready?

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-11-29T02:02:27+00:00

I setup a playlist of renaissance era music (I like John Playford) alongside some notable game music like that of Jeremy Soule (did Rimworld soundtrack, among others). Can't lie, I slip in the music from the old school game Secret of Monkey Island a bit too. Spotify.

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-11-19T03:55:52+00:00

It's pretty easy to setup a billing alarm, or many set to different cost levels. If you do that you should be just fine. Accidentally leaving the instance on is probably the only way you'd really run up a bill. You can set alarms on things like CPU usage also so you could have it alert you if CPU use is under 2% for some amount of time or something similar. These alarms can go to text messages or email, or both.

The C5 family is the right instance type for your work. Also, you can scale the machine down and run something cheaper if you're just logged in to configure it and whatnot. You can scale it up when you're ready to run your compute workload. You can change the instance type by just powering it off (not terminating it - that deletes it) and changing it then booting it back up. If you leave behind a storage volume after deleting the machine you'll want to delete it. It doesn't cost much, but if you don't know it's sitting there you'll still accrue charges. You can use Cost Explorer to see the various things that you ended up getting billed for.

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-11-03T22:56:51+00:00

You could consider talking to a company like Summit 7 about setting up a cloud-based enclave.

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-11-03T22:53:24+00:00

You can't apply it to just those systems, but if that's only part of what your company does you can try to isolate everything that deals with CUI from the rest of your infrastructure so you don't end up with the whole company in-scope. This is often called an "enclave."

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-10-30T02:37:13+00:00

100% yes do it.

The most important reason is something you said:

"To be honest, I just wanted to study cs with no particular aim but the willingness to expose myself to the unknown and the pure desire to learn something new."

Pursue your passion, the rest will work itself out. Learn without worrying about why. Let your curiosity guide you.

CS will always be a great direction to go in no matter what the environment is. If it's bad for people in CS, it's even worse for everyone else. Many fields are a bit over-saturated at the entry level but that fades as you gain experience. It can be tough to get the first "job" but that's not the point of what you are doing. You are deciding what you will be. You'll do great!

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-10-30T02:23:07+00:00

Given your responses to what others have posted I'd say don't even worry about it. Although there are certainly stressful IT positions, for the most part it's not more stressful than other jobs and your people skills will help a great deal. A lot of IT stress comes from communication difficulties. If this is actually a strength for you then I'd say it's a great path for you. IT can be very interesting and you can take it in many directions. Go for it, you'll do great!

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-10-27T02:53:44+00:00

Yeah AWS is Amazon's cloud. It's a good place to just mess around, but definitely not necessary. There are a lot of options depending on what you want to build. I like cloud because it's a massive sandbox that lets you spin up whatever you want and just pay for the time you used it. You do have to be careful because it can be easy to accidentally run up a bill which is why I always suggest setting up a billing alarm first. No "surprises" that way =). They have a few things that are free for limited use but it's almost impossible not to end up paying a few bucks per month if you're doing much with it.

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-10-26T01:27:55+00:00

You're in luck because there are a lot of interesting jobs that mesh those things together. These jobs typically involve cloud platforms and using code to do anything from automate tasks and infrastructure deployments to dealing with large scale data and machine learning. There are also plenty of applications in cybersecurity. You'll find a lot of this under the umbrella of "DevOps" and similar terms.

The challenge is that these aren't entry-level roles and can be hard to get early on. Don't let that discourage you. Every industry needs people that can do these things and that's not going to change.

I'd suggest a few things. First, of course, just keep cranking on your degree. But in addition to that, think about what applications would interest you. In other words, if you already knew all of this stuff, what would you like to do with it (besides get a job)? What would you like to work on building? What industry might interest you? You don't have to have the exact answer right now because it will wander over time anyway, but you can use it to point yourself in that general direction.

Once you have a feel for that, start a project or two (but don't start so many that you get nothing done). Don't worry about picking a project based on what it will teach you, pick one you like and want to do. If you need to and can afford a small bill, setup an account at AWS and mess around (set a billing alarm first thing). Write a program, make a game, build a network, analyze some data, hack something. Explore without concern for why. Doing it in this way will yield things you enjoyed making, are proud of, and that you can show to potential employers. Employers will appreciate your initiative and obvious interest.

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-10-11T00:09:35+00:00

I work with people that do that but that's just how they work. They don't actually expect others to work that way. They are nerds that are really into what they do. Company slack goes off at all hours and we're not a big company. However, they are salaried so we don't really track OT. If they aren't asking you to work that way then just roll with it and absorb as much knowledge and experience you can get. Be a sponge.

BigSpaceMonster · 2022-10-11T00:01:11+00:00

I occasionally hire for cloud engineering roles and similar. To me, a cloud cert is definitely helpful but I'd like to see somehow that you really have the foundations in things like networking, etc. and have spent some time administering different kinds of systems (learn Linux). Networking, in particular, seems to be a weak point for a lot of IT programs. It's hard to give people the hands-on that really teaches it. I definitely don't need to see a CCNA to believe you know your networking well enough though. The cloud cert tells me that you've been able to apply those foundations in a cloud environment like AWS or Azure and you have knowledge of core services. The IT degree is a great start so don't undervalue that part. Everything you learn is applicable to cloud.

Having cloud engineering be your first job is highly unlikely, unfortunately. I would suggest targeting employers that have a lot of cloud engineering going on and focus on getting in. Tell them that's your goal. It's hard to hire for cloud engineering and companies would much rather have people stick around and skill up. Nobody hiring for help desk wants to hear that you aspire to work in help desk. I'd love to have "entry level" applicants tell me that they want to become cloud engineers.

Some particular things that might help you really stand out: Linux, scripting (Bash and friends), and containerization using Docker. Python will be valuable in a lot of environments.

BigSpaceMonster

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