May 8, 2025 • 37 mins
Start the FREE I.T. Introduction Course with CourseCareers Now: https://coursecareers.com/a/thebeardeditdad?course=itAre you unknowingly killing your tech career before it even starts?In this video, I break down the most overlooked job that opens doors to nearly every tech career — from cybersecurity and networking to cloud, DevOps, and beyond.Whether you're just getting started in IT or feeling stuck trying to land your first role, this hidden gem of a position could be the launchpad you’ve been missing.✅ What you'll learn:Why this entry-level tech role is so powerfulCommon mistakes beginners make when skipping itHow to turn it into a fast track toward your dream tech jobTips to stand out and move up — even with no experience🔗 Don’t wait—click here to start your tech career journey: https://thebeardeditdad.com/itcareeraccelerator/Exclusive Career Resources✅ Weekly Insider Tips: https://thebeardeditdad.ck.page/55f710292b🎧Listen to The I.T. Career Podcast HERE: ➡︎YT: https://itdad.info/ytpodcast➡︎Apple: https://apple.co/4aw0uVM➡︎Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3yBcrfu#tech #career #itjobs
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
You got to have tough skiing in this game like this is not for
the fan of heart. If you want to develop some
tough skiing get on stack overflow.
Trust me, it will help you get tough skiing real quick.
The question that I see you there asking and the response is
I'm like, wow, let's. Be honest, most people think you
either need to go to school or be some sort of super genius to
(00:20):
break into it. Probably going to take a super
genius to crack it. But what if I told you that the
real secret weapon, the career launching cheat code, is the
help desk? In today's episode, you'll meet
Scott, a former healthcare supervisor who is actually
transitioning into tech as we speak.
Not with a computer science degree or boot camp badges, but
(00:43):
with real world empathy, leadership, and help desk ready
skills. We're talking about why the help
desk is the ultimate gateway into your career in tech and how
customer service can be your biggest asset and what it really
takes to pivot from burnout to breaking through.
And if you're starting from scratch, if you're wondering
(01:03):
where to start or feeling stuck in your current role, this might
be the story you need to help you push through.
Without any further ado, let's roll into this week's episode.
Thank you for taking time, Scott, to kind of share your
journey so far into the tech industry.
You mind taking a few minutes and kind of just introducing
yourself? Sure Scott.
(01:25):
I work in a medical field, currently work for a nephrology
group, kidney specialist. Always kind of being like the
tech person to the family. Just like, you know, a lot of
people starting out as the the family go to person for phones,
setting up the new computers, you know, printers, all that
good stuff. I've got a long tenure in the
medical field and just I've always somehow found myself
(01:49):
engulfed in some form of tech too.
And so this thing is kind of prompted me to take a look at
myself and say, hey, you know, I'm getting to a point now in my
life to where I really want to feel fulfilled.
And for a long time, medical fulfilled me and I'm getting to
a point now to where I don't have that same fulfillment or
(02:10):
love when I go home. And so I thought, hey, you know
what? I've always had a plan for tech.
Let's give this a try, man, and see how how the second season,
second-half of my life is going to go and see if I can get that
bug again and make a change and a difference in people's lives
in different ways. So I'm I'm coming for the tech
field, man that. Was going to be my first thing I
(02:31):
asked you. You know, you started in
healthcare and now you're movinginto tech.
What's what really sparked that interest in technology, you
know, recently? A company that I worked for
before, they had got hit with the situation with the hack and
they brought in a cyber securityexpert.
And so he came in, did a lot of revamping.
(02:52):
But did you know a lot of thingssaw what was some of those
servers and different things we had and saw some stuff that need
to be updated, some things that could have prevented, you know,
man said attack. And so I just started asking a
bunch of questions and he kind of took to me and he can't take
a lacking to me and was like, you know, you got a lot of
interest and you got a lot of good questions.
(03:14):
And I kind of told him the same thing.
Like we just talked about me andhim would have conversations
like after work and I would juststay and talk with him.
And so he really took interest to me.
And so he started taking me along with him on other jobs.
And then so I got to learn aboutpatch panels and switches and
routers and access wireless access points.
(03:34):
And then he started teaching me how to make like R5 or RJ45
jacks and the difference betweenSeries A and series B.
So I start really getting my hands dirty like outside of
work, going to just different job sites with him that he would
take me on and show me the ropes.
And I just really got the bug and it was like a different side
versus just, you know, setting up the the printer for, for my
(03:56):
parents or hey, my phone's not working.
Can you look at this? And it was like a whole new
world. They got opened up to me and
that was just like brought out bushy tails like, Oh my God,
what is this? I love it.
I need more of it. And so that's what kind of got
me back on the path of looking at tech.
Now, in your current role in thehealthcare field, has there been
(04:18):
anything that's kind of helped prepare you for this transition
you're making into IT? Oh yeah.
So a lot of customer service. So I'm in a leadership role,
supervisor role. And so I do multiple different
things in there. And a lot of a lot of that is a
big part of this customer service deal with a lot of
patients who are upset because of one thing or other, whether
(04:41):
it be a bill that they got, not understanding why they got
charged, when they charged whilethey were diagnosed, when they
were diagnosed coming from a different doctor, not knowing
why they were sent to a specialist, you know, from their
primary care. So, you know, I've gotten cussed
out before, I've gotten yelled at, I've gotten threatened.
(05:02):
I mean, every, you name it, I'vehad it happen to me.
And being able to sit with the patient and empathize with them
and understand the frustration and the anger and sitting with
them and trying to walk in through the process of them,
like, OK, hey, I look, I get it.I know you're upset.
I know you're mad. This is what's going on.
You know, this is what information we have.
(05:22):
This is why you're being sent tothis doctor.
This is why your bill was this. And so I found that I've had a
pretty good knack for being ableto take patients that are really
upset and get them to calm down and re talk to them, help them
understand why things are being done the way they're they're
being done. And usually, usually they walk
(05:42):
away with a better understandingand, you know, a lot calmer than
what they, they first came in. So just getting that experience
of understanding, you know, where people are coming from
and, and just trying to do my best to help them.
And I know in tech that's something you deal with a lot.
You deal with, you know, people calling in frantic, sporadic,
just going crazy, not know what's going on.
(06:04):
Why is my computer not working? Why is the screen not working?
How come the internet's not working?
What's going on? And just being on level 100 and
you've got to give them to calm down so you can find out, all
right, what's the problem? What's the root problem?
What can we do to fix it? So I feel like, you know, my
tenure in in medical has really helped prepare me to understand
how to be a person that has compassion, empathy, and to be
(06:26):
able to sit with somebody and really help them work through
the issue that they're having. I say all the time, tech field
is very much a customer service oriented position.
You know, you have to really be there to help people understand,
you know, you're helping people that are not tech savvy.
You know, like in your role, you're helping people currently
(06:46):
that aren't familiar if the medical field and the different
things that are going on, you'regoing to have that same level of
empathy and help for the tech, you know, on the technical side.
So you know, soft skills is hugein the tech field 100%.
I get there with a lot of the doctors and some of the other
staff in different areas, even though the practice that I work
(07:06):
in, I've gotten close with a lotof the IT guys that we have and
they're a good bit of ways away from where our IT team dispatch
is from. And so I've learned a lot of
stuff from the guys you know there too.
And so a lot of times, you know,people see me, they hey, I know
I heard you help such and such with some stuff.
So I get pulled a lot even in mycurrent world, even though it's
(07:28):
not like my main job, I know howto do some stuff.
So I get pulled a lot to different areas of the building
and helping people do different things.
So I've learned that, like I said, working with doctors and
different nurses and just different things that all right,
even though these people are super smart in some cases, they
know how to turn the computer onand that's about it.
(07:48):
They know how to get to the certain programs, they know how
to get to. Other than that, they don't care
to know about it. They don't want to know about
it. They just know it's not working
and they want you to get it working again and soon as
possible. So I've learned to kind of deal
with that pressure too, of just like taking somebody, like you
said, who doesn't really know a lot or even care to know a lot
and be able to just work fast under pressure, get it going and
(08:10):
get them back up and running. And then I'm off to the next
thing. So.
One thing you mentioned to me is, you know you went through a
coding boot camp and found out it just was not a good fit for
you, right? What was your biggest challenge
with that program? So I'm more of a kinesthetic
learner. I'm a hands on guy, I like being
hands on and I did pretty good whenever I would get like into
the class around the mentors andother students.
(08:33):
But I feel like the program thatI went through it just kind of
it left more to the imagination and that even though it was
structured, I feel like I still could have got more from it.
And so I just got a, a bad tastein my mouth about how that went.
And so going through that and then having the transition to
(08:57):
the networking side, I feel likewith my personality and the way
I am, I am more of a people person and more into the
networking side. So I feel like networking
hardware, sitting admin somewhere around there is more
of my lane versus just sitting down coding and just sitting all
(09:20):
day coding. So I think that was kind of
really my thing. I just didn't feel like I have
that impact that I was looking for doing the coding thing, and
I can have a more impact in a different part of tech than just
sitting down coding. Well, you know, many people feel
discouraged, especially after having like a bad experience
(09:41):
with some learning platform. How did you keep your love for
tech alive after that? You know, how did you keep
really going? Just different technologies,
learning different things. Like I said, being around
different people, watching channels like yours.
You're, you're a big inspirationto me.
Kev. Tech IT, Josh Metacar, like
watching you guys. John Hammond, amazing guy,
(10:05):
amazing guy, big ball, Azure guyand watching you guys, man, like
just over over time just made mejust keep my head in the game a
little bit and just think, you know, hey, at some point I'm
going to make a transition. I know I will.
I just don't know when I'm goingto.
And then when I started helping people here, like I said, I seem
to have a knack for getting nowhere where I go getting
(10:27):
getting cool with IT guys, and somehow always just end up in
the mix of things. And like seen like the the
benefit of helping people and seeing what it did to me and how
I felt going home at the end of the day of being able to help
somebody with a problem. I started feeling that that love
again, like I felt when I first got into medical.
(10:49):
And so and then I started havingpeople tell me, you know, you
really bright light up like whenyou talk about this stuff.
And I was like, oh, you know, thanks though.
I'm just trying to just trying to be helpful.
You know, I just want to help people.
And it's like, yeah, and you do a good job of what you do.
Like you're, you can tell you'rea caring person when you start
talking about this computer stuff like you, you're like a
bright light. And so when I started hearing
(11:10):
enough people say that, it made me really think, OK, maybe I'm
wanting something here. Maybe this is something I should
really hold on to and like, really dig in.
Because if I'm doing one job andI'm doing good at it and I'm
getting praise from it, but I'm having multiple people tell me
that I really seem like I'm glowing when I'm talking about
tech, it's probably something I should, I should explore a
(11:33):
little bit more. So that was kind of my, my aha
moment, my light bulb moment, say, okay, that's something I
need to stick stick with and stay into and dig into a little
bit deeper. I can 100% relate to that
because I, I was told the same thing, you know, at one point in
my career when I was first starting out.
And I kind of reminded that whenI started my YouTube channel, I
(11:53):
was being told, man, you have a knack for teaching things.
You have a knack for breaking things down simple and helping
people. And you can tell you do really
good at it and you really enjoy it.
So that's why I started my YouTube channel.
So I can 100% relate to that feeling now.
What advice would you give to others considering a boot camp?
You know, especially if they're unsure about that style of
(12:16):
learning. Do your research, there's a lot
of boot camps out here. Some are better than others,
some are a lot worse than others.
Not just do the research on the boot camp, but reach out to
people like, you know, you look on LinkedIn, it's just different
places. You can see a lot of people put
(12:38):
where they went, you know, on their, on their profiles.
Reach out to some of these people.
Hey, I'm thinking about getting into coding, helping by getting
the network and hey, I think I want to be a Linux admin.
Reach out to some of these people that have some of these
certifications. Say, hey, I see you went to this
boot camp. What was your experience with
it? Don't make the same mistake I
did and just jump into somethingjust because you hear it's the,
(12:59):
the, the hottest thing and it's going to make a whole bunch of
money. You know, to me, it's, it's not,
I've realized now it's not all about the money.
Just just great to have money, but it's not everything.
And some of the most wealthy people are miserable.
So find something that you wouldlike you love to do and that
you're going to love to do and it's not going to feel like work
(13:21):
and you can make money at it. Absolutely.
So the tech field is got the money in it.
It's just you got to find your lane and the money will come.
So that's my my thing. If I was to start over again, I
would pick the the field that I want to be in, find a couple
boot camps that I think I want to try, and then start reaching
out to students and say, hey, what was your experience?
(13:41):
If you had to do all over again,would you do it again?
And would you still pick the same boot camp or would you go
somewhere else and and do something else?
And I think that'll save you a lot of headache and a lot of
money. Well, and it's important to
realize like everyone learns different, you know, I'm very
much a hands on learner. I like to like read something or
watch a video, how it's done andthen like go do it.
(14:02):
That's just how I learned. So I really when I was studying
and stuff, I really succeeded with like the video platforms
out there, like the Ines, the CBT Nuggets.
That's what I used when I was first starting out.
Some people are great textbook readers and stuff like that.
And some people need the guidance and the, you know, the
hand holding and stuff like thatthere.
So there's different paths for everyone.
(14:24):
Now you're currently enrolled inCourse Careers, which is a
company I've talked about several times on the channel
before. What made you like look into
Course Careers and and the end of the day deciding to pull the
trigger and go with them? Basically what I just said, So I
had started out with their tech sales platform, thought about
(14:45):
going into the tech sales thing because I've done sales before
too and did fairly well at it. But the more like I said, the
more I thought about it, I just was like, well, I really feel
like I want to stay on this technical side of it.
So started reaching out to some people, saw a couple of Josh's
reviews online. And so I started reaching out to
(15:06):
people like, hey, I like him. I watch a lot of his content.
I think he's great. I'm really good friends with
Antoine Wade over elevated to the unknown platform.
And I know he has the cyber security course with Josh.
And so he told me Josh was a really great guy.
And when I start reaching the people and I start seeing some
of these guys are really gettingjobs from this and start asking
(15:28):
about how the program is, what'sin.
And then I found out that there's actually labs in there
and his hands on, he let you getdown and dirty.
And I was sold with me being the, like I said, the kind of
state learner, the hands on kindof guy, just like you.
And I heard that I'm actually going to be doing labs and doing
something. I was sold.
I didn't hesitate. I went straight to the site,
(15:49):
went to IT court and smacked thecredit card down and went hit
and bought. That's it for me man.
If I'm doing. If I'm actually doing last.
Shut up and take my money. Right, take my money, shut up
and take my money already. Once I was we doing labs.
I was I was all in man so. But that that's cool.
And you know, that's one thing Ireally look for like when I'm
(16:10):
looking at a learning platform, I've used so many different
learning platforms because I, I everyone, every learning
platform is different. And I like to see how different
platforms handle things. And hands on labs is like, yeah,
for me it's like, shut up and take my money.
I really love when a platform goes the extra mile to include
(16:30):
that right now. Besides, just like the hands on
learning part, like how has yourexperience with course careers
differed from like the boot campyou attended?
Like, is there anything else in particular that stood out to
you? Night and day, Josh is really,
really good at breaking things down.
He also was really good about pushing to to go out your
(16:52):
comfort zone and zone and try other other things.
Like at the end of every module,he says, don't just take, you
know, my word for it. Go look up, you know, ChatGPT or
go look up videos on this. Go to YouTube and, you know, put
type in this and really, you know, look at about four or five
other videos. See how it compares to the
mission we're given here. But he's really good about
(17:14):
breaking things down and he talks at a pace where it's not
monotone, it's not too slow where it's going to bore you.
It's not too fast when you can'tgrasp it.
Like he's, he's found like that sweet spot to like talk to you
to where he keeps you engaged and you're learning.
And then like I said, I like thefact that he's not just, oh, I'm
the guru. Listen to me.
(17:35):
Do what I tell you to do. It's no, I've been doing this
for a while, What I'm talking about.
But just in case you're unsure, go check out other sources and
come back and then compare it towhat you're learning and also
use it as more information. Don't just go off of what we're
teaching here. Absolutely.
So I feel like that's that's great, man.
You don't get a lot of people todo that and.
That's like some of the best advice, and I learned that first
(17:57):
hand. Like when I very, very first
started studying to get into thetech field, I was using a
platform called CBT Nuggets. And I'm not hating on that.
I'm not saying they're bad. They're great.
And I was using it to study for the Comptaa Plus and it got me
90% of the way there. But I started using an Professor
Messer. It's a study for the CompTIA A+.
(18:18):
And I'm like, wait a minute, He's talking about the stuff
that CBT Nuggets didn't even cover.
And, you know, so sometimes you got to diversify your learning
and double check yourself. And, you know, there's some
things that, you know, ProfessorMesser was talking about that
CBT Nuggets wasn't learning. So it's really cool that you
know, the instructor there and you know, Josh says the exact
(18:40):
same things. I know Josh very well.
I think we've had him on the channel like two different Times
Now. And I'm sure we got to bring him
back here again sometime becausehe's just packed full of
knowledge. But you know, people, if there's
not one solution that's going totake care of all your all your
needs and it's cool that he gives you that advice as part of
the program. So I think that's really cool
(19:02):
not to keep on sounding like this is a sponsored video from
Course Curious because it's not.But what was the most exciting
part of your journey with CourseCareer so far?
Like what have you gotten the most joy out of?
The camaraderie, man, you know, course careers pumps a lot about
the, the community part of it. And not to say I don't really
(19:22):
feel like I got it per SE. And the tech sales part it, it
was there, but I feel like I've engaged with a lot more people
this time on the, the IT, you know, side of it.
I'm actually seeing the benefitsof that, you know, that
community, a lot of people that reached out to me on LinkedIn.
And it's not just the, you know,the empty LinkedIn request.
(19:44):
Let me get my, my LinkedIn to 500.
Like people actually like commenting, send me messages,
talking to me, asking me different things.
So they got really fuck, I'm getting that family aspect of
it. And like I said, just the way
Josh teaches men, like I feel like I'm really doing do it as
far as like getting the materialand understanding it outside of
submitting. It's still kicking my butt.
(20:06):
But that's that's another story for another day.
But other than that, ma'am, likeI said, I just, I feel like
it's. It's a course that really breaks
it down for you, no matter what your learning style is.
And I feel like, yeah, anybody, if you really want to learn it,
you can learn it with the way that they have this set up.
(20:27):
And just a reminder for those who are watching and listening,
you're you're currently not working in tech.
You're in the process of gettinginto the tech field right now.
What is your goal like? Are you, what are you trying to,
what's your dream job like? I guess let me rephrase that.
What is the first job you're looking to get in the tech
field? And then what is like your dream
job you're you're working towards?
(20:49):
So I've, I'm kind of between a fuse.
I like sales engineer because you get kind of that combo of
the sales and the, you know, thetechnical side of it.
I don't know, man, I Linux, Linux admin is kind of sexy to
me. I I, I didn't really been doing
for me to admin so like system admin somewhere in there.
(21:11):
But I was watching the interviewyou did with I think it was, was
it bug bites or the why people don't want to be a network
engineer anymore? And Oh yeah, I hear you talk
about it. And then thinking about like
what I felt when I was helping the cybersecurity specialist,
whether that one job, I don't know, man, like just the
(21:33):
touching the, the stuff, man, just kind of like, I just, I
loved it. Like being involved in it.
So and networking engineers, notoff the table, man.
Like I, I know, like you guys talked about on the show, like a
lot of people don't want to do that anymore, but I'm not above
that, man. I'm not above coming in at the
ground floor and working my way back up.
You know, I mean, to, to one of those higher levels, like let me
(21:53):
get in and get dirty. I don't mind when the cables,
you know what I mean? I'll take my fishing rods and
and run through the ceiling towels and do whatever I got to
do, man. Like I'm I'm ready to get down
and dirty. So like I said, I've got a few
of them, but just talk, listen to you talk, man, like and
that's becoming a lost art. My father, the God rest his
thought when he was around, he was a Carpenter, master
(22:15):
Carpenter. And so I saw like the trades
traders going to make a comebacknow, but a lot of people are
getting away from that man. That's kind of what I felt like
it's happening with a network engineers.
So I'm not above coming in and getting dirty as a network
engineer, man and really building up those those towers
and, and getting in there and getting dirty so.
(22:35):
That's so cool. What has been your biggest
mindset shift that you've reallyexperienced since you've really
started kind of digging in and pursuing this career?
That I'm, I don't even know. My hat says I don't have to be
the lone wolf. That, you know, there's are,
there are people who out here who want to help you succeed and
it's genuine. It's not because there's some
(22:56):
kind of ulterior motive or there's something for them to
gain. Of course, there probably are
some out there, but so far not knock on wood, I haven't
encountered any of those. Everybody that I've talked to,
ma'am, from you to Josh, I've actually got a chance to talk to
him as well. There's no nobody has come
across as just like rude or out to get you or just like it's a
(23:20):
money grab. Like like once you talk to
somebody and they can see that you truly want to learn like
this. This field is amazing, man.
Like it's what I felt when I first got into medical.
Like they're they're genuine people.
I heard that want to see you winand they want to see you succeed
and they want to help push you and get you where you want to
go. But I will give the caveat you
have to be genuine people like like you, Josh, Kev, there's a
(23:44):
lot John, like you guys can sniff out BS quickly.
Yes. And I've seen it like if you
don't really want it and you're not going to put in the work,
you guys, they're like, they're not going to help you, but
they'll give you a little bit. But you won't, you won't get
what you would have got. If somebody feels like you're
genuinely want to learn and you really want to get into this
field because you know, people put a lot of time in in in this
(24:06):
field to get where they where they're at and it's not for
play. It's not a game.
People really put in some hard work, some long hours studying,
getting certification, getting degrees.
So if you come in BS and people are going to smell it, they're
going to fish it out real quick and you're not going to get the
help you need. If you're honest and you're
genuine about it, like you're going to get everything you need
(24:27):
to succeed and get to wherever you want to get to where that's
system admin or seesaw, people are going to help you get there,
right? But you've got to be genuine and
you got to be willing to put in the work.
That's so true. And that's the exact same advice
I give to people when they're looking to find a mentor or
something like that is you have to be genuine.
You can't just be like, give me,give me, give me, give me, give
(24:48):
me. I want to be in this field
because I want to make a lot of money.
Give me, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me,
right. We're going to we're going to
hit smell that out right away. You will find that most people
working in tech are more than happy to help.
And you know, the crew field wasn't always that way.
You know, 10 years ago, this wasvery much a kind of a gatekeepy,
you know, community where like go read the manual, find out
(25:12):
yourself. We all did our time, you know,
but it's no longer like that. Most of the people, and I say
most because I'm sure there's still a few out there like you
said are more than willing to help, but you have to truly want
it. You know?
I get DMS daily from people asking for advice, asking for
mentorship and most of the time I try to answer the best I can.
(25:34):
I and I feel bad 'cause sometimes I'll write up like a
book I'll just getting, I'll getcarried away trying to help
people out. But then I get those quick one
liners and like what certification do I need to get a
job in cybersecurity? I'm like, OK, what do you want
to do in cyber security? What, what, what are you
passionate about? Like, you know, and sometimes
(25:55):
I'll, I'll give him a chance andlike, I'll try to apply for some
more information. But on the same hand, like, you
know what I'm busy. I, I work a full time job.
I got a family, I run a YouTube channel like if, if you want
advice from me, like put in the effort, you know what I mean?
So that that is some really solid device now looking back at
your journey so far, because youknow, I know you're still in
(26:17):
your journey currently, but whatis one thing you wish you knew
from the beginning that would have helped you out along this
way? You just said it, mentor.
Getting to a point to where you can cut that learning curve down
helps tremendously. That also you got to have tough
(26:38):
skiing in this game like this isnot for the faint of heart.
If you want to develop some tough skiing, get on Stack
Overflow. Trust me, it will help you get
tough skin real quick. The questions that I see you
there asking and the response isI'm like, wow.
Yeah. So, but you're the mentor thing,
man. Like it's just the way things
(27:02):
are going and the way technologyis advancing so fast, you got to
try to cut that learning curve down as much as possible.
And so that's something I've been doing, I've been watching,
like I said, a lot of different channels, man, I see what you
just said, the gyms and, and, and that type of stuff.
So coming from a different field, it's not in tech and not
(27:23):
knowing like what I, I have per SE as my, my core skills that I
can offer to help out. It's it's something that I'm
working on and, and doing a deepdive on myself to find out what
I can bring to the table to helpme with that.
Because when I do go out here and, and get mentors, I want to
be able to provide, like you said, not just give me, give me,
(27:44):
give me. I want to be able to, to give
and take. So learning something that you
can do to give to your mentors tour so it's not feel like
you're just draining them all the time.
But that's like my biggest thingman is, is find out what you're
good at, what you can you can provide to that said mentor and
then provide those services to them.
(28:05):
And then that way it's a, it's aeven exchange with that person
and they don't feel like they'rejust, I've given you all of you
know, all of them and they're not getting anything from it.
So that's my biggest thing is man, just find out what you're
good at, how you can help other people, and then go out here and
find the mentor that can help you cut this time in half.
I'm curious like how far along in your journey are you?
(28:27):
How long do you have until you you feel like you're going to
start applying for different jobpositions?
So I'm at the 70% the mark of the course right now.
So I'm actually at the park to do the the lab.
So looking at my Azure stuff today.
So when we get off here, I'll begetting getting on and setting
up my Azure account and start working on my OS ticket and then
(28:48):
all that good stuff and my virtual box and all that stuff.
So I'm excited about that actually get to do the hands on
part. That's what I've been waiting on
this whole time. So I'm ready to get to that
point. But but once I kind of get the
idea, like I know Josh says go through it multiple times.
So I figured probably once I get, you know, 3 or 4 times of
going through setting up my, youknow, my virtual machine,
(29:09):
building my ticketing system from scratch, doing some of
those things and I feel comfortable with it.
But I'm going to go ahead and, you know, update my resume and
make it more text because right now it's full medical, but make
it more tech savvy and then get out here and start applying for
for things, man. So I can I can go ahead and get
my foot foot in the door somewhere.
(29:31):
Well, how do you plan on leveraging your medical
experience with your technical experience as you start to move
forward? I plan on using, like you said,
the customer service skills, like conveying to hiring
managers and recruiters. The fact that I understand that
this this field, this job is notsomething that's just, you know,
(29:52):
easy money. I'm going to keep back, you
know, the, the, the remote life that everybody's pushing, you
know, online, just keep back andget 100 thousands of dollars.
I know it's going to be work andI'm going to work.
I've done it for a long career in medical.
When I'm ready to put that same amount of work in and to this
understand that, you know, I'm going to be dealing with people
who are, you know, some, some cases irate, pissed off
(30:14):
executives, you know, other people.
And I'm built, I'm built for it.Like it's not going to scare me
away. I'm not going to fold under the
pressure. I'm used to pressure.
I'm working in medical, but I'm used to having pressure all the
time. So that's not something that's
that's going to tore me away. I'm willing to put in the work,
use my compassion, my empathy, my sympathy, and be able to sit
(30:36):
there with somebody and help getthem through what they need to
get through, get them back up and running and make sure that I
can provide value to the company.
If you were to talk to someone who was in the position you
were, you know, a while ago where you know you had lost that
excitement on your current role,what advice would you give them
about breaking into the tech field?
(30:56):
Do exactly what I did find something that sparks your
interest. Something that's not going to be
just a money grab, but somethingthat you genuinely care about,
that genuinely interest you and pursue that.
Talk to other people, reach out to people, Don't be scared to
reach out to people. This, this field, like I said,
it's one of the best fields whenit comes to that type of stuff.
(31:18):
There's more people that are willing to talk to you then then
not. So if you can find something
that you really are interested in, go on LinkedIn, go on
different platforms, whether even if it's like somebody's
Instagram page or somebody's YouTube page, reach out to these
people. They're they're, they're regular
people just like me and you, they're willing to talk and just
(31:40):
find out, Hey, what did you do to get here?
How did you get here? And you know what I mean?
And just just kind of, you know,do a coffee chat real quick just
to ask them a few questions. Don't take up a whole bunch of
their time because everybody's busy.
But if you're, if you have your questions ready and that's
nothing like have your stuff ready.
Don't just go into it trying to wing it.
(32:01):
Like have your stuff prepared, like know the questions you want
to ask. Get your 3 or 4 questions, 5
questions, ask those. Get in, get out.
That way they're not wasting their time.
You're not wasting their time. And they feel like, OK, you
know, this person's ready. They came prepared.
You know, I'll, I'll give them some gems.
Because if you come in wasting people's time, you're not going
to get anything out of it. So I would I would do that.
(32:25):
Absolutely. Well, and since you just
mentioned LinkedIn and stuff, ifpeople want to ask you questions
or you have any questions for you, where can they find you?
I'm Scott Taylor on LinkedIn, you can find me on there.
I don't really have anything on like Instagram.
I might have an Instagram. It's a operation tech takeover,
which is the same as my YouTube,which that's something I got to
(32:48):
do is start posting on YouTube. And that's something I want to
try to do is to help kind of cement things is take some of
that stuff once I get good at itand do it on my YouTube channel,
which just has another learning style and, and you know, motive
to to retain information. But yeah, I'm, I'm on LinkedIn,
man. Come find me on LinkedIn, reach
out to me. I'll give you anything I can.
(33:09):
But like I said the caveat is I work a full time.
Well actually I work 2 full timejobs and I'm studying so I don't
have time to waste. So come talk with me.
I will give you the game that I've gotten so far but you got
to show me your serious. I'm not I'm not here to play.
I've got you know goals and dreams that I'm trying to reach
and I don't have time to play. So I'm going to talk to me about
(33:32):
it as long as you're willing to show me what you're serious and
you want it as bad as I do. Hey, we can be study buddies.
We can make it happen. That's awesome.
And we'll make sure and link those links to those platforms
down in the description or show notes below.
Now I I'm, I'm, I know you kind of touched on it, but what keeps
you going? Like is it the thought of, you
(33:54):
know, landing a job in the tech field or is it just excitement
about tech? Like what keeps you going on a
daily basis? Well, I have a goal to my father
was my big was my biggest hero, but he didn't get really far in
life. He said he was a Carpenter, he
(34:15):
had minimum education. He was a hard worker.
He taught me and my brother and my sisters like a work ethic.
So like I, I saw that man get upevery day, strokes, heart
attacks, being partially paralyzed and like just grinding
to make sure his family was was taken care of.
And so I feel like I have a big responsibility with my last name
(34:40):
trying to live up to that man And he was a modern the
community. And that's kind of what I want
to do. I want to be something that, you
know, he can look down on me from the heavens and smiley and
still have my mother here. Thank goodness she's a little,
you know, up in age. But I want to get to a point to
where I feel like they truly know that I'm going to be OK and
(35:01):
that they raise a son that is really, I heard, making a
difference in the world. That was why I got into medical.
And I feel like things have kindof shifted in the medical field.
I don't feel like it's as much push for the people.
And that's like my goal now is to get into a company now and
truly make a difference in people's lives, just in a
different manner instead of critical essential worker.
(35:24):
But now as something else, whether it be like you said,
cyber security or whatever, I end up in and in.
But I want to get to a point to where I'm making that same kind
of impact. And then my family and my
parents can look at me and say, you know, we raised him right.
And he he's doing what he's supposed to be doing.
He's making a mark in the world.So I got a big, big, big shoe at
the field man like my father. And I'm that's my my pushing
(35:47):
point now is just to get to a point to where I can do that.
Our last name Proud and I can really make make a difference in
people's lives and we know that at the end of the day when I go
home that I did something that really is making a difference in
this world. That's really cool and I really
appreciate you taking the time and sharing that story with us.
I think I, I, I hope that whoever's listening to this, if
(36:07):
you made it this far, you found some value here, you know to
keep going to keep studying. If you have let me know in the
comments below, because I alwayslove hearing you guys's
feedback, but you know, I, I, I have the strict belief with this
podcast, if, if the story that I'm helping share can help one
person is 100% worth it all the time.
(36:28):
So thank you again, Scott, for just sharing such an
inspirational story, sharing your viewpoint on the industry
and I really appreciate you taking the time I.
Appreciate you man. Thank you for making the
channel. Like I said, it's guys like you
all that kind of really helped push me to to pursue this and
really stay on it. So I'm appreciative of even
(36:48):
having the chance, man, to even be on on the show and helping
the same thing. But you know, my story can
inspire somebody to to make a change.
If they've been thinking about making a change, go for it.
There's no time late like now. But thank you for for doing this
channel, man. It's it's an inspiration to a
lot of people. Awesome.
Well everyone, thank you again for tuning in and until next
(37:08):
time, keep learning.
You got to have tough skiing in this game like this is not for
the fan of heart. If you want to develop some
tough skiing get on stack overflow.
Trust me, it will help you get tough skiing real quick.
The question that I see you there asking and the response is
I'm like, wow, let's. Be honest, most people think you
either need to go to school or be some sort of super genius to
(00:20):
break into it. Probably going to take a super
genius to crack it. But what if I told you that the
real secret weapon, the career launching cheat code, is the
help desk? In today's episode, you'll meet
Scott, a former healthcare supervisor who is actually
transitioning into tech as we speak.
Not with a computer science degree or boot camp badges, but
(00:43):
with real world empathy, leadership, and help desk ready
skills. We're talking about why the help
desk is the ultimate gateway into your career in tech and how
customer service can be your biggest asset and what it really
takes to pivot from burnout to breaking through.
And if you're starting from scratch, if you're wondering
(01:03):
where to start or feeling stuck in your current role, this might
be the story you need to help you push through.
Without any further ado, let's roll into this week's episode.
Thank you for taking time, Scott, to kind of share your
journey so far into the tech industry.
You mind taking a few minutes and kind of just introducing
yourself? Sure Scott.
(01:25):
I work in a medical field, currently work for a nephrology
group, kidney specialist. Always kind of being like the
tech person to the family. Just like, you know, a lot of
people starting out as the the family go to person for phones,
setting up the new computers, you know, printers, all that
good stuff. I've got a long tenure in the
medical field and just I've always somehow found myself
(01:49):
engulfed in some form of tech too.
And so this thing is kind of prompted me to take a look at
myself and say, hey, you know, I'm getting to a point now in my
life to where I really want to feel fulfilled.
And for a long time, medical fulfilled me and I'm getting to
a point now to where I don't have that same fulfillment or
(02:10):
love when I go home. And so I thought, hey, you know
what? I've always had a plan for tech.
Let's give this a try, man, and see how how the second season,
second-half of my life is going to go and see if I can get that
bug again and make a change and a difference in people's lives
in different ways. So I'm I'm coming for the tech
field, man that. Was going to be my first thing I
(02:31):
asked you. You know, you started in
healthcare and now you're movinginto tech.
What's what really sparked that interest in technology, you
know, recently? A company that I worked for
before, they had got hit with the situation with the hack and
they brought in a cyber securityexpert.
And so he came in, did a lot of revamping.
(02:52):
But did you know a lot of thingssaw what was some of those
servers and different things we had and saw some stuff that need
to be updated, some things that could have prevented, you know,
man said attack. And so I just started asking a
bunch of questions and he kind of took to me and he can't take
a lacking to me and was like, you know, you got a lot of
interest and you got a lot of good questions.
(03:14):
And I kind of told him the same thing.
Like we just talked about me andhim would have conversations
like after work and I would juststay and talk with him.
And so he really took interest to me.
And so he started taking me along with him on other jobs.
And then so I got to learn aboutpatch panels and switches and
routers and access wireless access points.
(03:34):
And then he started teaching me how to make like R5 or RJ45
jacks and the difference betweenSeries A and series B.
So I start really getting my hands dirty like outside of
work, going to just different job sites with him that he would
take me on and show me the ropes.
And I just really got the bug and it was like a different side
versus just, you know, setting up the the printer for, for my
(03:56):
parents or hey, my phone's not working.
Can you look at this? And it was like a whole new
world. They got opened up to me and
that was just like brought out bushy tails like, Oh my God,
what is this? I love it.
I need more of it. And so that's what kind of got
me back on the path of looking at tech.
Now, in your current role in thehealthcare field, has there been
(04:18):
anything that's kind of helped prepare you for this transition
you're making into IT? Oh yeah.
So a lot of customer service. So I'm in a leadership role,
supervisor role. And so I do multiple different
things in there. And a lot of a lot of that is a
big part of this customer service deal with a lot of
patients who are upset because of one thing or other, whether
(04:41):
it be a bill that they got, not understanding why they got
charged, when they charged whilethey were diagnosed, when they
were diagnosed coming from a different doctor, not knowing
why they were sent to a specialist, you know, from their
primary care. So, you know, I've gotten cussed
out before, I've gotten yelled at, I've gotten threatened.
(05:02):
I mean, every, you name it, I'vehad it happen to me.
And being able to sit with the patient and empathize with them
and understand the frustration and the anger and sitting with
them and trying to walk in through the process of them,
like, OK, hey, I look, I get it.I know you're upset.
I know you're mad. This is what's going on.
You know, this is what information we have.
(05:22):
This is why you're being sent tothis doctor.
This is why your bill was this. And so I found that I've had a
pretty good knack for being ableto take patients that are really
upset and get them to calm down and re talk to them, help them
understand why things are being done the way they're they're
being done. And usually, usually they walk
(05:42):
away with a better understandingand, you know, a lot calmer than
what they, they first came in. So just getting that experience
of understanding, you know, where people are coming from
and, and just trying to do my best to help them.
And I know in tech that's something you deal with a lot.
You deal with, you know, people calling in frantic, sporadic,
just going crazy, not know what's going on.
(06:04):
Why is my computer not working? Why is the screen not working?
How come the internet's not working?
What's going on? And just being on level 100 and
you've got to give them to calm down so you can find out, all
right, what's the problem? What's the root problem?
What can we do to fix it? So I feel like, you know, my
tenure in in medical has really helped prepare me to understand
how to be a person that has compassion, empathy, and to be
(06:26):
able to sit with somebody and really help them work through
the issue that they're having. I say all the time, tech field
is very much a customer service oriented position.
You know, you have to really be there to help people understand,
you know, you're helping people that are not tech savvy.
You know, like in your role, you're helping people currently
(06:46):
that aren't familiar if the medical field and the different
things that are going on, you'regoing to have that same level of
empathy and help for the tech, you know, on the technical side.
So you know, soft skills is hugein the tech field 100%.
I get there with a lot of the doctors and some of the other
staff in different areas, even though the practice that I work
(07:06):
in, I've gotten close with a lotof the IT guys that we have and
they're a good bit of ways away from where our IT team dispatch
is from. And so I've learned a lot of
stuff from the guys you know there too.
And so a lot of times, you know,people see me, they hey, I know
I heard you help such and such with some stuff.
So I get pulled a lot even in mycurrent world, even though it's
(07:28):
not like my main job, I know howto do some stuff.
So I get pulled a lot to different areas of the building
and helping people do different things.
So I've learned that, like I said, working with doctors and
different nurses and just different things that all right,
even though these people are super smart in some cases, they
know how to turn the computer onand that's about it.
(07:48):
They know how to get to the certain programs, they know how
to get to. Other than that, they don't care
to know about it. They don't want to know about
it. They just know it's not working
and they want you to get it working again and soon as
possible. So I've learned to kind of deal
with that pressure too, of just like taking somebody, like you
said, who doesn't really know a lot or even care to know a lot
and be able to just work fast under pressure, get it going and
(08:10):
get them back up and running. And then I'm off to the next
thing. So.
One thing you mentioned to me is, you know you went through a
coding boot camp and found out it just was not a good fit for
you, right? What was your biggest challenge
with that program? So I'm more of a kinesthetic
learner. I'm a hands on guy, I like being
hands on and I did pretty good whenever I would get like into
the class around the mentors andother students.
(08:33):
But I feel like the program thatI went through it just kind of
it left more to the imagination and that even though it was
structured, I feel like I still could have got more from it.
And so I just got a, a bad tastein my mouth about how that went.
And so going through that and then having the transition to
(08:57):
the networking side, I feel likewith my personality and the way
I am, I am more of a people person and more into the
networking side. So I feel like networking
hardware, sitting admin somewhere around there is more
of my lane versus just sitting down coding and just sitting all
(09:20):
day coding. So I think that was kind of
really my thing. I just didn't feel like I have
that impact that I was looking for doing the coding thing, and
I can have a more impact in a different part of tech than just
sitting down coding. Well, you know, many people feel
discouraged, especially after having like a bad experience
(09:41):
with some learning platform. How did you keep your love for
tech alive after that? You know, how did you keep
really going? Just different technologies,
learning different things. Like I said, being around
different people, watching channels like yours.
You're, you're a big inspirationto me.
Kev. Tech IT, Josh Metacar, like
watching you guys. John Hammond, amazing guy,
(10:05):
amazing guy, big ball, Azure guyand watching you guys, man, like
just over over time just made mejust keep my head in the game a
little bit and just think, you know, hey, at some point I'm
going to make a transition. I know I will.
I just don't know when I'm goingto.
And then when I started helping people here, like I said, I seem
to have a knack for getting nowhere where I go getting
(10:27):
getting cool with IT guys, and somehow always just end up in
the mix of things. And like seen like the the
benefit of helping people and seeing what it did to me and how
I felt going home at the end of the day of being able to help
somebody with a problem. I started feeling that that love
again, like I felt when I first got into medical.
(10:49):
And so and then I started havingpeople tell me, you know, you
really bright light up like whenyou talk about this stuff.
And I was like, oh, you know, thanks though.
I'm just trying to just trying to be helpful.
You know, I just want to help people.
And it's like, yeah, and you do a good job of what you do.
Like you're, you can tell you'rea caring person when you start
talking about this computer stuff like you, you're like a
bright light. And so when I started hearing
(11:10):
enough people say that, it made me really think, OK, maybe I'm
wanting something here. Maybe this is something I should
really hold on to and like, really dig in.
Because if I'm doing one job andI'm doing good at it and I'm
getting praise from it, but I'm having multiple people tell me
that I really seem like I'm glowing when I'm talking about
tech, it's probably something I should, I should explore a
(11:33):
little bit more. So that was kind of my, my aha
moment, my light bulb moment, say, okay, that's something I
need to stick stick with and stay into and dig into a little
bit deeper. I can 100% relate to that
because I, I was told the same thing, you know, at one point in
my career when I was first starting out.
And I kind of reminded that whenI started my YouTube channel, I
(11:53):
was being told, man, you have a knack for teaching things.
You have a knack for breaking things down simple and helping
people. And you can tell you do really
good at it and you really enjoy it.
So that's why I started my YouTube channel.
So I can 100% relate to that feeling now.
What advice would you give to others considering a boot camp?
You know, especially if they're unsure about that style of
(12:16):
learning. Do your research, there's a lot
of boot camps out here. Some are better than others,
some are a lot worse than others.
Not just do the research on the boot camp, but reach out to
people like, you know, you look on LinkedIn, it's just different
places. You can see a lot of people put
(12:38):
where they went, you know, on their, on their profiles.
Reach out to some of these people.
Hey, I'm thinking about getting into coding, helping by getting
the network and hey, I think I want to be a Linux admin.
Reach out to some of these people that have some of these
certifications. Say, hey, I see you went to this
boot camp. What was your experience with
it? Don't make the same mistake I
did and just jump into somethingjust because you hear it's the,
(12:59):
the, the hottest thing and it's going to make a whole bunch of
money. You know, to me, it's, it's not,
I've realized now it's not all about the money.
Just just great to have money, but it's not everything.
And some of the most wealthy people are miserable.
So find something that you wouldlike you love to do and that
you're going to love to do and it's not going to feel like work
(13:21):
and you can make money at it. Absolutely.
So the tech field is got the money in it.
It's just you got to find your lane and the money will come.
So that's my my thing. If I was to start over again, I
would pick the the field that I want to be in, find a couple
boot camps that I think I want to try, and then start reaching
out to students and say, hey, what was your experience?
(13:41):
If you had to do all over again,would you do it again?
And would you still pick the same boot camp or would you go
somewhere else and and do something else?
And I think that'll save you a lot of headache and a lot of
money. Well, and it's important to
realize like everyone learns different, you know, I'm very
much a hands on learner. I like to like read something or
watch a video, how it's done andthen like go do it.
(14:02):
That's just how I learned. So I really when I was studying
and stuff, I really succeeded with like the video platforms
out there, like the Ines, the CBT Nuggets.
That's what I used when I was first starting out.
Some people are great textbook readers and stuff like that.
And some people need the guidance and the, you know, the
hand holding and stuff like thatthere.
So there's different paths for everyone.
(14:24):
Now you're currently enrolled inCourse Careers, which is a
company I've talked about several times on the channel
before. What made you like look into
Course Careers and and the end of the day deciding to pull the
trigger and go with them? Basically what I just said, So I
had started out with their tech sales platform, thought about
(14:45):
going into the tech sales thing because I've done sales before
too and did fairly well at it. But the more like I said, the
more I thought about it, I just was like, well, I really feel
like I want to stay on this technical side of it.
So started reaching out to some people, saw a couple of Josh's
reviews online. And so I started reaching out to
(15:06):
people like, hey, I like him. I watch a lot of his content.
I think he's great. I'm really good friends with
Antoine Wade over elevated to the unknown platform.
And I know he has the cyber security course with Josh.
And so he told me Josh was a really great guy.
And when I start reaching the people and I start seeing some
of these guys are really gettingjobs from this and start asking
(15:28):
about how the program is, what'sin.
And then I found out that there's actually labs in there
and his hands on, he let you getdown and dirty.
And I was sold with me being the, like I said, the kind of
state learner, the hands on kindof guy, just like you.
And I heard that I'm actually going to be doing labs and doing
something. I was sold.
I didn't hesitate. I went straight to the site,
(15:49):
went to IT court and smacked thecredit card down and went hit
and bought. That's it for me man.
If I'm doing. If I'm actually doing last.
Shut up and take my money. Right, take my money, shut up
and take my money already. Once I was we doing labs.
I was I was all in man so. But that that's cool.
And you know, that's one thing Ireally look for like when I'm
(16:10):
looking at a learning platform, I've used so many different
learning platforms because I, I everyone, every learning
platform is different. And I like to see how different
platforms handle things. And hands on labs is like, yeah,
for me it's like, shut up and take my money.
I really love when a platform goes the extra mile to include
(16:30):
that right now. Besides, just like the hands on
learning part, like how has yourexperience with course careers
differed from like the boot campyou attended?
Like, is there anything else in particular that stood out to
you? Night and day, Josh is really,
really good at breaking things down.
He also was really good about pushing to to go out your
(16:52):
comfort zone and zone and try other other things.
Like at the end of every module,he says, don't just take, you
know, my word for it. Go look up, you know, ChatGPT or
go look up videos on this. Go to YouTube and, you know, put
type in this and really, you know, look at about four or five
other videos. See how it compares to the
mission we're given here. But he's really good about
(17:14):
breaking things down and he talks at a pace where it's not
monotone, it's not too slow where it's going to bore you.
It's not too fast when you can'tgrasp it.
Like he's, he's found like that sweet spot to like talk to you
to where he keeps you engaged and you're learning.
And then like I said, I like thefact that he's not just, oh, I'm
the guru. Listen to me.
(17:35):
Do what I tell you to do. It's no, I've been doing this
for a while, What I'm talking about.
But just in case you're unsure, go check out other sources and
come back and then compare it towhat you're learning and also
use it as more information. Don't just go off of what we're
teaching here. Absolutely.
So I feel like that's that's great, man.
You don't get a lot of people todo that and.
That's like some of the best advice, and I learned that first
(17:57):
hand. Like when I very, very first
started studying to get into thetech field, I was using a
platform called CBT Nuggets. And I'm not hating on that.
I'm not saying they're bad. They're great.
And I was using it to study for the Comptaa Plus and it got me
90% of the way there. But I started using an Professor
Messer. It's a study for the CompTIA A+.
(18:18):
And I'm like, wait a minute, He's talking about the stuff
that CBT Nuggets didn't even cover.
And, you know, so sometimes you got to diversify your learning
and double check yourself. And, you know, there's some
things that, you know, ProfessorMesser was talking about that
CBT Nuggets wasn't learning. So it's really cool that you
know, the instructor there and you know, Josh says the exact
(18:40):
same things. I know Josh very well.
I think we've had him on the channel like two different Times
Now. And I'm sure we got to bring him
back here again sometime becausehe's just packed full of
knowledge. But you know, people, if there's
not one solution that's going totake care of all your all your
needs and it's cool that he gives you that advice as part of
the program. So I think that's really cool
(19:02):
not to keep on sounding like this is a sponsored video from
Course Curious because it's not.But what was the most exciting
part of your journey with CourseCareer so far?
Like what have you gotten the most joy out of?
The camaraderie, man, you know, course careers pumps a lot about
the, the community part of it. And not to say I don't really
(19:22):
feel like I got it per SE. And the tech sales part it, it
was there, but I feel like I've engaged with a lot more people
this time on the, the IT, you know, side of it.
I'm actually seeing the benefitsof that, you know, that
community, a lot of people that reached out to me on LinkedIn.
And it's not just the, you know,the empty LinkedIn request.
(19:44):
Let me get my, my LinkedIn to 500.
Like people actually like commenting, send me messages,
talking to me, asking me different things.
So they got really fuck, I'm getting that family aspect of
it. And like I said, just the way
Josh teaches men, like I feel like I'm really doing do it as
far as like getting the materialand understanding it outside of
submitting. It's still kicking my butt.
(20:06):
But that's that's another story for another day.
But other than that, ma'am, likeI said, I just, I feel like
it's. It's a course that really breaks
it down for you, no matter what your learning style is.
And I feel like, yeah, anybody, if you really want to learn it,
you can learn it with the way that they have this set up.
(20:27):
And just a reminder for those who are watching and listening,
you're you're currently not working in tech.
You're in the process of gettinginto the tech field right now.
What is your goal like? Are you, what are you trying to,
what's your dream job like? I guess let me rephrase that.
What is the first job you're looking to get in the tech
field? And then what is like your dream
job you're you're working towards?
(20:49):
So I've, I'm kind of between a fuse.
I like sales engineer because you get kind of that combo of
the sales and the, you know, thetechnical side of it.
I don't know, man, I Linux, Linux admin is kind of sexy to
me. I I, I didn't really been doing
for me to admin so like system admin somewhere in there.
(21:11):
But I was watching the interviewyou did with I think it was, was
it bug bites or the why people don't want to be a network
engineer anymore? And Oh yeah, I hear you talk
about it. And then thinking about like
what I felt when I was helping the cybersecurity specialist,
whether that one job, I don't know, man, like just the
(21:33):
touching the, the stuff, man, just kind of like, I just, I
loved it. Like being involved in it.
So and networking engineers, notoff the table, man.
Like I, I know, like you guys talked about on the show, like a
lot of people don't want to do that anymore, but I'm not above
that, man. I'm not above coming in at the
ground floor and working my way back up.
You know, I mean, to, to one of those higher levels, like let me
(21:53):
get in and get dirty. I don't mind when the cables,
you know what I mean? I'll take my fishing rods and
and run through the ceiling towels and do whatever I got to
do, man. Like I'm I'm ready to get down
and dirty. So like I said, I've got a few
of them, but just talk, listen to you talk, man, like and
that's becoming a lost art. My father, the God rest his
thought when he was around, he was a Carpenter, master
(22:15):
Carpenter. And so I saw like the trades
traders going to make a comebacknow, but a lot of people are
getting away from that man. That's kind of what I felt like
it's happening with a network engineers.
So I'm not above coming in and getting dirty as a network
engineer, man and really building up those those towers
and, and getting in there and getting dirty so.
(22:35):
That's so cool. What has been your biggest
mindset shift that you've reallyexperienced since you've really
started kind of digging in and pursuing this career?
That I'm, I don't even know. My hat says I don't have to be
the lone wolf. That, you know, there's are,
there are people who out here who want to help you succeed and
it's genuine. It's not because there's some
(22:56):
kind of ulterior motive or there's something for them to
gain. Of course, there probably are
some out there, but so far not knock on wood, I haven't
encountered any of those. Everybody that I've talked to,
ma'am, from you to Josh, I've actually got a chance to talk to
him as well. There's no nobody has come
across as just like rude or out to get you or just like it's a
(23:20):
money grab. Like like once you talk to
somebody and they can see that you truly want to learn like
this. This field is amazing, man.
Like it's what I felt when I first got into medical.
Like they're they're genuine people.
I heard that want to see you winand they want to see you succeed
and they want to help push you and get you where you want to
go. But I will give the caveat you
have to be genuine people like like you, Josh, Kev, there's a
(23:44):
lot John, like you guys can sniff out BS quickly.
Yes. And I've seen it like if you
don't really want it and you're not going to put in the work,
you guys, they're like, they're not going to help you, but
they'll give you a little bit. But you won't, you won't get
what you would have got. If somebody feels like you're
genuinely want to learn and you really want to get into this
field because you know, people put a lot of time in in in this
(24:06):
field to get where they where they're at and it's not for
play. It's not a game.
People really put in some hard work, some long hours studying,
getting certification, getting degrees.
So if you come in BS and people are going to smell it, they're
going to fish it out real quick and you're not going to get the
help you need. If you're honest and you're
genuine about it, like you're going to get everything you need
(24:27):
to succeed and get to wherever you want to get to where that's
system admin or seesaw, people are going to help you get there,
right? But you've got to be genuine and
you got to be willing to put in the work.
That's so true. And that's the exact same advice
I give to people when they're looking to find a mentor or
something like that is you have to be genuine.
You can't just be like, give me,give me, give me, give me, give
(24:48):
me. I want to be in this field
because I want to make a lot of money.
Give me, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me,
right. We're going to we're going to
hit smell that out right away. You will find that most people
working in tech are more than happy to help.
And you know, the crew field wasn't always that way.
You know, 10 years ago, this wasvery much a kind of a gatekeepy,
you know, community where like go read the manual, find out
(25:12):
yourself. We all did our time, you know,
but it's no longer like that. Most of the people, and I say
most because I'm sure there's still a few out there like you
said are more than willing to help, but you have to truly want
it. You know?
I get DMS daily from people asking for advice, asking for
mentorship and most of the time I try to answer the best I can.
(25:34):
I and I feel bad 'cause sometimes I'll write up like a
book I'll just getting, I'll getcarried away trying to help
people out. But then I get those quick one
liners and like what certification do I need to get a
job in cybersecurity? I'm like, OK, what do you want
to do in cyber security? What, what, what are you
passionate about? Like, you know, and sometimes
(25:55):
I'll, I'll give him a chance andlike, I'll try to apply for some
more information. But on the same hand, like, you
know what I'm busy. I, I work a full time job.
I got a family, I run a YouTube channel like if, if you want
advice from me, like put in the effort, you know what I mean?
So that that is some really solid device now looking back at
your journey so far, because youknow, I know you're still in
(26:17):
your journey currently, but whatis one thing you wish you knew
from the beginning that would have helped you out along this
way? You just said it, mentor.
Getting to a point to where you can cut that learning curve down
helps tremendously. That also you got to have tough
(26:38):
skiing in this game like this isnot for the faint of heart.
If you want to develop some tough skiing, get on Stack
Overflow. Trust me, it will help you get
tough skin real quick. The questions that I see you
there asking and the response isI'm like, wow.
Yeah. So, but you're the mentor thing,
man. Like it's just the way things
(27:02):
are going and the way technologyis advancing so fast, you got to
try to cut that learning curve down as much as possible.
And so that's something I've been doing, I've been watching,
like I said, a lot of different channels, man, I see what you
just said, the gyms and, and, and that type of stuff.
So coming from a different field, it's not in tech and not
(27:23):
knowing like what I, I have per SE as my, my core skills that I
can offer to help out. It's it's something that I'm
working on and, and doing a deepdive on myself to find out what
I can bring to the table to helpme with that.
Because when I do go out here and, and get mentors, I want to
be able to provide, like you said, not just give me, give me,
(27:44):
give me. I want to be able to, to give
and take. So learning something that you
can do to give to your mentors tour so it's not feel like
you're just draining them all the time.
But that's like my biggest thingman is, is find out what you're
good at, what you can you can provide to that said mentor and
then provide those services to them.
(28:05):
And then that way it's a, it's aeven exchange with that person
and they don't feel like they'rejust, I've given you all of you
know, all of them and they're not getting anything from it.
So that's my biggest thing is man, just find out what you're
good at, how you can help other people, and then go out here and
find the mentor that can help you cut this time in half.
I'm curious like how far along in your journey are you?
(28:27):
How long do you have until you you feel like you're going to
start applying for different jobpositions?
So I'm at the 70% the mark of the course right now.
So I'm actually at the park to do the the lab.
So looking at my Azure stuff today.
So when we get off here, I'll begetting getting on and setting
up my Azure account and start working on my OS ticket and then
(28:48):
all that good stuff and my virtual box and all that stuff.
So I'm excited about that actually get to do the hands on
part. That's what I've been waiting on
this whole time. So I'm ready to get to that
point. But but once I kind of get the
idea, like I know Josh says go through it multiple times.
So I figured probably once I get, you know, 3 or 4 times of
going through setting up my, youknow, my virtual machine,
(29:09):
building my ticketing system from scratch, doing some of
those things and I feel comfortable with it.
But I'm going to go ahead and, you know, update my resume and
make it more text because right now it's full medical, but make
it more tech savvy and then get out here and start applying for
for things, man. So I can I can go ahead and get
my foot foot in the door somewhere.
(29:31):
Well, how do you plan on leveraging your medical
experience with your technical experience as you start to move
forward? I plan on using, like you said,
the customer service skills, like conveying to hiring
managers and recruiters. The fact that I understand that
this this field, this job is notsomething that's just, you know,
(29:52):
easy money. I'm going to keep back, you
know, the, the, the remote life that everybody's pushing, you
know, online, just keep back andget 100 thousands of dollars.
I know it's going to be work andI'm going to work.
I've done it for a long career in medical.
When I'm ready to put that same amount of work in and to this
understand that, you know, I'm going to be dealing with people
who are, you know, some, some cases irate, pissed off
(30:14):
executives, you know, other people.
And I'm built, I'm built for it.Like it's not going to scare me
away. I'm not going to fold under the
pressure. I'm used to pressure.
I'm working in medical, but I'm used to having pressure all the
time. So that's not something that's
that's going to tore me away. I'm willing to put in the work,
use my compassion, my empathy, my sympathy, and be able to sit
(30:36):
there with somebody and help getthem through what they need to
get through, get them back up and running and make sure that I
can provide value to the company.
If you were to talk to someone who was in the position you
were, you know, a while ago where you know you had lost that
excitement on your current role,what advice would you give them
about breaking into the tech field?
(30:56):
Do exactly what I did find something that sparks your
interest. Something that's not going to be
just a money grab, but somethingthat you genuinely care about,
that genuinely interest you and pursue that.
Talk to other people, reach out to people, Don't be scared to
reach out to people. This, this field, like I said,
it's one of the best fields whenit comes to that type of stuff.
(31:18):
There's more people that are willing to talk to you then then
not. So if you can find something
that you really are interested in, go on LinkedIn, go on
different platforms, whether even if it's like somebody's
Instagram page or somebody's YouTube page, reach out to these
people. They're they're, they're regular
people just like me and you, they're willing to talk and just
(31:40):
find out, Hey, what did you do to get here?
How did you get here? And you know what I mean?
And just just kind of, you know,do a coffee chat real quick just
to ask them a few questions. Don't take up a whole bunch of
their time because everybody's busy.
But if you're, if you have your questions ready and that's
nothing like have your stuff ready.
Don't just go into it trying to wing it.
(32:01):
Like have your stuff prepared, like know the questions you want
to ask. Get your 3 or 4 questions, 5
questions, ask those. Get in, get out.
That way they're not wasting their time.
You're not wasting their time. And they feel like, OK, you
know, this person's ready. They came prepared.
You know, I'll, I'll give them some gems.
Because if you come in wasting people's time, you're not going
to get anything out of it. So I would I would do that.
(32:25):
Absolutely. Well, and since you just
mentioned LinkedIn and stuff, ifpeople want to ask you questions
or you have any questions for you, where can they find you?
I'm Scott Taylor on LinkedIn, you can find me on there.
I don't really have anything on like Instagram.
I might have an Instagram. It's a operation tech takeover,
which is the same as my YouTube,which that's something I got to
(32:48):
do is start posting on YouTube. And that's something I want to
try to do is to help kind of cement things is take some of
that stuff once I get good at itand do it on my YouTube channel,
which just has another learning style and, and you know, motive
to to retain information. But yeah, I'm, I'm on LinkedIn,
man. Come find me on LinkedIn, reach
out to me. I'll give you anything I can.
(33:09):
But like I said the caveat is I work a full time.
Well actually I work 2 full timejobs and I'm studying so I don't
have time to waste. So come talk with me.
I will give you the game that I've gotten so far but you got
to show me your serious. I'm not I'm not here to play.
I've got you know goals and dreams that I'm trying to reach
and I don't have time to play. So I'm going to talk to me about
(33:32):
it as long as you're willing to show me what you're serious and
you want it as bad as I do. Hey, we can be study buddies.
We can make it happen. That's awesome.
And we'll make sure and link those links to those platforms
down in the description or show notes below.
Now I I'm, I'm, I know you kind of touched on it, but what keeps
you going? Like is it the thought of, you
(33:54):
know, landing a job in the tech field or is it just excitement
about tech? Like what keeps you going on a
daily basis? Well, I have a goal to my father
was my big was my biggest hero, but he didn't get really far in
life. He said he was a Carpenter, he
(34:15):
had minimum education. He was a hard worker.
He taught me and my brother and my sisters like a work ethic.
So like I, I saw that man get upevery day, strokes, heart
attacks, being partially paralyzed and like just grinding
to make sure his family was was taken care of.
And so I feel like I have a big responsibility with my last name
(34:40):
trying to live up to that man And he was a modern the
community. And that's kind of what I want
to do. I want to be something that, you
know, he can look down on me from the heavens and smiley and
still have my mother here. Thank goodness she's a little,
you know, up in age. But I want to get to a point to
where I feel like they truly know that I'm going to be OK and
(35:01):
that they raise a son that is really, I heard, making a
difference in the world. That was why I got into medical.
And I feel like things have kindof shifted in the medical field.
I don't feel like it's as much push for the people.
And that's like my goal now is to get into a company now and
truly make a difference in people's lives, just in a
different manner instead of critical essential worker.
(35:24):
But now as something else, whether it be like you said,
cyber security or whatever, I end up in and in.
But I want to get to a point to where I'm making that same kind
of impact. And then my family and my
parents can look at me and say, you know, we raised him right.
And he he's doing what he's supposed to be doing.
He's making a mark in the world.So I got a big, big, big shoe at
the field man like my father. And I'm that's my my pushing
(35:47):
point now is just to get to a point to where I can do that.
Our last name Proud and I can really make make a difference in
people's lives and we know that at the end of the day when I go
home that I did something that really is making a difference in
this world. That's really cool and I really
appreciate you taking the time and sharing that story with us.
I think I, I, I hope that whoever's listening to this, if
(36:07):
you made it this far, you found some value here, you know to
keep going to keep studying. If you have let me know in the
comments below, because I alwayslove hearing you guys's
feedback, but you know, I, I, I have the strict belief with this
podcast, if, if the story that I'm helping share can help one
person is 100% worth it all the time.
(36:28):
So thank you again, Scott, for just sharing such an
inspirational story, sharing your viewpoint on the industry
and I really appreciate you taking the time I.
Appreciate you man. Thank you for making the
channel. Like I said, it's guys like you
all that kind of really helped push me to to pursue this and
really stay on it. So I'm appreciative of even
(36:48):
having the chance, man, to even be on on the show and helping
the same thing. But you know, my story can
inspire somebody to to make a change.
If they've been thinking about making a change, go for it.
There's no time late like now. But thank you for for doing this
channel, man. It's it's an inspiration to a
lot of people. Awesome.
Well everyone, thank you again for tuning in and until next
(37:08):
time, keep learning.
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