Free Coursework Available through the Cisco

An experienced IT professional, Hovig Barbarian oversees logistics with Quicksilver Scientific in Lafayette, Colorado. Hovig Barbarian has taken advantage of a number of opportunities for learning new technologies over the course of his career, including through the Cisco Networking Academy. Currently, Cisco’s academy offers a range of free online classes that serve as a solid base for careers in IT.

Three free courses with a significant amount of material to work through are Networking Essentials, Linux Essentials, and Programming Essentials in Python. Each of these courses takes about 70 hours to complete, providing an excellent base of knowledge for further exploration. Another 70-hour course offered by the organization is called Entrepreneur, which teaches people how to connect what they love doing with the issues that drive them.

In addition to these longer courses, Cisco offers a 20-hour course called Introduction to Internet of Things, and a 15-hour course called Introduction to Cybersecurity. Cisco also provides certification roadmaps on where to go from these courses for people with very specific career goals, to ensure they get all the skills they need.

CompTIA Updates Server+ Certification

Currently head of logistics with Quicksilver Scientific in Lafayette, Colorado, Hovig Barbarian spent nearly a decade in IT support at Josak Shipping. Over the course of his career, Hovig Barbarian has used a number of resources to increase his technical skill base, including CompTIA. This organization provides a range of technical certifications across many platforms.

Recently, CompTIA launched a new Server+ Certification exam along with novel learning products that provide self-paced lessons, as well as live online training. This certification is meant for professionals who manage and troubleshoot both virtual and physical servers in data centers across the globe. The changes to the exam and course were made in collaboration with tech experts from many industries.

Much of the new material emphasized on the Server+ exam deal with cloud computing concepts, as well as virtualization of servers. Also, the new exam focuses on both on-premise and hybrid server environments, including server administration done in person and remotely. These changes reflect a new move in server management toward virtual environments, and the need for professionals in this area to be able to handle virtualization.

CompTIA - Providing Certificates for IT

Based in Lafayette, Colorado, Hovig Barbarian handles logistics for Quicksilver Scientific, where he has worked since May 2020. Hovig Barbarian enjoys learning new skills through Khan Academy, and has earned certificates through Cisco Networking Academy and CompTIA.

CompTIA is the world’s leading tech association that offers education and certifications, and also works with the public sector and as philanthropists. Established in 1982, the organization serves as an advocate for the $5 trillion information technology industry and the world’s more than 50 million professionals.

CompTIA offers certificates in cybersecurity, infrastructure, and a set of four core certifications known as IT Fundamentals, A+, Network+, and Security+. These certifications benefit those pursuing careers in IT infrastructure and cybersecurity, and each certificate helps professionals build their expertise and makes them more desirable employees.

To help those pursuing certification, CompTIA offers expert-designed self-study tools, which include printed and eBooks and video training as well as online learning courses. The nonprofit also offers instructor-led training from experts who know the exams and offers other helpful resources, including practice tests.

Learn more about these certifications by visiting www.comptia.org.

Shooting a “Robin Hood”

A data analyst with a background in IT, Hovig Barbarian has overseen logistic operations for Lafayette, Colorado’s Quicksilver Scientific since 2020. Outside of the professional arena, Hovig Barbarian counts archery among his favorite hobbies. Mr. Barbarian once overcame the odds to make a “Robin Hood” shot. This rare feat involves spitting an arrow that is already sticking out of the bull’s eye of an archery target.

Of course, the Robin Hood shot gets its name from the legendary heroic outlaw character of English folklore. The Robin Hood character famously accomplished this incredibly tricky shot in a shootout with his archenemy, the Sheriff of Nottingham.

In the days of Robin Hood, his eponymous shot would have resulted in a split or splintered wooden arrow. The modern aluminum and carbon arrows of today produce Robin Hood shots in which one arrow enters the hollow core of another.

Archers contend that different types of arrows are significantly more or less likely to result in a Robin Hood shot. Regardless of the equipment used, shooting a Robin Hood remains an extremely uncommon occurrence.