Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab
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What if I have home lab and a production server at home? Do I get bonus points?
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I think having some type of home lab or access to a virtual lab is a natural extension for anyone that works and loves IT. I know there are some who can't afford much and that is understandable. It may also be a function of how much you already know, type of home environment you have, and whether you plan on switching jobs at some point.
My home lab is modest but I run and host vm's, have storage, and manage 2 websites where i did everything through Linux. I plan on doing more, a lot more. I plan on putting a small rack in, getting a proper firewall, a large switch, a good router, keep my wiki updated and so forth. There is so much I want to know about I will always have things to tinker around with at home even though I may not get to at work. That still won't stop me as i am still low end IT moneywise. I want to show future employers what i do at home and how much storage I will have. I want to see their faces when i do more than they do at work and possibly have more storage lol. That will also come with being able to explain all those technologies whether it be vm's I host, websites I write for, or storage technologies I can show that I use. It is just something I want to do as long as I can.
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I have a laptop, but no real home lab. I have done the odd thing I've been really interested in, but not often.
IMO, if I need to learn something for work - I learn at work/on the job.
If I don't need to learn something 'IT' for work, i'm most likely not going to spend time learning it at home - I have no use for it.^ of course, at the point it is needed for work, if, then I will learn at work as its needed.
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
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YAGNI.
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
I have a laptop, but no real home lab. I have done the odd thing I've been really interested in, but not often.
IMO, if I need to learn something for work - I learn at work/on the job.
If I don't need to learn something 'IT' for work, i'm most likely not going to spend time learning it at home - I have no use for it.^ of course, at the point it is needed for work, if, then I will learn at work as its needed.
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
Because you are genuinely curious and passionate about technology? I will probably never use KVM on the job but I would like to know how to do things in it if I ever do need it. Many technologies that I implemented in my home lab I have brought to my job as a resource.
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
I have a laptop, but no real home lab. I have done the odd thing I've been really interested in, but not often.
IMO, if I need to learn something for work - I learn at work/on the job.
If I don't need to learn something 'IT' for work, i'm most likely not going to spend time learning it at home - I have no use for it.^ of course, at the point it is needed for work, if, then I will learn at work as its needed.
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
I don’t think you can really learn something about enterprise virtualization in a limited amount of time, from scratch, and just because your company told you. You need a sort of lab to do trial-error, before making havoc in production.
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
IMO, if I need to learn something for work - I learn at work/on the job.
So as a potential employer, what I hear is.... I'd have to train you for everything. Why hire someone that needs trained always, instead of someone who learns what is needed? Would you hire a lawyer that hasn't learned law yet? Or a doctor that hasn't learned medicine yet? What profession hires people who only learn the job after being hired?
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
Because it is fun, and it is what causes us to move forward in our professions.
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
YAGNI.
That's a good principle, but doesn't apply to education
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@coliver said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
I have a laptop, but no real home lab. I have done the odd thing I've been really interested in, but not often.
IMO, if I need to learn something for work - I learn at work/on the job.
If I don't need to learn something 'IT' for work, i'm most likely not going to spend time learning it at home - I have no use for it.^ of course, at the point it is needed for work, if, then I will learn at work as its needed.
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
Because you are genuinely curious and passionate about technology? I will probably never use KVM on the job but I would like to know how to do things in it if I ever do need it. Many technologies that I implemented in my home lab I have brought to my job as a resource.
Also, as IT, we make decisions about what to use on the job. How do you know what to use at work, if you haven't been playing with it?
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@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
IMO, if I need to learn something for work - I learn at work/on the job.
So as a potential employer, what I hear is.... I'd have to train you for everything. Why hire someone that needs trained always, instead of someone who learns what is needed? Would you hire a lawyer that hasn't learned law yet? Or a doctor that hasn't learned medicine yet? What profession hires people who only learn the job after being hired?
Why assume somebody is applying for a job the description of duties advertised isn't a match? If I cannot do the job, i'd not apply. Of course, if I got the job and needed to learn something, I then would - as its now needed.
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@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
Because it is fun, and it is what causes us to move forward in our professions.
Its not as fun as spending time with family. We all have our own needs from life - personally time with loved ones is top priority over learning things I may never use.
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@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@coliver said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
I have a laptop, but no real home lab. I have done the odd thing I've been really interested in, but not often.
IMO, if I need to learn something for work - I learn at work/on the job.
If I don't need to learn something 'IT' for work, i'm most likely not going to spend time learning it at home - I have no use for it.^ of course, at the point it is needed for work, if, then I will learn at work as its needed.
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
Because you are genuinely curious and passionate about technology? I will probably never use KVM on the job but I would like to know how to do things in it if I ever do need it. Many technologies that I implemented in my home lab I have brought to my job as a resource.
Also, as IT, we make decisions about what to use on the job. How do you know what to use at work, if you haven't been playing with it?
Research when a project comes up.
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
IMO, if I need to learn something for work - I learn at work/on the job.
So as a potential employer, what I hear is.... I'd have to train you for everything. Why hire someone that needs trained always, instead of someone who learns what is needed? Would you hire a lawyer that hasn't learned law yet? Or a doctor that hasn't learned medicine yet? What profession hires people who only learn the job after being hired?
Why assume somebody is applying for a job the description of duties advertised isn't a match? If I cannot do the job, i'd not apply. Of course, if I got the job and needed to learn something, I then would - as its now needed.
That's not the point I was trying to make. Let's say that your current job is X. As with most IT jobs, no other job out there is exactly X, or even all that reasonably close. IT jobs are highly unique. If you are not learning things at home, when would you ever learn what is needed for the next job or, for that matter, the first one?
If you aren't learning on your own, you'd never be qualified for any first IT job, and then never be qualified for another IT job unless you got that one unique situation where your own employer decided to train you for a job change, which is fine, but rare.
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@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
YAGNI.
That's a good principle, but doesn't apply to education
Heh, indeed. Although, it somewhat does. If i'm not going to need it, its not useful to learn. If a job requires it, at that point i'd spend time learning it - quite possibly in my own time. But before then, no point.
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
Because it is fun, and it is what causes us to move forward in our professions.
Its not as fun as spending time with family. We all have our own needs from life - personally time with loved ones is top priority over learning things I may never use.
I agree here. Spending time with family is a top priority, but so is investing in yourself. I tend to bounce around with my free time (time to myself). Sometimes I'm tinkering in my home lab and other times, I'm not.
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@coliver said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
I have a laptop, but no real home lab. I have done the odd thing I've been really interested in, but not often.
IMO, if I need to learn something for work - I learn at work/on the job.
If I don't need to learn something 'IT' for work, i'm most likely not going to spend time learning it at home - I have no use for it.^ of course, at the point it is needed for work, if, then I will learn at work as its needed.
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
Because you are genuinely curious and passionate about technology? I will probably never use KVM on the job but I would like to know how to do things in it if I ever do need it. Many technologies that I implemented in my home lab I have brought to my job as a resource.
Also, as IT, we make decisions about what to use on the job. How do you know what to use at work, if you haven't been playing with it?
Research when a project comes up.
That's an insanely costly and ineffective means of doing it most of the time. I have to make decisions constantly, often in a meeting. There is no time to research, especially if I have to question things already proposed. Researching might take weeks or months and in some cases years. Decisions often have to be in minutes.
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
YAGNI.
That's a good principle, but doesn't apply to education
Heh, indeed. Although, it somewhat does. If i'm not going to need it, its not useful to learn. If a job requires it, at that point i'd spend time learning it - quite possibly in my own time. But before then, no point.
What if you couldn't get the job without already knowing (or at least having a basic understanding of) it?
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@dafyre said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
Why spend valuable free time with family learning something that you will possibly never ever use. Learn something when its needed and save wasted time learning something that's never needed.
Because it is fun, and it is what causes us to move forward in our professions.
Its not as fun as spending time with family. We all have our own needs from life - personally time with loved ones is top priority over learning things I may never use.
I agree here. Spending time with family is a top priority, but so is investing in yourself. I tend to bounce around with my free time (time to myself). Sometimes I'm tinkering in my home lab and other times, I'm not.
I don't see one as taking away from the other. I know for certain that my investments in learning is what has given me so much family time.
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@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@scottalanmiller said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
@jimmy9008 said in Would You Hire Someone in IT Who Does Not Have a Home Lab:
YAGNI.
That's a good principle, but doesn't apply to education
Heh, indeed. Although, it somewhat does. If i'm not going to need it, its not useful to learn. If a job requires it, at that point i'd spend time learning it - quite possibly in my own time. But before then, no point.
"Need it" or "can use it" are the differences here. You can get away without knowing any IT at all... by being a janitor or flipping burgers. But if you want a good career, you probably will need to know things. Knowing things you "don't need" are the ways to get into careers you want, rather than jobs you need.
And this applies way outside of IT. This is why universities teach literature, art, music, accounting, etc.
