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where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

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I’m just curious because I use google for impulsive searching on technology information I need ‘right now’, and frankly its stressful to do that.

I’m curious how do you all stay on top of technology?

J

Topic

This place, mostly.

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

I use it as a springboard for further research on topics discussed here that may prove useful in my job. Subscriptions to eWeek and PC World (free or reduced rates for professionals) also help. If there’s a specific piece of information I need, I usually Google it. Then I curse myself when I mistakenly click on ‘Experts Exchange’ links.

Experts Exchange

In reply to This place, mostly.

According to the description it gives google, it knows the answer. The only problem is that it wont tell me

Here at TR

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

Since I’m a service tech, I also frequent Tom’s Hardware, TechNibble, the Windows Secrets Lounge, and some others.

Google has helped on occasion.

etu

“Stressful”

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

I agree. Learning one thing at a time is no way to do it.

Here, at TR, you get the whole of it, shoved, at times.

Never claimed to.

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

It’s too big, so changes too often. You either specialise, in which case you might be on top of a small part, or you don’t in which case you have a a general picture with a some to many pieces missing.

The trick is to admit your ignorance and hve a look about on those rare opportunities where you might get t do something new.

Anyone tells me they are on top, I figure they are lying, or just hadn’t realised they were out of date, again…

reply post

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

thanks for the replies.

I started off with computers when I was mid teens. I ran with it to make a living.

I never received a formal education or job training for computers. I never specialized in any specific area of knowledge. For the most part, I tried to be a jack of all trades when I first started back when the tech boom was going on. Growing up with that, I think I kept that same mentality through it, trying to be everything to everyone.

In the process though I realize how tanked my credibility is having only bits of knowledge scattered everywhere.

I really enjoy this site.

I found it apart of my career research.

Sites I have used in the past specifically have been sqlservercentral.com. In other research I have went straight to the vendor Cisco or Microsoft. When it comes to open source, I think the documentation is a lot better, and the resources are way better.

Thanks for the replies.

Here mostly…Also MSDN, Tomshardware, and linux.com

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

I’m a generalist and I always have gaps to fill. I may know what to do, but I might not have the know how to actually do it.

The prime example is the other day I’d gone stupid and couldn’t get my login script to work. I haven’t written a login script for like 5 years, so I poke around google for a bit, realize I forgot to use ‘ and bam…works like a charm. If I was a Windows specialist, I’d have known that off the bat, but I’m not….so I gotta find it.

With that being said, you need to decide if you are going to specialize or stay general. If you stay general, you need to have VERY broad knowledge, which is tough and it means you can’t dismiss technology out of hand.

If you go down the specialist road, you are going to lose the ability to have broad knowledge because you HAVE to be the master of your field.

In IT there is room for both, but you gotta find your niche.

Humm…

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

Here, Ars Technica, Slashdot Pirate Bay err… Google, Toms Hardware, Attrition.org, Packet Storm, Security Focus, and of course comic books.

self-taught ~nt~

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

.

Yeah, but how do you teach yourself?

In reply to self-taught ~nt~

Books? Web searches?

Or can you just put your hands on the hardware and absorb the knowledge by osmosis?

All of the above

In reply to Yeah, but how do you teach yourself?

With programming?

a) read a book
b) look at a website
c) read help menus
d) paruse pop-up info

With hardware?

a) read a book
b) look at a website
c) read manuals
d) common sense

With hardware, it’s kind of easy to take a plug in module and look to see if it fits the slot/socket. Most stuff is standard enough now.

So if I said where it came from?

Everywhere. I just absorb everything I need to.

Watching others

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

Mostly by watching others and then trying it myself. I do spend a lot of time here and on other forums looking at others problems and their solutions. Many times I have to go it alone, and learn by doing. Yes, I do have to go over some stuff many times until I get it right if it’s something new but then I can provide some insight to others who are then encountering the same thing.

I’m old fashioned, I read

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

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very good info

In reply to where do you get the bulk of your IT knowledge from?

very good info…

where do you see your career in 5-10 years with technology?

what technical skills do you think is most important to set yourself up for success in the future?

I’ve been doing this twenty years

In reply to very good info

so pretty much the same place as tech is my thing.
Technology changes change the how not the what in my job.

Success in the future is grounded on success in the present. Learn the fundamentals well, develop good habits, and remember it’s your ability to apply tech to a problem that is valuable not the tech itself.

very well put

In reply to I’ve been doing this twenty years

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