Finishing My Diploma

At the time of writing this I am just completing my final assignment for my Diploma in Inforamtion Technology and Applied Systems at Vancouver Island University.

ITAS is a pretty fast paced learning environment with challenging projects and a lot to go over in a seemingly small amount of time. That being said, I can whole-heartedly recommend this program to any interested people out there. The hands-on lab style classroom envrionment is unmatched in my opinion. On top of all the quality labs, you are getting taught industry experience by the instructors who have been in the tech/IT industry for years.

To sum up some of the things I learned or enjoyed..

• Fundamental programming skills

This was a huge plus, for me as I had very limited knowledge of code/programming before entering the progam. You start off with Object Oriented Programming with Java, and eventually as you go through the semesters the courses will lean more towards web application programming, with HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript. And finally the last semester of the program there is an Android application development course using Java.

• Linux Server Administration (CentOS, Fedora, RHEL)

One of my favourite areas of study in the program. This teaches fundamental Linux skills like Navigating the commandline, basic redirection, Package Managers, Compression, DNS with BIND, Apache Webserver configuration, Basic shell scripting and a lot of other neat Linux-y stuff.

• Virtualization

A huge part of the IT industry. I started off learning host level virtualization with VMWare Workstation. But as you learn more, and get more comfortable with virtualization you will learn about VMWare ESXi and vSphere. Setting up virtualized environments, clustering, replication, backups.

• Networking

OSI model, Vlans, Nat, WAN, Cisco IOS, DHCP, Firewalls, Access-Controll Lists, Routing.

• Cloud Technologies

Docker Containerization, Azure Devops, Amazon Webservices (Setting up EC2, S3, Routing with VPC, CloudWatch.).

• Windows Server 2016

Active Directory, Group Policy Management, PowerShell Scripting, Domain services, Certificate Authorities, Exchange Server 2016, IIS WebServer, Backup & Recovery with Veeam, Windows Networking, Firewalls.

What I enjoyed most about this program is the wide array of courses throughout each semester. It’s easy to find what interests you the most when you have this level of variety and the strong support of faculty and lab environment, classmates too!

I am very excited to get into (hopefully) a career as soon as this virus blows over!