A new undertaking for him starts today: Core 2, which focuses more on the software side of helpdesk work, so perhaps this material will at least be somewhat familiar from his education. In terms of classes, he'll once again be learning with Dion Training; don't fix what isn't broken if it serviced you well already.

https://www.udemy.com/course/comptia-a-core-2/

Today, though, will be a slower start to learning. Today will revolve around reformatting a lot of Unfiltered Restart and, quite honestly, catching up with posts. Last week's exam studying left him little time to craft meaningful entries and LinkedIn posts, so he'll be taking some time to write some of them up now. Additionally, he'll be catching up on potential job opportunities and connections, some of which were created when the series was introduced to them.

In addition to actually catching up, he was considering changing the Unfiltered Restart formula slightly to include more than just certification notes. He has considered adding a section in which he recounts any/all jobs he had applied to in the day. This would be much for the same reason as writing out his notes: keep him accountable for his work publicly. It wouldn't be much, just a simple entry just to prove to himself that he was actually applying that day:

[Company] — [Position] [Any notes on the company, job description, or application process, only 2–3 sentences are necessary]

Maybe he'll also include any and all news on connections or ongoing job prospects. Again, only a few sentences are necessary.

Yes, this would take away time from actually doing these things. Yes, he could just journal personally. Yes, it may be less efficient to keep his notes consolidated on one document instead of spread out on blog posts. Despite all of this, he'll keep writing out his thoughts and actions for someone to read, even if only one. As long as at has the ability to speak to someone, he'll keep writing.

Dion

Core 2 = focusing more on supporting different OSs from a GUI / CLI: common OS issues, malware infections, security vulnerability concerns.

Dion makes it a point that the exam is intended for entry-level professionals w/ ~9–12mo. experience, but the course provides multiple opportunities to "follow-along…with hands-on demonstrations" that can be replicated by any viewer. The graduate should make it a point to, at the end of a given section, follow-along with a demo on his own device. This should be more attainable considering the focus of the exam is on software, unlike Core 1 in which Dion demonstrates how to use a crimper and punchdown tool to install wires.

4 Exam Focus Areas

• Domain 1, Operating Systems (28%): install + support Windows OS from GUI + CLI; configuring + troubleshooting other OSs (Android , macOS, iOS, Linux Chrome OS)
• Domain 2, Security (28%): securely identify + protect devices/network connections against vulnerabilities/attacks
• Domain 3, Software Troubleshooting (23%): troubleshooting PC + mobile device issues: common OS issues, malware, security issues
• Domain 4, Operational Procedures (21%): ability to follow best safety practices; understanding environmental impacts of hardware + used components; professional communication with supported end users

Test Structure

Same as before: up to 90 questions total, most being MCQs (some of which may be multi-select MSQs), and a handful of PGQs/Simulations. PBQs are offered at the beginning of the exam (should be skipped and revisited) and MCQs follow.

The more PBQs (~6), the less MCQs (~70), and vice versa.

Passing grade: 700/900, or 77%

Test-taking Tips

• Must be able to recognize, not regurgitate, information
• No trick questions: all Qs are worded specifically to exercise your knowledge; understand exactly what is being asked in the question
• Look out for red herrings in both the question/answer choices; may be fully unrelated to the topic at hand, be confident in the knowledge you have related to the topic
• Pay attention to any keywords in the question: "MOST/LEAST likely", "first", "next", etc.
• Answers will be based on CompTIA-defined troubleshooting methods + recommendations, not on workplace experiences / Google-searching
• Best practice to select the BEST answer; many questions will feature several correct answers (on technicalities), but correct answers are based on what is true MOST often / in MOST cases, i.e., answers that are correct for the highest number of situations.
• Don't fight the exam, picking apart every question, coming up with different situations/cases; simply go off of the presented information and answer with the best possible choice
• Understand what the key concept they are asking about in the question is, can help to narrow down answer choices and improve odds of selecting/guessing correctly.

Job Hunting

Applications

• Apple — Design Verification Engineer Sent by a friend on LinkedIn. Even though the role asks for 10+ years experience, particularly in SystemVerilog, wouldn't hurt to send one anyways.
• Weiss-Aug — IT Technician While this isn't the first IT role he has applied to, it is the first with at least partial certification, so that should count for something to him.

Research, Follow-Ups, and More

A family friend's parent works as a contractor for multiple clients, one of whom is a head of R+D at a branch of a chemical manufacturer. Sun Chemical, who are part of the larger DIC Corporation in Japan, is a truly global leader in production of printer inks, coatings, pigments, and electronic materials. The location of which the R+D lead is a part mostly focuses on printer ink manufacturing. After a cold email sent at the end of last week, the R+D lead messaged him back just a day later over the weekend with a potential opportunity:

"…AI applications for manufacturing operations and quality control"

This is almost exactly the kind of work the graduate saw himself doing / getting into as a CSE/CS dual: not necessarily development but rather working on tools that would be applied in engineering processes, or working on control systems that support physical processes. At least, that's what he believes the role revolves around. More information is necessary, but this is a great start.

In addition to this, a college friend reached out to him, taking an interest in his LinkedIn series. This friend got him connected with a well-connected contact who specializes in administrator-level IT and cloud computing/networking who has connections all over the tech industry:

"…any way I can help out…chat about your experience, plans, and future goals…dive into a little more detail…"

A conversation has been scheduled to happen very soon, hopefully something comes of this. Even if nothing, he is honored to be in contact with a true leader in the industry into which he wants to enter.

Summary

Much of the same beats as last "syllabus day," what with introducing the technical material and logistic information about the actual exam. Fairly self-explanatory. Tomorrow should be the start of real content. Preemptively, he has set a goal to take the Core 2 exam in about 2.5 weeks' time considering that he has a fairly good idea of what studying is like and, with enough determination, he can attempt to flash through it all (well, as fast as he's allowing himself to while fully ingesting the material with necessary time). Of course, nothing is set in stone and there could be delays. Even still, he's determined to get it done as soon as possible.

The connections to both a client of family friend and a connection from a college friend may prove to be invaluable. It would just be a matter of waiting for people to get back in contact with him or talking about broader goals and interests.

So far, this is a solid-enough start to documenting his applications. Committing to at least two a day is manageable what with Unfiltered Restart upkeep and trying to get Core 2 done as soon as possible. The trend he has set is also manageable: at least one IT-related entry-level job, at least one engineering/CS-related job. Of course the goal is to increase that number. But for now two is just fine, especially for a first day, working out the kinks in how with would fit into the entries going forward. Indeed should make things a bit easier for at least the IT jobs since those are a bit more straightforward; engineering jobs will most likely come from company websites or more specialized searches.

Checkpoints

• Dion — Section 1
• Applications sent: 2

Major Takeaways

• Core 2 will focus more on different operating systems and how technicians interact with them: configuration, support, troubleshooting, and security, all through GUI and CLI
• Core 2 learning and exams will be given exactly like Core 1: daily Dion training online lectures, practice tests as the exam date gets closer, and exact same exam structure as Core 1
• "Unfiltered Restart" will now be featuring a small section on job application/hunting progress