Military to Cloud Solutions Architect

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2 min read

Follow me on my journey to develop new skills and change careers.

I have been in the military for over half of my life. I left my hometown of Mobile, Alabama at 17 years old in July of 2003. At this moment I have been active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard for 18 years and 6 months with 18 months left until 'retirement.'

My primary job involves the installation, troubleshooting and repair of electronics. I have thoroughly enjoyed this occupation, but I want to turn one of my hobbies into my next career.

“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” - Mark Twain

Computer programming and operating systems have been an interest of mine since childhood. I was the source of much confusion after installing Linux on the family computer when I was 9 years old. I spent the better part of a beach vacation reading Teach Yourself C in 21 days at the age of 10.

While my primary job does not directly involve cloud computing or software engineering, the technical nature and troubleshooting skills I have developed are very applicable to my future career.

For the past 12 months I have been learning about cloud computing and sharpening my software engineering skills. In those 12 months I have obtained three certifications and worked with several clients as an independent contractor.

This blog will document and plan my transition from the military to a Cloud Solution Architect.