The corona update

What am I doing?

With a new month, comes a new time I have to ponder.

I am about to reach a dubious milestone… still out of work for 1 year and 10 months, and I have in the past two months been on a near binge of training videos. Two weeks ago I completed an Azure training module (free) and I was able to earn a seat for a certification exam due to a promotion Microsoft was doing.

Still do not know yet if I want to undertake the certification exam, even though it is free. Because I need to ensure that the certification will send the right message professionally. Someone who has an Azure certification in (insert specialty here) means they will be able to do (this specialty) but more likely not (that other specialty that this person may be interested in).

I am now contemplating more training options, including one likely path: returning to school via community college. It will be too late to enroll in the summer time, but autumn would be a likely. It also has to be something I’m willing to do even if I do get work. I applied to Santa Monica College and Walnut’s Mt. Sac, but will have to ponder and browse options at either of those two community colleges to find out what courses are available to take and what path I should go. There are two paths I’m looking at exploring - the animation path (see below) and the transfer-to-CS path (see below).

I opted not to go to more local options like LB City College or Cerritos College as I feel Mt. Sac and SMC have a better pathway to transfer if I go there. Mt. Sac and SMC are the two leading community colleges locally with more of their students transferring to the UC / CSU systems.

Animation

I am now considering, perhaps seriously, to look at doing something that may involve minimal programming: 3D production or 3D animation. Without a folio, I’m lost.

I looked at other art schools - i.e. Academy of Art in SF, and Gnomon School of Visual Effects, but I am not willing to take out a second mortgage for their tuition, and I’m not sold on bootcamps yet.

I will continue to go through my options, and speak with an advisor down in SMC or Mt. Sac to figure out where I should go. More likely I will be taking this program at Mt. Sac / SMC in a part-time basis so that I can still find work and get work while studying.

Transfer to CS

Another option I will look at is whether to return to SMC or Mt. Sac to complete requisites for a transfer to a university BS degree elsewhere. This option will mean I will have to enroll in classes with a full coursework load. The real pitfall with this option: I need to study and not look for work.

Plus, the only degree I would try to finish would be a pathway to CS. Neither would not have upper division courses, that’s the whole point of transfers.