As 2017 comes to a close I like to sit and think what I have achieved this year and what can be done better looking forward to 2018. It has been a pretty busy and good year. The following things happened for me:
I passed the following Microsoft exams to achieve MCSE Solutions Export Cloud Platform and Infrastructure and MCSA 2016 Cloud Platform
- February 2017 – 70-743 Upgrading your skills to MCSA: Windows Server 2016
- July 2017 – 70-533 Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions
- September 2017 – 70-534 Architecting Azure Solutions
I also achieved the following AWS Certifications:
- February 2017 – AWS Certified Developer Associate
- February 2017 – AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
- March 2017 – AWS Certified SysOps Administrator
So as you can see I had a pretty busy year trying to get myself up to date on the latest technologies and learning new stuff, which I really really enjoy doing. I also managed to get out to a few community events including:
- April – Citrix User Group Birmingham
- September – Citrix User Group London
- November – E2EVC Barcelona
2018 going forwards I thought about what I wanted to achieve. I have thought about the AWS Professional exams but to be honest I don’t work with AWS in my day to day job so I feel it would be effort wasted. Going forward I am going to focus a bit more in my personal development by teaching myself and learning more by blogging and giving back to the community. I am going to try and focus on the following topics (although I change my mind ALOT!):
Azure/AWS, Citrix technologies, SCVMM/Hyper-V and Windows 10, Scripting (Python/PowerShell). These are my core skillsets these days and technologies I would like to dive deeper into without having to worry about passing exams!!
On a professional level I am currently involved in a big VDI Project (XenDesktop 7.16/Win10) which should see me through to the end of the year and into 2018.
On a personal level in 2017 I completely gave up alcohol which I felt had been limiting my progress and that has paid off massively for me. I feel like a completely new person. I have been getting involved with charity work and looking forward to a few challenges in 2018. Much more time spent outdoors and also plenty of time in the gym!
So far the following is planned:
- Climb Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis (on separate occasions obviously, I am not crazy enough to tackle the three peaks just yet!)
- Sponsored Abseil down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth for LimbPower
- Attending the LimbPower games in May
- A sponsored SkyDive was discussed and may still go ahead.
Thanks for reading and here is to a massively successful 2018 
