aaron597.com
Blog Posts
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- Written by: Aaron DeJong
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Training
I am working on the MD-102 and have scheduled the exam for December 4th, 2025. If I pass this will be my tenth certification. I would be one step closer to who I want to become. The progress that I have been making every day is something that makes me more consistent in my studies.
Technical Training
I am doing something new; I am training to see if I could become better at being a technical trainer. Going through the CTT+ training material and will complete the training-the-trainer course which I am doing on Udemy. I am trying to develop a base level of knowledge and want to be both an MCT and a CCSI.
For the MCT, I am doing the right certification for me currently which is the MD-102 that is a prerequisite to being a Microsoft Certified Trainer. With Cisco, the Cisco Certified Systems Instructor does allow for a CCNA to apply for the CCSI program. There is training that needs to be done through a Cisco Learning Partner Sponsorship.
New Goals
There are some new goals that I have and will be still going for the Cisco Insider Champion and the Microsoft MVP designations. These goals include the MCT and CCSI however, I will be working on my Cisco ENCC certification after the MD-102. For the Cisco certifications there are also three more cloud certifications, SPCNI, SCAZT, and CLCEI. I am planning on taking these and going for four CCNP paths. These are for the CCNP Enterprise, Service Provider, Security and Collaboration tracks.
I decided that I should specialize more in Cloud Networking and go for the ENCC certification which is the Enterprise Cloud Connectivity certification. One of the draws for me is that I can compile my notes and maybe self-publish an ENCC e-book after I pass. I will be starting with no book and the exam outline. This will push me more in the direction of specialized knowledge where I can thrive as a writer and blogger.
TryHackMe Status
I am currently ranked in all countries at 5259 all-time and in the United States at 649 all-time. Also, I am on a 103-day streak with 310 rooms completed and 46 badges. Working on the SOC Level 1 Learning Path that I am 56% of the way through for the new update and have 38,446 points on TryHackMe as a Guardian. The next level is Titan at 50,000 points which is one of the goals that I have for my TryHackMe progress.
Conclusion
I will be focusing mainly on the Cloud Networking certifications and want to still get the CISSP. I am shying away from the Network Security side of computer networking and going in more as a Cloud Networking specialist to build up some more expertise. This will get me some more opportunities and will build on my core computer networking skills.
As a technical trainer I will be able to teach courses for Microsoft and Cisco along with maybe doing some virtual courses to supplement my sole proprietorship income. This will be beneficial because I could also do tutoring or even some mentoring and learning how to be a trainer will help me out with this.
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- Written by: Aaron DeJong
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Aaron W. DeJong
Happy Halloween guys! I am starting to be more engaged in my sole proprietorship and focus on the things that I am doing well. As some of you know I have a sole proprietorship named Aaron W. DeJong in which the main things that I am focusing on are the blog, articles, and investments.
These are the core business functions that I have, and I am doing peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding, micro lending and I also have a brokerage account for my investments. As I get more engaged in my business I will be looking into technical training, projects and certifications.
Technical Training
There are some things that I have been looking into including technical training. I am looking at essentially two paths, the MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer) and the CCSI from Cisco. I am working through some of the training materials for the CTT+, which is a retired certification from CompTIA. I am also working on a train-the-trainer course on Udemy.
There are some more things that I can do by pursuing the MCT and CCSI that would make me a better instructor and help my business by doing tutoring, instruction, and mentoring for technical training. The way to help my sole proprietorship out would be through technical training and consulting.
Training
Working on my training still for the MD-102 which is an associate level exam that is included in the MCT program. I will be taking this exam on December 4th, 2025, and have scheduled it at the same testing center that I like going to. For the Cisco Certified Systems Instructor (CCSI) I must get certain training which I am working on the fundamentals with the training materials for the CTT+ (Certified Technical Trainer) and the train-the-trainer courses.
With my certifications along with the MCT and CCSI I would be able to teach the MD-102, MS-900, AZ-900, and SC-900 courses from Microsoft. For my Cisco certifications and the CCSI I could teach the CCST Networking, CCST Cybersecurity and the CCNA courses. This would make me a more versatile IT instructor.
Conclusion
I have been reading the 32nd book which is the Microsoft Endpoint Administrator Associate Exam Ref MD-102 book for my exam coming up. I will still be working on the Certified in Cybersecurity training materials for the second exam attempt which may be in January 2026. I have some more things to do now for my sole proprietorship and look forward to the future that I am making. I hope you guys have a Happy Halloween and spend it with your loved ones.
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Training Update
I’ve been studying for the Certified in Cybersecurity and MD-102 certifications. The MD-102 is the Microsoft 365 Endpoint Administrator Associate certification which is something that will help me progress with the MS-900 that I passed in 2023.
The main certification on the MD-102 pathway is the MS-102 which is the Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert. This is one of my skill-based goals and I will continue into doing the SC-300 and SC-401 which are optional prerequisites to the MS-102.
With my study plans on these certifications, I am reading more. I want to take the Certified in Cybersecurity in November and within 2-3 months take the MD-102. I am having a good pace on the study plans and should do a good job on both certifications regardless of if I pass them.
n8n-ollama-project
I am using this project more for a hobby project and have been learning more than anything on some Udemy courses that are on n8n, prompt engineering, Ollama, and Docker. These courses will help me gain some knowledge that I will pursue as a hobby. I will update my public GitHub repository on this project which is at dejongaaron/n8n-ollama-project.
90-day streak on TryHackMe
Today, I hit the 90-day streak on TryHackMe and received a badge that I have shared on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and X feeds. There are some more rooms that I have completed and am at 300 rooms, with 44 badges. I am also ranked all-time in all countries at 5422 with being 679 in the United States.
Udemy and HacktheBox
Not getting the weekly streak to update on Udemy, it is stuck at 179 weeks for me. I am putting up the hours still, so I am not sure what is going on with that. I am utilizing the opportunity for the personal plan to go more in depth in certain areas as far as my hobby project.
On HacktheBox, I am still plugging away at the CJCA training. I am at 72.24% done on the Junior Cybersecurity Analyst job role path. I am interested more in Cybersecurity and want to pursue the CJCA certification.
Conclusion
I will be looking at doing the certifications in the next few months. I am thinking about doing the CCNA Cybersecurity next year and maybe the Security+. Not sure if I want to do computer networking as much, it seems that I want to do more of a Ruby Developer kind of path along with Cybersecurity.
I have been using Gemini to create some 15-year career progressions to figure out which paths I want to go down. These progressions lead to a CTO, CISO or CIO role in the future which is still something that I am striving towards. I think that using AI is more of an assistive technology and want to develop my skills with hobby projects using AI to future proof my career.
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- Written by: Aaron DeJong
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New Project
I have set up a new project that is an n8n Ollama project. This is using a Hostinger VPS with the n8n image, Docker, and the Qwen3 model using the qwen3:0.6b engine. I am wanting to do a project that is an AI project using Ollama to do a news aggregator workflow and posting it on Discord using a webhook.
There are some things that I have learned regarding this project including using Docker and Ollama in addition to n8n. I have posted it to GitHub where it is the dejongaaron/n8n-ollama-project. Some of the things that I still need to do are the AI prompt in addition to troubleshooting my workflow. I am learning quite a bit of n8n information as well.
Training Update
Working on the training materials for the Certified in Cybersecurity and the MD-102 exams. As part of my study plan for the Certified in Cybersecurity exam, I am reading two Microsoft books. These are for the SC-200 and SC-300 exams and will be next after I read my All-in-One Certified in Cybersecurity Exam Guide that is the 30th book I’ve read this year.
Streaks on Udemy and TryHackMe
On Udemy, I am at a 179-week streak and on an 82-day streak on TryHackMe. I am 37% done with the SOC Level 2 learning path which I am working on. I am currently ranked 692 in the U.S. All time and ranked 5,477 among All countries All time. On TryHackMe, I am also at 37,422 points, 298 rooms completed and have 42 badges.
Update
I decided to not put up my bulletin board that was going to be a vision board. I wanted to do a vision board that would help me chart my dream job. The CIO role is my dream job, and I want to focus more on studying and putting in more certifications until I am ready to get a job. At this stage of my career, I am focusing more on developing deep technical knowledge skills.
Conclusion
These updates are helping me vary my content on this blog. I want to accomplish both the Certified in Cybersecurity and the MD-102 certifications in the next few months. I am thinking about doing the Certified in Cybersecurity exam around November 20th.
Developing my stress and anxiety management skills to better cope with my anxiety. This is along with some more mental health, nutrition, and some additional skills like Prompt Engineering to expand my knowledge base.