Military Community Members Obtain 3 Major Certs for FREE! #Actnoweducation

Warriors! Fall in…

It’s time for formation!

Today, I'm joined with two miliary community professionals that used Act Now Education to elevate their careers. And what exactly did they do to level themselves up? They joined the Act Now Education community and took advantage of one our many, great programs.

Act Now Education launched a program called the "3 Cert Cohort" which provides virtual bootcamps and exam vouchers for free! All this training is geared toward obtaining Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications, CompTIA Security+, and Scrum PSM1 certifications. These are dynamic certifications that can help any professional in the job market aggressively become a top contender for many positions within many open career fields.

On top of all this, Act Now Education is offering free professional photography headshots, a tailored resume, business suit , mentorship, career coaching, mock interviews, and most importantly job networking. What more could anyone ask for?!?

I have two of the most recent graduates, who went through the program, who are here to share more about where they were in their own personal career journey and where they are today versus where they plan to go! I want to welcome Daniel Torres and Sherawn Jackson to The Morning Formation Podcast.

Attend an Act Now Education Orientation:
https://actnoweducation.org/orientation?nocache=a8ekh

Join Act Now on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ACTNOWEDUCATIONGROUP

Connect with Daniel Torres:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-torres-pmp/

Connect with Sherawn Jackson:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherawn-jackson/

Transcript

KP: 0:33

In the military, you're given a uniform and instructed on how to do things and when to do them. But what happens when the cadence fades and you're no longer wearing that uniform? I'm Kp and I started this podcast to fill that silence with direction and to provide overall support for my beloved military family. Welcome to the Morning formation. This episode is powered by Act Now Education, go to www.actnoweducation.com For free comprehensive educational resources and opportunities for active duty, veterans, military spouses and children.

Daniel Torres: 1:17

Well, 3 cert cohort, I would say, get ready to study a lot. So we have a very short period of time to get through these certifications. So it's definitely a blessing and a great opportunity, but you also get what you get out of it, what you put in.

KP: 1:37

Act Now Education launched a program called 3 Cert Cohort that provides virtual boot camps and exam vouchers for free. All this training is geared toward obtaining a Project Management Professional otherwise known as a PMP Certification, Comp TIA Security Plus, and Scrum PSM 1 certification. Let's hear more about it. Warriors fall in it's time for formation. Today I'm joined with two military community professionals that used Act Now Education to elevate their careers. And what exactly did they do to elevate themselves up? Well, they joined the act now education community and took advantage of one of our many great programs. Act Now Education launched a program called 3 Cert Cohort. And this cohort specifically provides virtual boot camps and exam vouchers for free. All this training is geared towards obtaining a Project Management Professional PMP certification, Comp TIA Security Plus, and Scrum PSM one certification. These are dynamic certifications that can help any professional in the job market aggressively become a top contender for many positions within many open career fields available today. Now to top all of this off, act now education is offering free professional photography headshots, a tailored resume, business suits, mentorship, career coaching, mock interviews, and most importantly, job networking. All this comes with the 3 Cert program that these two community members that we have on the show today took advantage of. What more could anyone ask for? The two most recent graduates that we have, who went through the program are here to share more about where they were in their own personal career journey, where they are now versus where they plan to be in the near future. So I want to welcome Mr. Daniel Torres and Ms. Sherawn Jackson, to the Morning Formation podcast. Thank you both for being here today.

Daniel Torres: 3:37

Hey KP. Thanks for having us on. Appreciate it.

Sherawn Jackson: 3:40

Thank you for having us.

KP: 3:42

So listen, the honors all mine, it's great to have you both on the show in five words, Sherawn, how would you sum up your experience with act now education and the 3 cert cohort program?

Sherawn Jackson: 3:53

Five words it was educational. Enlightening, challenging. So....

KP: 4:02

Networking.

Sherawn Jackson: 4:03

Yeah, networking. You know, we built friendships through this cohort.

KP: 4:08

All those things are really important, especially for military community members who are looking to level up and that's all those things are the pillars that act now education, for the most part stand on, specifically community and challenging folks within our community to help level up. Daniel in no more than five words, how would you sum up your experience with Act Now Education and the 3 cert cohort?

Daniel Torres: 4:32

3 Cert cohort, I would say, get ready to study a lot. So we have a very short period of time to get through these certifications. So it's definitely a blessing and a great opportunity. But you also get what you get out of it, what you put in, and I'm sure Sherawn can attest to. We have to definitely put in some work to make sure we were successful.

KP: 4:58

Yeah, no doubt about it. I mean, just to get one of these certifications is a task in itself, let alone three certifications. It's absolutely amazing. I'm very impressed. And I'm very proud of both you for being part of the 28 that were certified through the 3 cert cohort with act now education. Now before we get into talking about 3 cert cohort, I'd like to get to know each of you, who you are, where you come from, how are you part of the military community. So we'll start with Sherawn. Can you tell the audience a little bit about yourself?

Sherawn Jackson: 5:32

Yeah, my name is Sherawn, I am a military spouse, my husband and I have been married for about 13 years now. He is still currently active duty. And we're in it for probably another eight years. I have over the last two years, I've been prepping myself through certifications and study to enter the work field as a cybersecurity professional.

KP: 5:57

Sounds great. So we got a military spouse on board today. Daniel, would you mind telling the audience a little bit about yourself?

Daniel Torres: 6:03

Yeah, not a problem. Like I said earlier, my name is Daniel Torres. Originally from Brooklyn, New York. I'm transitioning from the Air Force after 20 years. So the timing I made it, and how the cohort helped me. So basically, I'm by trade, I'm an aircraft maintainer. Avionics. But that's not what I wanted to continue doing. When I transitioned from the service, something I could possibly fall back on, but not my first choice of occupation. And so I would like to either get into project management or IT project management.

KP: 6:43

Oh, that's great. So, Sherawn, how would you mind explaining just again, a bit about how the cohort has helped you so far?

Sherawn Jackson: 6:50

Oh, sure. I'm sorry. I feel like it really has given me a deeper understanding of project management, agile project management. The scrum certification was an absolute amazing experience. I do have a lot of these other certs for cybersecurity. But I felt like the project management certifications that we received in this cohort really helped me be able to apply my previous work history to be able to get more of a management role within the cybersecurity community.

KP: 7:26

So Daniel, she talked about the project management certification being probably the most meaningful certification that she received. Now for you, what does the three the three cert cohort mean for you specifically, what were you focused on out of the three certifications? What type of field are you looking at?

Daniel Torres: 7:46

So I'll be completely honest with you each and every single one of the certifications, interested in me. My education, background is in project management. So I kind of gravitated more towards the professional scrum master and Comp Tia project plus. Also with the second certification, that was probably the one I was the most nervous about, because I didn't have a traditional background in cybersecurity. But, you know, throughout the cohort, we all have four separate teams. And I was blessed with a really cool team, and we helped each other get across the finish line. So that was good.

KP: 8:23

Yeah, so it was was Sherawn on your team?

Daniel Torres: 8:27

No, unfortunately, no, I can't remember which team she was but my team was team three Team Flex.

KP: 8:34

Team flex, so each had names, huh?

Sherawn Jackson: 8:37

Yeah, there's there's four different teams. And we each picked a we did a logo and picked our own team name. You're each in charge of a different project to help the Act Now Education Community. So it was really neat.

KP: 8:51

So out of the 28 members, you guys are split up into teams, and even came up with a logo. I can't I can't think of any better way to build that esprit de corps. One of the things that was mentioned on the last interview that I did with the other graduates of the three cert was that they talked about, yes, it's valuable, it's important to get these certifications. But what's even more valuable is the networking that we did with the other folks that were in this program, because from the feedback that I'm getting, it was actually refreshing to be connected with people who had the same mentality and have the same drive to achieve and level up. I know it can be very frustrating, even within our own small communities, to not be able to identify, maybe you Sherawn, you might live in more of a military community, I'm not sure. But I live in Los Angeles. And sometimes it's hard for me to identify with people who have a unique desire to reach back and help out the military community. A lot of the folks that I know are out, and they're headed in that direction. Whereas I'm starting this podcast. I'm a board member for act now education. I'm trying to reach back and help out. So it's great to reach out to folks who are 100 miles, hundreds of miles away. And, and understand that we connect because you're trying to level up. I'm trying to help level up the community. So it's good that you had that group of 28 split up into groups. And you guys kind of had the same mentality of hey, let's do this. Let's get this done. Because at the end of the day, we all have families. A lot of us have kids, a lot of us have full time jobs, right? So we got that grind going on. So everyone kind of understands what playing field we're on. Now, with that being said, Would you mind telling the audience what career field now that you've got this three cert, program accomplished? What career field? Do you plan on conquering going forward? Or what is your target going forward? We'll start with you, Daniel.

Daniel Torres: 11:00

Now, that's all good. So I would like to be fully transparent about the cohort. So it's a tremendous opportunity. But for those that are interested in doing it, it does take a lot of time and effort, we are on Zoom calls from roughly 10pm, Eastern to 6pm. Eastern. Because you didn't mention, I think you just mentioned something about, you know, working, then leveraging and leveraging this opportunity at the same time. I don't know how somebody will do both at the same time. But with regard to the industry that I'm looking to get into, again, full transparency. I would like to get into IT, or tech, I'm in, I'm in North Carolina, I'm looking to go to Raleigh, North Carolina, where tech is pretty big out there. And since I don't have that traditional experience, or they think that I don't have that traditional experience, these certs will at least give me more leverage to kind of break into those industries. And then you know, if that does not work out, you can still utilize project management with the CompTIA project plus and I believe in the next coming cohorts, no not that I believe, the next coming cohorts will have access to PMP certification. So that'll be huge. So you no one can also use those certs. For I will be able to use those types of certs, answer pivoting. It's something that's more aligned with my experience in the service, which is aircraft and aviation.

KP: 12:39

That's outstanding. And so Sherawn, what what would your plans be to conquer a certain career field going forward from here?

Sherawn Jackson: 12:48

I have been I've had my eyes set on cybersecurity for the last couple of years. And so I'm finally done with my certifications for cybersecurity done with these certifications for project management. So I have my eye on either information security or cybersecurity or incident response.

KP: 13:11

Now, would you say that you're both? Would you consider yourselves techie or have an inclination?

Sherawn Jackson: 13:20

I have always kind of been a nerd. I have had a wide variety of different jobs. I have a B of A in computer animation. So you know, I worked post production as a compositor for a couple of years. I own my own photography business. And so I taught myself all of the, you know, equipment and software things that needed to go along with that, little bit of web design. And then I taught virtually online for several years as well. So I guess I've kind of always had my hands in technology.

KP: 13:54

Okay. All right. What about you, Daniel?

Daniel Torres: 13:58

So I will say yes, as well. My AFSC or MOS depending on what branch...One is.... Background In the airforce as avionics technician, that is 100% a technical background. It's a it's a fancy way of saying aircraft electronics specialists. So my entire time in the military has been dealing with some form of technology, whether it's, you know, new emerging technologies on the aircraft that I was on, or my spend about four years as an instructor where I was teaching these principles to up and coming service members. So yeah, definitely. My my time and service has been nothing but tech and electronics.

KP: 14:46

Yeah. Okay. So you both come from a tech background. I know a lot of folks that don't come from tech backgrounds and end up getting some type of cyber tech security certification. And they're surprised that they even went that route. But I guess it helps with you having that natural knack for cybersecurity and it as well. Now, you mentioned earlier something about building that bridge, Daniel going from military to civilian, that you mentioned that they should already know that you have this background, but you already understand that when you sit across from a recruiter, many times that recruiter may not have ever served in the military, and may not fully understand your job tasks or maybe what your MOS was, so building that bridge, the certifications really help translate your skills into the civilian side. And I think that's really important for folks to understand. Understand that but, you know, how did you come to that conclusion? What made you sign up? For the three cert cohort? How did you find out about it? And what spoke to you as far as, hey, this is something I need a good start with you, Daniel.

Daniel Torres: 15:57

Okay, so that's actually a good question. So I've been a part of the Act Now community for roughly two years and change. And I remember, I remember when I first joined, I want to say is probably less than 5000 members. And I know now it's about a community that's over 50,000 strong. And so over the years, I've just, you know, seen it grow. And I'm not really big into social media anymore. But I still have social media accounts. But there's one page that have notifications from not one but very few pages that I have notifications from and one of those is Act Now. So anytime I do open the app, I see notifications, and it's usually filled with Act Now related notifications. And to answer your question, How did I find out about 3 cert cohort, just, you know, opened up my Facebook one day. You know, I tried to keep my ears to the pavement just to you know see what's going on. And I saw that opportunity. And I was like, wow, this is something that's incredible. And I remember jumping right on it. You know, they had a few orientations that you have to attend, you know, because with an opportunity like that, there has to be, you know, some, some sort of, not gatekeeper but you know, you have to have some sort of the kind to keep the floodgates from busting open. So I was like, Oh, my goodness, I gotta jump on this. And then, again, because I am transitioning, if I was working, under my terminal leave window, right now. If I was doing my regular eight to five, nine to five, but I'm doing my regular eight to five or whatever, I wouldn't have been able to do this. So everything just lined up perfectly. And, you know, the universe was merciful enough to allow me to take part in this.

KP: 17:51

Yeah, right on, what about? What about you Sherawn? Was this, did the universe lineup for you? Are we working full time? How did you come to the conclusion that, hey, this is something that I should take advantage of?

Sherawn Jackson: 18:02

Um, it kind of just lined up for me as well. I ended my previous job at the end of November, at the end of the election cycle, I worked for a nonprofit here in San Diego. And I was ready to pivot into cybersecurity had a little bit of free time on my hand. And I think like Daniel, I just kind of opened up my Facebook one day, and I was scrolling and, you know, ended up on to the Act Now page and saw the 3 cert cohort and saw the scrum master certification and the project management certification. And I knew that that was something that I needed to kind of have a deeper dive into to make myself competitive to get into the job market that I want to go into. But yeah, like, Daniel, if if I had been working, there was no way I was going to be able to participate in that. Yeah, I have like vivid memories of, instead of partying on New Year's Eve, I was doing a security plus class on LinkedIn.

KP: 19:08

I can't think of a better way to celebrate the new year than doing a bootcamp or a 3 cert class online.

Sherawn Jackson: 19:15

Yeah. So it was it was part of like. so Jai like gave this like crash window course of like things we had to get done in order to participate in this certification cohort. And so one of them was watching like 24 hours worth of material in like less than a week, and then passing another test to be able to participate in this but

Daniel Torres: 19:40

Which I think is great, because, you know, just shows who really wants it?

Sherawn Jackson: 19:45

Oh, yeah, most definitely. I 100% was on board with that, you know, you need to show that upfront, you're willing to put in the time and effort it takes to be able to smash out certifications in such a short timeframe.

KP: 20:00

Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, you're signing up for a lot. I mean, this is a lot. It's like, it's these three certifications. And like I said, just getting one of them is a huge accomplishment for a lot of folks out there. And just to mention, too, there's plans for more 3 cert cohorts to start up in the future as well. So if you're listening right now, you think Oh, you know, I don't think this is right for me right now. If there's something if there's an opening in your schedule coming up, this is something that you might want to consider down the road. And if you're listening and you're doing your research on it, keep your keep your ear to the ground, keep your ear to the pavement just like Daniel mentioned earlier, because we do put out different posts on Facebook specifically announcing that we're going to have another one startup. So if it's not for you, now, maybe it's for you down the stretch, when you have some time, maybe in the summertime, when the kids are out of school, or whatever the case is. Now, some folks will look at this. And they'll say, Man, this is really intimidating. This is really intensive. I don't think that I can do it. Now. Sherawn, what would you say to those folks out there who see this. They, they see the 3 certs, they think, "I don't know, the bootcamp, the classes, everything else." Like, would you say that the that the overall 28 cohorts that were involved in this and the groups that you're in, helped propel you to accomplish?

Sherawn Jackson: 21:25

Oh Yeah, we we helped each other out through it. And I think that's one of the biggest importance of the cohort is that you're there to support each other. It's not, you're not doing this on your own. You're, you know, not everybody has, you know, was strong in the scrum master certification. And if somebody else was stronger, we had study groups. And same with the security plus and the project plus, you know, we were all there for each other, even though we were broken up into these different groups. And so for those people who think that, you know, this is really intimidating, and you don't know, if you're up to the challenge, you have to understand like you, if you don't push yourself outside your comfort zone, you'll never know what you're capable of. And I can attest to this, not only to this, but to my prior, so I was part of a security training, scholarship through leases. And it was only because of a group of ladies I had found here in San Diego, who believed that I could do it, you know, pushed me out of my comfort zone, pushed me into like, applying to this scholarship, which it was a competition scholarship. It wasn't like this 3 cert cohort, competent scholars scholarships. So I had to, you know, challenge myself and grow and learn and compete to get these GIAC certifications. But you know, all of that to say is, don't underestimate yourself, you never know what you're capable of. So if you think you might not be up for the challenge, you just need to change your mentality right there.

KP: 22:59

What would you say to that, Daniel, as far as folks out there that might be intimidated, or might be counting themselves short of being a good candidate for this specific program?

Daniel Torres: 23:13

Like I alluded to earlier, you definitely what you put into it as what you will get out of it. And then also the team aspect that Sherawn had mentioned. I personally don't think I would have been able to make it if it wasn't for my team. And it wasn't just the studying aspect, like, morale wise, we were back in time, we were just cracking jokes, and just we kept our spirits up, even though we knew what we were doing wasn't the most dramatic thing. But it is, it is pretty nerve wracking, especially for somebody like myself that has no practical experience with cybersecurity. And here I am trying to map out a cert in you know, two and a half weeks, two weeks, it was really us, you know, getting together, bunkering down. Hold hold each other accountable. Like we still even on the surface, pretty much. The certs excuse me, the cohort is pretty much done. We have a little Whatsapp group that we still, we're still following up with each other check in on each other. So to answer your original question, what would I say to somebody that thinks that they wouldn't be able to get through it? Like Sherawn mentioned, don't you know, don't don't short yourself? Don't Don't sell yourself short. You never know what you can accomplish unless you actually give it your best effort and try.

KP: 24:34

Yeah, 100% right. 100%, a lot of us join the military. That way. We didn't know we were walking into until we showed up to boot camp and you see those brown round hats, walk into that building, and all of a sudden, it's just chaos, right? So I didn't know when I joined the Army. I didn't know what basic training was going to be about. When I deployed I didn't know what that was going to be about. It's like walking into a dark room right and challenging yourself. And in all reality, anyone, anyone that I've ever known in life who has simply believed in themselves has always overcome and achieved their goals. And I think that's one of the scariest things sometimes is is believing in yourself. And it's tremendous that both of you went through this program and was able to obtain the certifications. Now, prior to getting this three cert. What game plan did you actually have before for discovering this, where were you in your own career journey? What was your mentality? Let's start with you, Daniel.

Daniel Torres: 25:37

Okay. So as I mentioned early on the transitioning service member, currenty in my terminal, terminal leave window. So what I had going on at the time was, so I retired January 27. So, before the cohort had started, I planned on doing my skill bridge program, which is, which is with an organization called Hiring Our Heroes. And I'm doing something called a Career Forward where I'm working on a few Google certifications. It's not really a job placement program, which that organization does have a few of those, but we won't talk about those right now. So my plan was to just mash that out and to start looking for employment. And like I said, with the three cert cohort, I just noticed that that was something that would really allow me to leverage my, my formal education in project management. And as just, it was just too, too great of opportunity to pass up. And then I knew it would be something that would help me with my transition out of service.

KP: 26:49

Yeah, yeah, no doubt about it. It's great that you identified that now. Like while you're transitioning, a lot of folks don't realize it till after their transition, and they get that first job and they quit within the first year realizing that I should have put more effort into this prior to.

Daniel Torres: 27:02

It's not, it's definitely not easy. I've definitely run into challenges, but with this cohort, and with the certifications, and just the overall experience, I know that, yes, albeit nothing's easy. You know, it's gonna be a challenge. But I know I'll be come out better. On the other side, for sure.

KP: 27:21

I spoke with Fred earlier, who is part of the 3 cert cohort. And he mentioned that when he transitioned out of the army two years ago, he mentioned that he had that uncontrolled loyalty for the army in his current position, that he didn't bother to invest in himself when he transitioned out. So when he got out, he realized that I should have probably put more effort into my transition. So that's something that I think a lot of servicemembers, we tend to be over loyal to our current positions, and not necessarily think about what's going on tomorrow. So it's nice to hear that you are where you are right now. And you're putting into yourself and getting prepped for that for that mountain to climb. So it's a little easier for you. And Sherawn, I just want to ask you as well. What do you think about overall, the, the, the opportunity that you received, or what what Daniel just mentioned just now.

Sherawn Jackson: 28:14

Um, as far as like, where I was at before the cohort, I was, I don't know. I had a game plan of working on some classes. And, so I love learning, like, I love education, and I will be forever a learner. Like I, is just something I have a strong passion for. It's funny, because like my husband games at night, and I sit on my computer, and I work on stuff. But I had a game plan of like putting together resumes and working on classes and showcasing what I can do and stuff. But I think with this project management education that we received through the cohort, I feel like that has kind of propelled me to take more of a management role within the community I want to get into, which is is great because I'm, I've got 10 plus years of work experience. And so I'm not really entry level, except for like the technical part of cybersecurity. So I, I really appreciated that.

KP: 29:23

Right. Yeah, I think it's really important to highlight that because a lot of us have game plans, and then you have an opportunity like this show up, and it can revolutionize everything that you've been thinking about doing. Like you mentioned, Daniel, you're just planning on doing skill bridge. And all of a sudden, now you have this three cert opportunity to elevate yourself even more. And I think it's important for you to keep your ear to the ground. And to listen for any opportunities. And the way I always explain it to people as I explain it like this, like you have an Azmuth and you're walking in this direction, right? You're not sure you have an idea where you're gonna go. As you walk in that direction, opportunities will present themselves. And the best place to be in life is to either accept or turn down those opportunities. And I think that's what the act now education community is all about. I mean, we offer things for folks within our military community and hats off to you both for signing up for something that was so intensive and tedious. I know. It took a lot to study. Be part of the groups be involved in the groups, meeting time hacks, depending on each other. But it sounds like overall, you sort of created a family community. And the networking is something that I've been hearing over and over again, that's been probably something that wasn't highlighted as much about the program. But it sounds like that's going to be of great value for years to come. For anyone out there that's listening. That may be like, hey, I'm interested in this. But But I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I should do this. Sherawn, what advice would you give to them to help push them in the direction of positively changing their life and changing their career,

Sherawn Jackson: 31:08

I would say if you can do it, go for it. I this, it's an unbelievable experience, it's an unbelievable opportunity. You get to learn, like just within Project Management, I feel like everybody should have that baseline when they go into the corporate work environment. Because no matter what you're doing, whether you're in IT, HR, Finance, you know, supply chain, whatever you decide to go into, there will always be projects, and you'll be a more effective asset to your company to whatever company you work for. If you know the processes, if you know how to do the agile, if you know how to do the scrum, if you know how project management works, because then even if you're not the Project Manager, you can still look at everything going on and being like, Okay, I know where I fit into this. And I know where I can be an asset to that to that organization. So even if it's not something that's on your radar, like, just go for it.

KP: 32:06

Yeah, as an MBA and project management myself, and, um, project management, project management certified through DOL coach, you know, it's important for me to understand the language of project management, to understand the tools that can be utilized in project management. So that's of great value for folks out there looking to make that job. And Daniel, for you, overall, you know, if you had to motivate one of your fellow airmen into doing something like this, or if you were back in the ranks, and you're in front of your formation, and you had to talk to your airmen about doing this, what would you say to them if they were a little hesitant about it?

Daniel Torres: 32:44

So I'm pretty sure I used to get on my leadership, they actually No, probably not. But I was at senior NCO that was always pushing opportunities to the youngin, I call them the youngin, but also to my peers and my superiors, because I'll say probably a year or two ago was when I answered a realization that the military does not last forever. And all of us at some point are going to transition. And, you know, I just wanted to make sure that myself and add, the ones that I cared about, the ones around me, were set up for success as they transition out of the service. So what I would say to somebody interested in this program, is if you have the bandwidth, and the time to do it, I would I would tell them to go for it. Because again, the military does not last forever. And, you know, you want to make sure that you have the tools and you're equipped to transition into what I call the real world.

KP: 33:46

Yeah, no doubt about it. I mean, I've always used this, this analogy, I guess that a lot of us in the military getting out like we can hear the waterfall, right, we can't see it. And some of us try to prepare for as best as we can. And some of us are like, I got this, I don't need anyone's help, which is how I was when I got out. I got out, I was in the Army in 2007 as an O3. And I did not seek the help of anyone else. It was just like, I got this. Palm in the face, get out of my way, I got out and I became a statistic, I was part of the 80% that quits their first job within the first year of getting out of the military service. And a lot of it was because of bad placement. And because I didn't fully understand what I was getting into. So it's important to do your research and to put yourself in groups that engage like this, I mean, even networking amongst each other. You guys are gonna be passing along a lot of information to one another. And I just want to highlight this point, I want to go into more detail on this. What value do these three certs bring to your professional career? How much of a game changer is this specifically for you, Daniel?

Daniel Torres: 34:52

Like I mentioned earlier, being have an education background in project management, agile and the project plus cert absolutely are are good additions to the path that I'm trying to go on. Sec plus, definitely cannot hurt even if you know, because you never know, what if I get into project management and not really feeling it. You know, at least I have Sec plus to possibly fall back on even if it's getting an entry level role or, you know, maybe looking for other programs. And I say Hey, Well, I already had my SEC plus and they're like Oh, really? Well, come on, why not? Come on in? Well, you know, there's so many different programs for veterans out there having a Security Plus certification. I don't see how we can hurt.

KP: 35:43

Totally, totally give you that foot in the door. Definitely. What about you, Sherawn?

Sherawn Jackson: 35:49

Um, I do feel like it was a big game changer. You see job postings all the time for Scrum and Agile. And it's nice to be able to show on paper that you you've, you know, you've taken, you've taken the time to learn it, you've gotten certified. So like I through this whole thing, I've iterated that the scrum master and the project plus were the two biggest certifications for myself. But the I'm not discounting the security plus one either. So like if you're going to work for the government or the DOD, like you have to have the security plus. So in that respect, it was it's really nice, because that also like opens that door. Like if I do go and work for a government organization or contract. You know, I have that on my record that I'm, you know, I have, you know, I've ticked that box for the company, that I've gotten that that certification done.

KP: 36:47

Right, right. And this definitely, is something that can unlock your own advancement within your your respective future career fields as well. And like you said, I think the best place to be in life is a place where you have that lateral mobility, where you can say, you know, I don't really want to do this, if you're working in, for example, business, and you want to get into something else that involves marketing, or you want to get into anything else, it's good to have the certifications where you can go left and go, right. I know a lot of folks who work in law enforcement, for example, that want to get out of law enforcement, and they want to go into business. And they have the certifications to do so. They have education, the background do so. And I think it's important for us to, to have those certifications, because it really details the level of competency that you have within a specific career field. Now, if anyone out there listening is interested in following up with you to go into more detail about the 3 CERT program. What social media platforms, can they reach you on? Are you on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, we'll start with you, Sherawn?

Sherawn Jackson: 37:53

um, my Facebook, if they want to contact me through the app, no education, you know, just tag me and I can respond there. But I'm most active on LinkedIn. And you know, if you want to hook up with me on LinkedIn, and connect and whatnot, I'm more than welcome to welcome to having a conversation over LinkedIn as well.

KP: 38:16

Yeah, yeah. All of us, right, we, I'll make sure I put all that down in the show notes for the podcast. If you're watching us on YouTube, you can scroll down to the description, you can find the links to link up with Sherawn Jackson here. And then Daniel, anyone looking to follow up with you? How can they reach you?

Daniel Torres: 38:32

So yeah, so I'm also part of the Act Now community on Facebook. But I've definitely tried to do a Facebook page. So I would prefer anyone wants to reach out to me LinkedIn as well.

KP: 38:44

Yeah. Yeah, LinkedIn is a default professional, social media, social media out there. I do love LinkedIn, but I tend to use Instagram a little bit more. So hey, listen, I really appreciate both of you for coming on the show today, and underlining the importance and the value behind the 3 CERT program, I think it's really important for us to reach back and try to convince others that are within our own community to level themselves up. And many times I feel like, I want more for people than people want for themselves. Sometimes I'll be telling someone about the Act Now Education opportunities, and they'll not really be listening. And it's really frustrating at times, right? Have you had those conversations with people where you're like, hey, you really should consider this or you should consider that. And then they're just like, kind of just standing there and they don't even see the value. Right? So Daniel, you're like raising your hand, right? So

Daniel Torres: 39:37

I was gonna say, yeah, interesting point. If I have friends on my Facebook that I know, are veterans, active duty or spouse, I just invite them to the group. I don't even ask them, invite them. And if they say, Hey, what's this you're inviting me to? Then I'll explain it to them. But I actually haven't heard no complaints. A lot of folks that I do invite, they are like, oh, man, this is like, great. I haven't had any complaints. People just appreciative that this such a big community out there. That's all about helping active duty spouses. Veteran

KP: 40:15

Yeah. You know, a lot of our passion you like I said, I'm part of the board for Act Now education. And a lot of our passion is the fact that we are all military community members. And this is an all volunteer force, even the board members or ourselves, you know, Getting up early in the morning, doing these sorts of sorts of things. So I appreciate from bottom of my heart that you guys took the time today to sit down with me and have this conversation. So thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And so if anyone's interested in reaching out, make sure you scroll down to the bottom take out to check out the show notes, check out the description on YouTube. Thank you so much. I appreciate you listening to the more information podcast today. And as always, I want you to stay tuned, stay focused, and stay motivated. Warriors fallout. You've been listening to the morning formation podcast. I hope you found today's materials helpful and of value to your current situation. You can connect with me on Instagram at the underscore morning underscore formation underscore podcast. Or you can connect with me via email at the information podcaster@gmail.com. Also, I would like to thank my partners at act no education for their support, authenticity, community. And trusted is what you can expect from all members of the Act now education team. You can link up with them today and learn about some new free educational resources on their Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or at their website act now education.com whether today's show took you back to a nostalgic time or helped you think about tomorrow. Thank you for tuning in. And I look forward to seeing you again. Stay safe and stay motivated. Warriors Fallout