Mechanics buy their own tools, plumbers do too, a lot of trades do. Most of us in technology are given a fair set of tools to do the job not long after signing the offer letter, and most of us take it for granted.
My employer is gracious enough to provide the current tech we have on offer. They supply a lab server. They provide a pretty beefy and regularly updated laptop. I’ve got APs out the wazoo. They even supply a car and the occasional polo shirt. They provide the basics for me to get my job done. They provide what I honestly think is a fair toolbox. Could it be updated more often? Sure, I’m a gearhound, who doesn’t want new and shiny stuff?
What they don’t provide is the incredible selection of fun wireless hardware that can help me to better understand my craft and ply my trade. I didn’t get issued a WiFi Pineapple, but I wanted to see how well its Captive Portal could pass for an Aruba or Cisco one. I wanted to be able to show my customers and to be able to talk about the threats these cute little devices can pose. I wasn’t shipped a Hacker Arsenal WiMonitor and Winx and but I wanted to show my customers an inexpensive tool that can get some packets quick in a hurry. I didn’t receive a WLAN Pi when it came out, but I wanted to be able to demonstrate to my customers that having a quick a solution for ePerf/iPerf, grabbing packets, and pulling speed tests is important and doesn’t have to mean buying expensive tools, requisitioning a MacBook or standing up a VM.
I got a desktop machine to use as a server when I started five years ago. I got a Shuttle a few years later. I wanted to be able to run multiple versions of all of our software, plus sundry stuff a customer may have in their environment. Those boxes were out of gas as more and more of my company’s solutions are virtualized. So I dug around on Craigslist and found a couple DL360s. I wanted to be able to bounce gear out in the lab in my shop from my office in the house, so I went on eBay and picked up some IP PDUs. I lock myself out, so I got an AirConsole.
Can I do my job without the kit above? Yes. Can I do it more easily with the above? Hells yes. When I mentor folks coming up in the trade I tell them that I’m willing to empower them, but that I don’t invest without return. They have to put as much time into themselves as I do – and as much as I put into myself when my mentors helped me. I expect them to fill their toolbox, and I expect to help them fill it.
So what’s the meat of this philosophical sandwich? Easy: How can I expect someone to invest in me if I don’t invest in myself?
Also, I need the tax write-offs.