'The Die Is Cast'

There's a familiar saying that the only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes. But what if you live in Texas, for example, where there is no state income tax? Or what if you're a massive corporation that pretends to be based in Ireland to avoid settling up with Uncle Sam? Then the only thing that's certain is the cold embrace of death. And for a lot of people, death only comes at the end of very long life. And then it's like, "What took you so long?"

Some things, however, are more certain than others. And most people who go far in life stick to those more reliable things. There are exceptions: Before he became sole ruler of the Roman Empire, Julius Caesar was just a provincial governor and general. When he decided to challenge the Roman Senate and moved his armies from Gaul into Italy, he famously said, "The die is cast," while watching his men cross the wintry Rubicon River.

Essentially, Caesar knew that he was taking a huge risk and that the outcome of his decision to march on Rome was more or less in the fickle hands of Fate. Caesar's bold gamble paid off, of course. As a general rule, on the other hand, there are better ways to get ahead in life than by pinning everything on a binary outcome that you can't really control. You could roll the dice, for example, talk your way into a full-time IT job, and just sort of hope to figure things out.

A much better strategy, however, would be to find a good study and training solution, prepare for and pass an IT certification exam, and then sit down at your first day on the job actually knowing what to expect and how to deal with it. A metaphorical roll of the dice can seem romantic and exciting, but when you get the daily living equivalent of throwing snake eyes — or the "dog throw" as the ancient Romans called it — well, moving on from sudden failure is almost always a challenge.

So save the grand romantic gestures for Valentine's Day and play it safe when it comes to your IT career. Here at TestOut Continuing Education, we offer the best IT training and certification courseware on the market. We teach IT concepts and theory, but we also teach practical application. Our courses ensure that you both know about IT and can put IT into practice. Don't roll the dice on your professional future. Train with TestOut and you'll succeed.