Last night, I spent the first of many nights to come, dedicated entirely to learning computer science and programming. Here is the structure I have chosen for my learning, and why. The next few blog posts will involve a lot of my notes from each of these courses. When I collect enough information, I will put together illustrated zines with each of these concepts, broken down in the most visually friendly, simple terms, that are geared for feminist liberatory projects and encouraging hackergrrls.

Here are the five courses I am undertaking right now, and my goals:

Five-Part Program:

1. Intro to Computer Science and Programming  – Out of the three introductory course options for listed in this Intensive Bachelor’s Level Computer Science Program Curriculum, I decided to take the MIT Open Courseware version of the course, which is taught in Python. It has more resources, handouts, problem sets, and quizzes than the Harvard video course; and it also seems to be organized in a clearer way than the Stanford course, which is taught in Java. I debated over whether or not to do the intro class in Java or Python – after reading this thread and this thread on Stackoverflow, I decided to start with Python because it is tighter, easier to debug, and easier to learn.1

2. FlatIron School Pre-Work (Web Development Track) – I need to finish these 150 hours of coursework before starting Hacker School this summer. This material focuses more on the pragmatic craft of programming in Ruby and Javascript, rather than on the theoretical problems within computer science, but I hope to build a few projects, worth showing off in my GitHub. The course materials are located in various external sites, including Code School and TreeHouse, both of which cost some money to gain access to. There is a 2-week free trial for TreeHouse, which I am making the best use of that I can.

3. CompTIA A+ / Linux+ – This is the track towards becoming an IT professional. The A+ certification is the first requirement for basic IT help desk jobs. It provides an overview for understanding the hardware components of a computer, the basics of operating systems, networks, and security. There is a lot of material in this two-part exam, and studying for it requires both hands-on practice and memorization of networking concepts. After this certification, I will be going on to study Network+ and Security+, which are two other basic overview courses. The CompTIA training is vendor-neutral, meaning that the concepts can be broadly applied to both CISCO and Microsoft hardware. However, since the vast majority of hardware is from (the evil?) CISCO company, a more employable set of certifications to progress towards will be the CCNA Routing and Switching, and Networking certifications, which are much more difficult exams than the CompTIA exams, and the CCNP Certified Networking Professional exam, which is supposed to be extremely difficult to pass. This is the body of practical technical knowledge I am looking forward to learning in the coming years, on my road to learning everything possible about cybersecurity.

In addition to the A+ coursework, I will be learning the material for the Linux+ and Unix exam, partly because I would like to have better command of my machine and executing everything off of BASH/Shell. This coursework also has a strong focus on hardware and networking. Linux is much less evil that CISCO, but it seems to be harder to find IT jobs in this area. Since much of the beginning coursework for the FlatIron track involves getting to know the command line, I will study this material as a complement to the FlatIron school material, while maintaining my focus on the A+ exam.

4. Cyberaces – This website provides some basic information and tutorials on cybersecurity: Intro to Operating Systems, Networking, and System Administration. There will be an exam in March. I am interested in participating in the competitions. After completing the exercises here, and the CompTIA certification, I will take a look at the SANS coursework for more hardcore cybersecurity learning.

5. Udemy – I will be putting some of the beginner Python skills I am learning in the Intro CompSci class to immediate use with a practical web development course in Django, as well as incorporating the use of Twitter’s Bootstrap and the MySQL database. Since Tactical Tech’s website is based off of Django, I want to master this system, so that I can communicate with that organization – for me, it really is a dream job to be able to work with that organization and live in Berlin. It’s a bit of a far-off dream, but it provides some motivation. This knowledge will also be immediately useful for my web development projects in NYC.

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6. (?) Telecommunications & Fiber Optics – This is not a self-study course, but a program that I may be participating in fairly soon. I am joining a trade union apprenticeship program called Women in Nontraditional Employment (NEW-NYC), which seeks to close the gender gap of women in construction trades. There are fewer than 3% of women currently working in construction. I am interested in training to be an electrician, and do physical labor for a while, as an apprentice to a journeyman. I just like the idea of starting from the bottom and working my way up, learning as much as possible about everything in between. My area of focus will be in low-voltage electrician work: voice/data/video (VDV) installation for telecommunications. I want to understand the larger grid of fiberoptic data cables providing data to consumers. Like the early phreakers I’ve read about in 2600 who hacked phone systems, I feel that there is much to be gained from understanding the ghosts in the wires. The project of creating an alternative distributed OtherNet must also take these cable networks into consideration. I’d like to be well-acquainted with this, and begin as a (very low-paid) cable technician.

1 // As an aside, the MIT OCW is amazing! I am blown away by all the free class materials provided by the Electrical Engineering/Computer Science department, and I am determined to learn all of this information in these next five to seven years, and try to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam in Michigan without having to pay for additional college fees. I am also excited by the offerings in electronic music composition, including a class on Algorithmic and Generative Music! I was surprised to find that MIT OCW has a Women’s Studies Department, with very progressive courses that match my areas of speculation – on gender & technology, the legal history of marriage from an economic/reproductive labor perspective, and rethinking the nuclear family through the lens of queer theory. I almost peed my pants. I could just study this for years, recreationally, and be perfectly happy in the flow of focus, I think. //

Long-term Objectives:

1) I want to be part of the FOSS community and become a competent developer.

2) I want to understand servers, networks, security, and contribute to the creation of autonomous user-based systems and the idea of a distributed network of “feminist servers” to provide hosting and IT/communications support in secure and resilient ways for radical social projects. I want to acquire the necessary skills to be a sysadmin.

3) I want to study cybersecurity and cryptography over the course of the next two decades – and dive deeply into the fields of computer science and electrical engineering. I also want to learn as much as possible about artificial intelligence, robotics, natural language processing, and cognitive computing – because that stuff is hella awesome, and because: Project Natasha.

Short-term Objectives:

1)  I want to get into HackerSchool this upcoming summer, for June or July 2015. I plan to study rigorously on my own for 6 months before applying. Here is what they require from applicants: an impressive GitHub full of programs I’ve written from scratch, not using a framework like Rails; the ability to solve some simple problems; and a blog/social network accounts that show long-term dedication to self-paced learning. That’s what this blog is. The project that I want to build over the summer is a platform for logging my training and auto-didactic efforts, and monitoring my progress like a game. I will write more about this project in an upcoming blog post.

2)  I am seeking a job related to IT by September 2015, whether it be as an electrician’s apprentice in telecommunications or as a IT help desk person. I am looking to gain mastery over the course of the next 5 years in networks, data centers, and cybersecurity. I love learning about everything.

3) I am starting a new organization at JustComm.IT (Just Commit, Justice Community IT, Justice Communications and Information Technology) – my goal is to provide communications and technical support to community-based organizations and radical movements / human rights defenders. I will start this as a solo project, with my skills in video production, design, translation, and training/facilitation, as well as the skills I am gaining in as a developer and privacy trainer. I hope to recruit others to this collective, and eventually work with SpiderAlex from Spain on supporting feminist servers and web-based services. I hope to have some version of this launched before May 2015, at the next TransHack Feminist Conference in Puebla, Mexico.