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📨 In Today’s Issue:

🔎 Industry Signal – Major IT Outage Shakes Global Cruise Operations

💡 Certification Spotlight - AWS Certified AI Practitioner

🧠 Career Move of the Week - How to Get an Engineering Internship With No Experience

🎙 From the Mic – Epic Certifications: The Hidden IT career

📚 Resource of the Week – Books, gear, labs, or tools

INDUSTRY TRENDS:

A widespread IT system failure at Carnival Cruise Line recently disrupted operations across multiple ships, affecting systems from passenger services to navigation tools and communications. This incident highlights a growing reality in tech: even major enterprises with large budgets and sophisticated systems aren’t immune to major outages, and the operational impact can be massive. (cruiselawnews.com

Here’s what you need to know:

• Systems can fail anywhere: Large, complex IT environments — even those at sea — can be brought down by critical system failures.

• Operational disruption matters: When core systems go offline, it affects scheduling, communications, customer service, and safety-related tools.

• Security vs reliability: Outages don’t always come from attacks — sometimes they come from internal system failures, misconfigurations, or cascading dependencies.

• Tech resilience is strategic: Organizations that invest in fault-tolerance, redundancy, and disaster recovery are better equipped to handle these events — and tech professionals who understand this will be more valuable.

For IT pros, this is a reminder:

Networks and systems aren’t just about uptime — they’re about trust, safety, and business continuity. Skills in high-availability design, failover planning, and resilient architecture are becoming increasingly mission-critical.

👉 Read the full report here:

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2026/02/articles/safety-security/carnival-suffers-widespread-it-system-failure-affecting-multiple-ships/

AI skills are becoming a core part of many tech careers — not just for developers or data scientists, but for IT pros across networking, cloud, security, and systems. One of the best foundational certifications to start with is the AWS Certified AI Practitioner.

This certification validates your understanding of key AI and machine learning concepts, how they are used in real business scenarios, and how AWS services support intelligent applications — without requiring deep coding or data science expertise

The AWS Certified AI Practitioner is ideal for:

• IT professionals wanting to add AI knowledge to their skill set

• Cloud practitioners building across AWS services

• Support, analyst, or operations roles integrating AI workflows

• Career changers exploring AI/ML as part of a broader technical path

• Non-developers who need to understand how AI works in production

This certification is intentionally accessible. You don’t have to be a software engineer or machine learning expert — just someone who wants practical knowledge of AI from a leading cloud provider.

Earning this certification can boost your credibility for roles such as:

• AI/ML Support Specialist

• Cloud Support Associate

• IT Analyst with AI responsibilities

• Business or Data Analyst working with AWS tools

• AI Integration Coordinator

• Technical Support Engineer (AWS focused)

These are real positions where employers value practical AWS + AI knowledge — especially as AI becomes integrated into more applications and infrastructure.

While salary varies by role, location, and experience, this certification often supports higher-than-average earning potential compared to non-certified peers:

• Entry-level cloud + AI hybrid roles: $70,000 – $95,000+

• Cloud Support + AI roles with experience: $90,000 – $115,000+

• Specialized cloud/AI roles: $120,000+

Adding this certification signals to employers that you understand AI concepts and AWS services — two fast-growing areas with strong demand.

The AWS Certified AI Practitioner is a powerful first step into AI credentials. It gives you practical AWS and AI knowledge, boosts your marketability, and opens doors to roles that bridge traditional IT and emerging AI capabilities.

👉 Learn more and register here:

https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-ai-practitioner/

CAREER MOVE OF THE WEEK:

Breaking into tech can feel impossible when you don’t have experience — but internships and junior roles aren’t reserved only for students with resumes full of projects. The key is not just what you know, but how you position yourself and get visibility.

This week’s move focuses on actionable steps you can take right now to land an engineering internship or entry-level opportunity — even if you don’t have a long résumé yet.

Here’s the strategy top performers use:

🎯 Build an Entry-Level Portfolio

Create simple projects that show real problem-solving:

• Networking labs

• Basic cloud deployments

• Security monitoring demos

• Small automation scripts

These give hiring managers something to evaluate.

📩 Apply Early, Apply Often

Don’t wait for the “perfect” posting. Apply to roles even if you don’t check every box — especially internships and entry-level listings.

🤝 Leverage LinkedIn to Network

Connect with engineers, recruiters, and hiring managers:

• Ask questions

• Request informational interviews

• Get feedback on your projects

Personal interaction increases your visibility far more than passive applications.

🎓 Upskill With Intent

Target skills that align with roles you want:

• Git & GitHub fundamentals

• Basic scripting (Python, Bash)

• Cloud fundamentals (AWS/Azure fundamentals)

• Networking basics (CCNA level)

Stack these with certificates to prove knowledge, not just study.

👥 Seek Small Teams or Startups

Smaller companies often care more about potential and attitude than exact experience. They’ll often allow you to grow into the role faster.

📌 Follow Up After Applying

A polite follow-up message increases your chances of getting noticed — especially early in the hiring process.

You don’t need a perfect resume or years of experience to break into engineering or tech internships.

You just need:

• Relevant projects

• Intentional visibility

• Smart applications

• Consistent follow-up

This week, build one portfolio project and reach out to two recruiters or engineers on LinkedIn — that simple action is your move.

👉 For the full breakdown and deeper tips, check out the full LinkedIn guide:

https://www.linkedin.com/top-content/engineering/engineering-internships-and-entry-level-opportunities/how-to-get-an-engineering-internship-with-no-experience/

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK:

If you’re studying for certifications, building a home lab, or trying to break into IT, I’ve put together the exact books, equipment, and tools I recommend.

Routers. Networking books. Linux resources. Career development reads.

Everything I personally suggest is here:

👉 https://www.amazon.com/shop/debtfreeinitwmike

Build your skills. Stack your wins. Stay consistent.

RECENT EPISODE:

Epic Certifications: The Hidden IT Career in Healthcare

In my last episode about hidden jobs in IT, I ranked healthcare as the #1 industry.

During that episode, I mentioned something most people in tech have never heard of… Epic certifications.

In this video, I break down:
• What Epic is and why it dominates hospital systems
• How Epic certifications actually work (and why you can’t just sign up for one)
• Why most IT professionals don’t even know about this path
• The real salary outlook for Epic-certified professionals
• How to break into healthcare IT and position yourself for sponsorship

Epic certifications are different from traditional certs like Cisco or AWS. You must be sponsored by a hospital that uses Epic Systems, and once you’re in, it can lead to stable, high-paying roles in healthcare IT.

If you’re looking for a recession-resistant, enterprise-level IT career path that most people overlook — this is one you need to understand