My name is Jake Sheppard and I work as a remote database administrator out of Montana. I've been using computers since 1992, and active on the internet since 1994. Some of the games I used to play as a kid were Civilization II, Quake, and EverQuest. Later on I even dipped my toes into videogame development using the Source Engine created by Valve. The current operating system I am using is Manjaro Linux, and for my other stuff I use a combination of Ubuntu, and Windows Server 2022. Twice a year I like to go up into the mountains for a little over a week to hunt, camp, and fish. It's great to get back in touch with your inner self when surrounded by nature. I also strive to be as self sufficient as possible in life.
Some of the best advice I was ever given was to try and remain OS neutral. Specializing in one area is fantastic as long as you have a good general understanding of what else is out there, and how to use it. Even though I consider myself a Unix-like specialist I can work with just about anything. Mac OSX, Windows, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris and even some experimental operating systems such as Plan 9 (the planned successor to Unix), and Temple OS. I also try to apply the same philosophy to databases & database systems.
My education when explained can sound a little bit complex. When I enrolled in community college I already had accumulated 20 years of experience of working with computers. I did the general education courses to save money and then transferred to Drexel University in-order to begin their Computing and Security Technology program. Their program was like a normal IT degree but with a much larger emphasis on security. Near the end of my degree I decided that I had a solid enough foundation and could supplement the rest with certifications. The result was me leaving Drexel with a spotless record and a GPA very close to 4.0. I also audited some classes at UC Davis and liked working with databases enough to decide that I wanted to make a career out of it instead of cybersecurity. I am able to work across Oracle, MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and Azure SQL Databases. When it comes to programming I am proficient with C/C++, Python, SQL, PHP, and Javascript.
These are the database courses that I completed when enrolled at Drexel, or audited at UC Davis. There was some crossover in information.
- INFO 210: Database Management Systems [Design Theory]
- INFO 365: Database Administration [Oracle]
- ECS 165A: Database Systems [PostgreSQL]
- ECS 165B: Database Systems [Advanced Topics]
These are some of the certifications I have, or have had at one point.
- CompTIA DataSys+ Certification
- Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate
- Plus an unrelated Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B) Certification & License / HAZMAT First Responder Operations (FRO) Certification from around the same time.
The website name should be a dead giveaway that I am a fan of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. I play as the Grey Knights & Adeptus Mechanicus on table top. Some interesting projects I have kept an eye on over the years are Star Citizen, which is a persistent mmo space simulator that has been in development since 2012. Monsters & Memories, a old school mmorpg that is heavily inspired by EverQuest, and lastly Dwarf Fortress, where you can even find my name in the hall of champions as "The Capybara of Dwarf Fortress". In terms of security related software KeePassXC, GnuPG, and VeraCrypt are definitely some great open source projects to look into.
The best way to reach me is by email, and feel free to use my public key for added protection.