Wondering how to get started as a network engineer? In this post I’m going to cover some ways to get started on your journey to be in the networking specialization field of Information Technology which will be hereby referred to as I.T. I’ve been working within this field for more than 10 years now and my path can certainly be replicated but there are other ways as well. Here we go!
First things first you need some knowledge! Traditional learning through a community college’s Associate of Science I.T. program or a University’s Bachelor of Science program is a great way to go! There are pros and cons to each of those options so lets cover them. I personally went with the 2 year degree at a community/technical college that had an I.T. degree with a specialization in networking. This is a bit more cost effective than jumping into a 4 year university program and in many states you have the option of direct transfer to an in state university after you have your AA or AS degree. Many community colleges offer curriculum from Cisco’s NetAcademy program which deliver’s course content directly from Cisco! This is a huge benefit because you are better prepared for taking your CCNA once you complete the program and in many schools you can waive your final exam if you get the CCNA prior to completing!! This program may be available at 4 year colleges as well but I’m not aware of any that offer it myself. Disclaimer though, I haven’t looked either. Many organizations still put alot of weight on having a bachelor’s degree so in a lot of cases that alone can get your foot in the door even though you may not have the operational preparedness you receive from the 2 year program. Regardless of which way you go I would encourage you to seek out a certification to go along with your degree and a great place to start is the Cisco CCNA. Let’s talk about certifications next.
You do have the option of skipping formal education all together and just going the certification route. There are various levels of certification up to expert level that certify your proficiency on a given technical subject. There are vendor neutral entry level certs like the CompTia A+, Network +, Security + of which I have all three. That where my certification journey started before seeking my first Cisco cert which was the Cisco Certified Network Associate or CCNA back in 2011. I have several other Cisco certs now but the CCNA is a great place to start if you want a career in networking. The pursuit of this certification will introduce you to key networking concepts needed to function in an entry-level network role. This cert alone may or may not get you in the door somewhere, however if you couple it with a 2 or 4 year degree or with a little bit of I.T. experience you’ll be on your way in no time! If you have the cert only then it is certainly possible but you may want to broaden your job search and look for any technical position that will have you, network focused or not. Technical support roles are a great way to get started especially if you’re flexible on hours. Once you’re in the door you can work your way up or get some experience on your resume so you can get in the door somewhere else. There are some other skills you can couple with your network knowledge that will help you as well. Knowledge of public cloud and automation can catapult you in front of other applicants since this is where the industry is focused on currently so grab an AWS cert and/or learn some python & ansible to bolster your chances!
I have some more info on this subject on my NEI youtube channel check out the video here https://youtu.be/ixoBdi078lc. I hope you enjoyed this article let me know if you have any questions!
~Eric