Computer Engineering Degree

[B.def]

Hello, I'm looking for good books or tutorials for a freshman that wants to know about networking.

I'm currently working on my bachelors degree in Computer Engineering and I am interested in doing Computer Networking work for a living. Ex. Network Admin/SYSADMIN.
I know I only need a Computer science degree, but a Computer Engineering degree will open more doors for me.

If anyone could recommend me anything it would be greatly appreciated. Also any important tips about the field would be nice too.

 

[Cogman]

computer science for sysadmin? If you want to do that, you are looking at the wrong degrees all together. In fact, there is a good chance that both compe and comp sci. Won't help at all.

You can get a full degree in compe without ever understanding the basics of networking.
I would suggest that CIT is more the degree you are looking for.

 

[B.def]

Really, the job description I read for C. engineering said otherwise. I'll definitely have to figure this out. Only problem is that I'm going to an engineering school and those are the only two "tech" majors offered.

 

[her209]

You don't need a Computer Science or Engineering degree to do a networking job. A Computer Science degree has more to do with software programming and design. A Computer Engineering degree includes that plus the hardware side of it.

 

[Pia]

I don't see how most CS degree material would help with admining.

You need a small amount of theory and a ton of practice and experience on how to actually do the job, tie various systems together and troubleshoot.

When I consider the courses I could have taken for CS degree, at best I think there would have been about 15% networking-related stuff (most of it totally irrelevant to admining), 15% computer security, 10% electronics (most of it irrelevant), 5% of logical thinking that might be remotely useful for admin design efforts. So 55% time wasted and I'm being optimistic.

 

[Gryz]

Brendan only mentioned the job of network admin as an example of a future job he might be interested in. There are many other jobs related to networking in particular, or computer science in general. And the better education, the easier it is to do any job. Go ahead, and do your Bachelor's. It'll be fun. And the more you learn about computer science, the more you will get an idea what you wanna do later.

Unbelievable that people here tell a young person to *not* go do a studies. "It's a waste of time". Sheesz.

I'm not sure what books are relevant these days. This book was the first book I read about networking: Computer Networks by Andy Tanenbaum. It has always had a good reputation, and there have always been new revisions of the book. It should give you some background about the fundamentals of networking. And no matter what other people say, knowing the fundamentals is always a big plus.

 

[Pia]

Unbelievable that people here tell a young person to *not* go do a studies. "It's a waste of time". Sheesz.

I don't think anyone here told him not to study, but to focus the studies on something appropriate for the career he's interested in.

I'm not sure what books are relevant these days. This book was the first book I read about networking: Computer Networks by Andy Tanenbaum. It has always had a good reputation, and there have always been new revisions of the book. It should give you some background about the fundamentals of networking. And no matter what other people say, knowing the fundamentals is always a big plus.

When it's relevant fundamentals. Fundamentals of slavic languages or compiler design would not help him much.

Tanenbaum was also the material for my first networking related course but I have nothing to compare the book to. It seemed reasonable.

 

[Cogman]

Brendan only mentioned the job of network admin as an example of a future job he might be interested in. There are many other jobs related to networking in particular, or computer science in general. And the better education, the easier it is to do any job. Go ahead, and do your Bachelor's. It'll be fun. And the more you learn about computer science, the more you will get an idea what you wanna do later.

Unbelievable that people here tell a young person to *not* go do a studies. "It's a waste of time". Sheesz.

I'm not sure what books are relevant these days. This book was the first book I read about networking: Computer Networks by Andy Tanenbaum. It has always had a good reputation, and there have always been new revisions of the book. It should give you some background about the fundamentals of networking. And no matter what other people say, knowing the fundamentals is always a big plus.

NOBODY here told him not to do a studies. What we told him is that the field he is studying isn't applicable to the jobs he is thinking of applying for.

If the OP is interested in any sort of software development, then yes, CompE and CS are good degrees to go for. But if he is more interested in managing large systems and lots of machines then those degrees hardly help. CIT and CS are two very different things.

 

[Fallen Kell]

As a Unix/Linux System Administrator who happens to have a BS in Computer Science, I will say it absolutely helps. It might not help for someone who wants to be a Windows admin, but on Unix/Linux you will probably compile and tweak more code than your in-house developers. We have 5 people in our group which have CS degrees and the 5 of us are the ones who can actually fix things...

 

[Cogman]

As a Unix/Linux System Administrator who happens to have a BS in Computer Science, I will say it absolutely helps. It might not help for someone who wants to be a Windows admin, but on Unix/Linux you will probably compile and tweak more code than your in-house developers. We have 5 people in our group which have CS degrees and the 5 of us are the ones who can actually fix things...

And how long did it take you to learn how to compile code? There are FAR more important things in the life of a sysadmin than code compiling and most of that stuff is never touched in a CS/CE degree.

How to competently manage a SQL server. How to manage a web host. How to manage multiple user accounts. What sort of security policies are sane and what policies are insane. These sorts of subjects aren't even considered in a CS degree.

 

[Goosemaster]

And how long did it take you to learn how to compile code? There are FAR more important things in the life of a sysadmin than code compiling and most of that stuff is never touched in a CS/CE degree.

How to competently manage a SQL server. How to manage a web host. How to manage multiple user accounts. What sort of security policies are sane and what policies are insane. These sorts of subjects aren't even considered in a CS degree.

I would stress that this in no way tarnishes the value of a CS degree.

While they might overlap here and there, the focus is completely different.

 

[Cogman]

I would stress that this in no way tarnishes the value of a CS degree.

While they might overlap here and there, the focus is completely different.

Good point. A CS degree IS valuable, it just isn't what the OP should be pursuing if his ultimate goal is to be a Sysadmin.

 

[PCTC2]

A lot of higher-paying more intensive (task-wise in a *NIX environment) sysadmin jobs DO require a higher-education degree, and most list CS/CE/equivalent as a requirement. For a supervisory position with a nice six-figure salary, some even list a Masters in CS/CE. It's a good thing to have.

If you want to do Networking and SysAdmin, definitely get a CS/CE degree and then go for a Cisco certification (some community colleges and University Extension programs offer Cisco certs at a discount for current local students). Then get some other certs (NOT COMPTIA), like RHEL or other certs. When you have both a CS/CE degree AND a Cisco cert, you look a lot more appealing to future employers.

So all in all, you're going down the right path, but just look off to the side a little too. (And then, if all else fails, you can use your CE degree to do some real engineering too).

(Yes, I am a sysadmin).