multiband8303
Senior member
Network Admins/Engineers (Little bit different between the two, actually, a lot) but the question remains the same. Will they be in demand 10 years from now? Or should one look at programming? Just an oddball question 😉
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Network Engineers in Demand 10+ years from now?
- Thread starter multiband8303
- Start date
RadiclDreamer
Diamond Member
Networks arent going anywhere, they are only getting larger
multiband8303
Senior member
My thoughts exactly 😉
I'd say both are in demand and will be for some time, being a good network engineer will require competency in programming/scripting (at least at the enterprise level) so I'd consider programming a core competency in either job. It isn't the high level jobs that are moving overseas primarily, it's the lower skilled admin/ticket monkey work that's getting outsourced. The same goes for low skill/repetitive task based jobs in accounting, HR, graphic design and so forth. Make sure you take some business courses in finance, accounting, business management and spend time on developing your writing & presentation skills. The best technical folks in the world don't go anywhere in their careers if they can't effectively work with the clients they serve and articulate their own accomplishments and value when it comes time to grub for money or advancement. 🙂
multiband8303
Senior member
Well I'm a network enginner/admin - want to go back to school, might be online don't know - but I have zero programming experience (beyoind basic scriping and some SQL) so I just want to know where I should start to lean, to make myself future proof. I make a good living right now (approx $60k) in the twin cities area, I know it's not six figures, but, it's not bad either.
Hardware and the software that runs it almost changes faster than it takes for the majority of network admins to truly master it. When I say master, I mean really master it in the sense that they know all the ins and outs even when a lot of stuff goes wrong. These rapid changes will ensure job security for many years to come.
Besides, we need to learn how to crawl before we can walk. You can ask any network admin out there and they will all tell you that they still get ridiculous requests from people of all ages such as the classic caps lock + "OMG I can't login!!!" scenario. It will be a very long time before the majority of users out there learn how to use their computers without asking any questions for a solid month let alone a year. I can't imagine how long it will take before network admins are no longer needed even with all of the current cutting edge automated software.
Besides, we need to learn how to crawl before we can walk. You can ask any network admin out there and they will all tell you that they still get ridiculous requests from people of all ages such as the classic caps lock + "OMG I can't login!!!" scenario. It will be a very long time before the majority of users out there learn how to use their computers without asking any questions for a solid month let alone a year. I can't imagine how long it will take before network admins are no longer needed even with all of the current cutting edge automated software.
Strong networking guys will always be in demand. The field changes at such an incredible pace that not many people "get it".
These days it is very difficult to find strong networking people. And with the changes that are occuring it is only getting more and more complex.
If you want to focus, then go for data center virtualization or security.
These days it is very difficult to find strong networking people. And with the changes that are occuring it is only getting more and more complex.
If you want to focus, then go for data center virtualization or security.
The key to staying successful and relevant in any field is to keep your skills up no matter what education or skills you start with. While your job responsibilities may require proprietary knowledge or skills relevant to the business you are in, always stay current with the trends and core skills that keep you employable outside of your current job. There are a whole lot of "lifers" out there who can never leave the job they are in because they've become so complacent in their jobs that they are unemployable even in their own industry.
In IT, if you are in a "support" position where you keep the infrastructure that someone else builds running you might want to consider what it will take to rise to that next level. Remember, to some extent anyone can be trained to keep someone else's creation running with the right basic skills mix (network, server, PC's, etc..). If have the skills to succesfully engineer and implement stable systems or infrastructure projects you are a whole lot more valuable to your business and in the industry as a whole.
In IT, if you are in a "support" position where you keep the infrastructure that someone else builds running you might want to consider what it will take to rise to that next level. Remember, to some extent anyone can be trained to keep someone else's creation running with the right basic skills mix (network, server, PC's, etc..). If have the skills to succesfully engineer and implement stable systems or infrastructure projects you are a whole lot more valuable to your business and in the industry as a whole.
Maybe for support positions, but a GUI can't give the control needed. Nobody uses them anyway. And you can't build solid feature oriented networks without a solid and thorough understanding of the principles involved and all the "what if" scenarios and state tables that need to be examined.
This is correct and is ultimate goal in the eyes of the programmers who make these software GUI's. However, that is why I made that comment about things going wrong in my previous post. While the GUI's are great for configuring stuff and make it very easy at times, there are other times where the problem is beyond the GUI and you need to pull out that core knowledge to fix it. There is also the issue of using the GUI itself. You can make something as automated as possible with pretty pictures of bunnies and all that happy horse shit, but in the end the program will require a degree of user input. In this day and age, the average person runs off screaming at the idea of typing in an IP address without a network admin standing behind them or doing it for them. I don't see that changing anytime soon.
This is good advice.
multiband8303
Senior member
*Points towards his multilayer Cisco 3750 Stack....*
Or perhaps my 7xxx chasis....with RSM and Sup 720...
GUI THAT!
ngvepforever2
Golden Member
You can try programming, there is a big chance that if you are not cut out for it you'll drop it in the first month (unless the school where you are planning to go is utter-crap). Even if you like it, you have to work hard to be good at it. Knowing some math ( mostly logic) will help (of course the cooler stuff is, the more math you'll need...for instance for Neural Nets you'll need linear algebra and Vector Calculus and some Stats
ng
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