networking job

[aUt0eXebat]

I am taking Networking in college.... and I dont know much about networking. But, i am interested in it. I am going to be taking tons of courses to do with it, but after college and i get a job with networking? how do i keep up with all of the new technolgy knowldge? Would the company i work for keep training me or what?

 

[Spiff]

To a large extent, it is up to you to keep up with the technologies. Read trade magazines, technology news on the web, continue to read books. Some companies offer training and education, but many do not. Those that do offer training, that can vary quality depending on the amount of many they can spend or are willing to spend.

You cannot rely on your company to introduce you to new ideas in technology. In fact, in many cases, it is among your responsibilies to educate your company in what options are available for that company to maintain operations, minimum security levels, current hw/sw platforms, etc... So you're going to have to make an effort to pay attention to what is happening around you and to what is happening in the industry.

This is really a two way street. You may come across something that you believe will provide a vlauable service to your organization. Your organization may come back and provide funding for you to receive specific training so that you can implement that service.

Although your question is specific to "networking", I'm addressing this to all IT professionals as it applies in all fields. The bottom line here is that you have to have a degree of initiative and discipline in order to be a valuable IT professional.

 

[TerreApart]

Spiff is dead on...

Networking and IT in general are fields that you must maintain on your own, all the time. Regardless what you know today, tomorrow someone will ask about something they "heard about" and it will be your job to know something about it ahead of time, or cram like hell to catch-up on the new technology so you can give credible advice and information.

If you thought they made you read alot in high school or college. that's nothing compared to the amount of reading i do as a systems admin. I spend the majority of my time gathering information, so i can either avoid problems, or fix problems.

Best advice i can give if networking is the direction you are headed. Build 3+ computers at home(200mhz or faster) and get ahold of every OS(server and workstation versions) you can and make them work together. Whenever you hear someone mention a new program try it out, it may be something you can use in the future to help troubleshoot or solve a problem.

Sorry this is so long, but hey this is my specialty.
Good Luck to you...

 

[Inosuke]

Hehe,

I am setting up my Linux box right now.

I am also getting into networking while taking a bootcamp (21 weeks of 20 hours a week, lots of hands-on work). When I'm done, I wont be certified in anything in particular, but I will have lots on hands on time at home on my machines, and also at school.

A network admin friend of mine said study TCP-IP and routers and you cant really go wrong.

Ja,

Inosuke