How to Become A Network Engineer in 2023: Step by Step Guide

Maintenance planners oversee projects from start to finish, making sure these are executed efficiently and in a timely manner. There is a lot of planning and scheduling to take care of; providing own technical expertise to boost the process is often called for. Relevant degrees may include information technology, information systems, computer science, or computer engineering. Consequently, soft skills like great communication, team management, leadership, collaboration, and patience serve network engineers well. Advanced networking training is the next logical step that comes after gaining expertise with the CCNA certification.

After three years, you will have to take another CCENT exam to maintain certification. One year of professional experience qualifies you take the Certified Network Professional exams for CNP certification. This blog will cover the ways you can become a network engineer and jump start your career in networking. First, let’s tackle the basic question, what does a network engineer do? A network engineer is an IT professional who has the technical skills to plan, implement and oversee all computer networks, including the latest generation of wireless network services. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reporst the 2021 median annual income for network and computer systems administrators at $80,600.

How To Become a Network Engineer In Less Than a Year In 5 Simple Steps

For many IT professionals, pursuing a four-year bachelor’s program is simply not an option due to time or financial constraints. Meanwhile, those who have completed a bachelor’s degree years ago may feel like something is missing in their present-day knowledge. In either case, obtaining a certificate in network security might be the right next step. It’s worth noting that network security engineers are in high demand, and demand continues to outgrow available applicants, making it easier to be placed in this position.

Job shadowing and working under a mentor is yet another excellent way to learn valuable skills and protocols from network engineers with more experience. Maintenance planners are the exact opposite network engineer qualifications of what everyone imagines network engineers to be. Certainly they spend a good deal of their day in front of the screen, but their role is to maintain contact with clients on a regular basis.

Network Engineer Jobs By Location

Because it’s best to learn on real hardware, many successful transitioners built a home learning lab by purchasing used networking equipment on eBay or similar sites. They also simulated real-world scenarios by downloading simulators and emulators https://remotemode.net/ such as Cisco Pack Tracer, GNS3 and Boson’s NetSim. Finally, they gained insights into networking and infrastructure engineering best practices from working professionals by reading the content on Packet Pushers and joining its Slack group.

Education toward becoming a network administrator provides a foundation for understanding the objectives of the network design, along with the knowledge to quickly diagnose problems. Many organizations mistakenly use the terms network engineer and network administrator interchangeably. The two roles, however, perform different functions entirely, with a network engineer typically having greater executive responsibilities than a network administrator.

How to Become a Network Engineer: Instead of a Conclusion

You can still find people suggesting you learn the most popular CCNP Routing and Switching, but the fact is it got replaced with CCNP enterprise. And this professional-level under enterprise track has much more advanced networking skills to offer. Today, no network engineer desires to spare their minute doing the repetitive and manual task that ends up having multiple errors. Even organizations believe that they can save money, time, and resources better when their network is automated.