This is a question that I get asked quite a bit by people just entering the IT field. They are looking for something that will get them a big paycheck and easy work. They think that the “N.E.R.D.” ( Network Emergency Repair Dude ) has all of the above.
Those of us in the field know that this is not necessarily the case most of the time. We work irregular hours, sometimes in prolonged noisy environments and are the number one folks to get pointed at whenever there are performance issues, database issues, PC’s freezing up and sometimes even when the bosses car won’t start (well not really, but it might as well extend that far ).
So why would anyone want to get into the networking field? For me it was a decision based upon the popularity of computers and the commonplace knowledge of basic computing.
At the time I was working as a Citrix engineer doing deployments of Citrix Winframe ( yes Winframe – no comments about my age please ), Metaframe and PC installation / support. I liked doing that and was satisfied to be on that path at the time. I was in line at Wal-Mart one day and heard a person in front of me talking to the person with him about his computer’s mouse acting strange. The young lady behind the cash register said you just need to open the mouse on the bottom and take the ball out. Then you need to clean the ball and inside where the ball was and you should be fine.
This really made me think. I’m in a field doing things that virtually everyone has a base knowledge of. My company got a contract to go in and install Citrix and the network for a small bank. I volunteered for the job with the provision that I could do the network piece as well. They agreed. That was back in 1998. I had such a great time with the networking pieces that I knew that this was the place for me.
From that time I took every project that I could get my hands on that included networking. I took the CCNA and CCDA tests in 1998 and passed the CCNP in 1999.
These two certifications and my previous experience helped to land me a much better job with a Fortune 1000 company as their network engineer. I went on to pass the CCIE R&S written in 2001 and passed the CCIE R&S lab in 2003. This was a very great time for me. I was exposed to some very good on the job learning while I was studying for the lab. My employer was behind me 100% which helped as well.
Since passing the lab I have moved up the chain in jobs and salary. I truly enjoy what I do for a living. I think that is one of the most important pieces to the puzzle of asking “why networking”? To me it is not something you enter into just to be specialized or for the money. It HAS to be something that you have a passion for and truly enjoy doing.
You also have to be dedicated to continued learning. Someone said to me “now that you have passed the lab – you can sit back and relax”. This is totally opposite to what you need to do. Whatever area of IT that you concentrate in, you can never remain idle and think that you’ve learned everything that you need to know!! Technology changes and you must be willing and able to move with the flow.
I would like to thank Eman for inviting me to contribute.
Larry Hadrava
CCIE #12203 (R&S)
Enterprise Integration
www.entint.com
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