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How to Become a Network Engineer

How to Become a Network Engineer

So you want to become a network engineer?  I have a lot of people asking that exact question – “How can I get into Computer Networking?” or “How to become a Network Engineer?”.  I personally think that anyone who asks these questions and has a desire to learn about computer networks is doing themselves a big favour that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

There are many reasons to want to become a network engineer: great pay, great companies, good benefits, or to simply work with great technology. In addition, it opens the door to the IT world and maybe you can find yourself learning further technologies such as Linux to be an Ops Engineer or coding to be a Developer. Once you got into the IT field, the sky is the limit! When you work as Network Engineer, the exposure to technology is huge since you’ll be working on the “plumbing” that allows a computer system to work.

According to PayScale, a network engineer in United States earns an annual salary between $57,000 – $117,000 (including additional benefits).

But getting yourself into a position like this may not always be the easiest thing to achieve. In today’s market competition is fierce. In this post we will list some ways that may help you get that cool network engineering job and potentially boost your career.

Network Engineer Training and Certifications

The first and most direct way to easily get a job working as a network engineer is to do some self-study and get a vendor certification like a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). Anyone who already has an IT certification knows these certification tests are not easy if taken correctly (means NOT cheating!).  And Cisco tests are, in my opinion, the hardest tests out there.

The current CCNA test not only will test your book knowledge on the theory of computer networking, TCP/IP, and the OSI model but will also test your “practical knowledge” of actually performing the hands-on tasks that may be called upon you as a junior network engineer.

The one thing that set Cisco and Juniper tests apart from other vendors are the router emulators. Router emulators are very common on the CCNA and are very realistic. For this reason, people who pass a Cisco exam not just good test takers, they know their stuff.  To pass the CCNA I would highly recommend starting with one of the great books on the CCNA.

Get to the online bookstore and find books that keep your attention and are easy for you to read (here our selection of best books about computer networking).  Next, invest in a practice exam like one from Boson. Test questions are worded very tricky and taking these practice tests will guarantee you getting the multiple choice stuff correct. Finally, you will need to work on your router skills.

Either purchase a metal router on eBay or download the software emulator GNS3. GNSs is a free router emulator that can help you immensely and best of all its free.  These three things combined will land you that certificate, they will increase your value in the workplace, and will most likely get in the door to do some real hands-on networking. Of course, you still have to pass the interview 🙂

And talking about certifications, nowadays Cisco is not the only option anymoreJuniper Networks is gaining traction in the market and as a consequence Juniper experts are in high demand. You don’t need Cisco to be a great network engineer, You can become Juniper Networks Certified Associate – Junos (JNCIA-Junos) in a few weeks and unlock access to more advanced certification tracks.

On the Job Training

Sometimes poring over the Career Builder website or the LinkedIn job boards can yield you a nice selection of network jobs you may qualify for without having a certification.  These jobs will typically pay less however will offer the opportunity to learn and may provide training to advance yourself to get a CCNA or even superior certifications.

Self Study

For some people, the best way to learn about a new topic or field of interest is self-study, intended as getting a course of some kind (e.g. books, audio, video, etc.) and working on it. We have a great article about the 10 top books for Network Engineers, check it out! For audio and video courses, a great resource is the evergreen Youtube which offers free content.

College

Colleges today recognise the demand for skilled I.T. people in the workplace and have started to establish certification programs that will allow you to earn your CCNA or CCNP which will definitely launch you in the the computer networking hot seat.  The benefit of College programs is that these often qualify for grants and loans that may not otherwise be available.

Military

This option seems to be overlooked and is last on the list of where to find quality training, but really this should be one of the first on many peoples list.   The biggest problem is that working in the Army, Air Force, Navy or Marines is often misunderstood.  Each branch is significantly different and each has their own training and benefits.

Most people envision Hollywood movie footage of “Black Hawk Down” living in the desert eating C-rations.  Of course those jobs, locations, and duties do exist,  however, life in the military is far different and the educational benefits are tremendous!  The US military offers some great programs that will get your hands on some of the latest technology and networks that you can find in the civilian world.  Nowhere else can you find a place that will immediately give you a paycheck, provide you with all the food you can eat, comfortable living quarters, new clothes and a world-class education.

Passing the job interview to become a Network Engineer

Get That Network Engineer Job!

To help you jump-start your career,  we released our new eBook Get That Network Engineer Job!

What you’ll learn:

  • The Interview Process explained
  • The Types of interviews and how they differ
  • Pre-Interview Work you have to do
  • Soft skills questions to prepare
  • Technical Questions (with answers)
  • What to do After the Interview
  • Preparation checklist: Interview DO’s and DON’Ts

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FAQ on How to Become a Network Engineer

1. Do I Need a degree to Become a Network Engineer?

One myth or preconception of becoming a network engineer is that you have to have a college degree. This is not true. The job title Network Engineer or certification Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) does not necessarily mean that you are a “REAL” engineer. By this I mean a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, or other accredited degreed credential.

become a network engineer

As a matter of fact titles such as these undermine the credibility of real engineers. Job titles like Systems Engineer and Network Engineer began popping up shortly after network and computer equipment vendors came out with similar certification names. For example, Novel created the Certified Novell Engineer (CNE) to provide a way to indicate an employee knew and could work on Novell equipment. To get this “certification” you simply had to pass 5 tests created for Novell server systems. Microsoft quickly copied Novell by creating the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). This took off in popularity and soon I.T. departments were flooded with “paper MCSE’s”. Finally Cisco took their certifications to a new level and created their own certification, the CCIE, positioning it at the top of the heap by adding an incredibly difficult hands on lab.

2. Do I Need to Pass the CCNA or CCNP to Take the CCIE?

Many people think that you need to complete the CCNA or CCNP in order to take the CCIE. This is not true. The only prerequisite for taking the CCIE lab is to pass the CCIE qualification exam (also known as the CCIE written).

3. I’m in school now, Should I Finish My Degree or should I Take the CCNA?

From all of the questions we receive, many of of you are in college (or are close to getting your college degree) and are curious if you should finish your degree or just skip ahead and take the CCNA. Our recommendation is of course to FINISH YOUR DEGREE! The CCNA is just one test that can be studied and passed at anytime. Getting your degree takes much more study and dedication and should be completed.

4. Will Passing the CCNA Get Me Hired as a Network Engineer?

No certification test will guarantee you get hired or even get you to an interview for a network engineer job.  But many network jobs do require at least a CCNA to get your foot in the door or to be able to be considered for an interview.  The CCNA is the basic entry level routing and switching exam and show employers you know at least the basics of how to do the job. Will the CCNA get you a job?  No.  But it may help get you talking to the hiring manager so you can sell yourself.

5. I Have No Experience, What Is The Best Way to Get a Job as a Network Engineer?

If you have zero experience in networking and zero experience with computers your first task is to learn computing.  Buy a computer, take it apart and put it back together again.  Learn how computers work first, then move on to learning how networks work. Next, take a look at studying for and passing networking certifications.

6. Will Learning UNIX/Linux Help Me with Networking?

Yes!  Most routers and switches are based on a Linux/Unix operating system.  Learning Unix or Linux will go a long way to helping you understand how advanced computer systems operate as well as how network computers communicate.

7. I have little experience but I passed the CCNA and got hired as a desktop admin. Is this job right for me?

Only you can decide if the job is right for you.  If you enjoy the work and love what you do than that is the most important thing to consider. Don’t worry about what the job title is.

If your new boss hired you and stuck you on desktop duty… this may have been done to judge your overall performance and see how well you work with in the company culture.   Also the risk factor for a company with a new hire is much less by having that new hire first work on desktops.  If a new employee makes a on a single desktop. The only impact to the company is that one desktop needs to be rebuilt.   However, if that same new employee is given a task to work on a network switch or router and mistakenly wipes out the entire VLAN database, effecting hundreds if not thousands of workstations, this would cause massive revenue loss for the company.  Both you and your new boss would get fired!

8. Should I Take the CCNP or Just Go for the CCIE?

The statistics for passing the CCIE is only 3%.  Thats a 97% failure rate.  Compare this to the MCAT or the BAR and CCIE is THE hardest exam to pass in the world! Unless you have an employer or someone who will sponsor you to fail the test at least twice as well as pay for you to take the test a third time and pass, I would go for the CCNP.

9. I Passed the CCNA (CCNP) and Got an Interview but Didn’t Get the Job. Why?

Having a certification is great but honestly this piece of paper doesn’t say anything about you as a person or your experience.  When you go to an interview one the biggest things an employers looks for is to see how well you will get along with the team (read as soft skills).  You can be the greatest network engineer in the world but also difficult to work with and not a great team player.  You need to be able to demonstrate your ability to work on a team and contribute to their person brand. But how? Try working on your personal brand and take a look at our soft skills interview questions.

10. Whats The Best Way to Study to Become a Network Engineer?

The best way to learn networking is by doing.  The least expensive way, if you have access to an IOS image is to install a Router Simulator and practice working with real routers in a virtual environment right on your desktop

If you don’t have access to an IOS image or don’t feel comfortable working with a freeware router simulator you can install the router simulator from Boson.  It installs very easy but it is not cheap!

You could also look for Packeteer from Cisco. You may have to buy this also as its usually only available to Cisco Academy folks.

Buy a cheap router from eBay!  Probably the easiest and least expensive routes is to simply buy an old used router off of eBay.  You can find a decent router from under a hundred bucks that will get you everything you need.

One last thing you will need to help prepare you for passing the CCNA or CCNP is some practice questions or testing software.

A company we recommend is Boson.

 

Summary

There are lots of ways for motivated people to change their life, and land a job as a network engineer.  Doing so will allow you to make a good living and work with some awesome technology.  Getting there is up to you. Whether it be self-study, classroom training, college or the military, if you truly want to work as a network engineer there is a way.  You just have to do it, with passion and determination.

As Yoda once said – “Do or Do Not, There is no Try.”
how to become a network engineer

302 Responses

  1. Hi sir,

    i’m a fresh grad in Computer Engineering degree and currently interested to secure a job in network engineering field. The question is i don’t know what is the suitable job for me as a fresh grad so that i can learn and build up my career and be a specialist in network engineering.

    you said that network admin is good for starter but then its hard to get to this kind of job since most companies look for someone with at least 1 year of experience for this job. the option left for me is to be IT officer/ IT sys support eng. / sys eng. or IT technician that most offered to fresh grad which I think dont do much about networking. So what is ur advice for me?

  2. Hello sir, i am from India.i’ve just cmpltd my graduation in B.sc( Bio-pass). though i dont hv knowledge about networking bt i really want to know networking. bt i’ve been a average kind of student,not that good in math & physics.i belongs to a middle class family.& right now am really confuse what to do.!! Sir pls give me your valuable suggestion,should I prepare myself for CCNA? can I do that??pls help me…..

  3. Sir, I would like to ask one more question that Right now I m working on Airport Authority of India Project and working on Juniper Router, Firewalls and switches and have 6 months of exp is it being the good thing to work on different machines like collecting experience on Nortel and Cisco switches Routers and firewalls.

  4. I am Network Engineer working on juniper Routers and Switches, I have left software field and come in Networking field after how much years of experience can help me for switching in any other company, I have currently 6 months of exp and I m B.Tech Computer Science

  5. i m pursueing computer science engineer nd m in final year and m interestd in networking .I askd my senior about networking courses he told about(CCNA ,CCNP) to do but i do not have that much knowledge about networking .

    so want to know the initial course for networking. firstly i want to take basic knowledge of networking .so suggest me which course should i do for my basic know. and i want the path to reach to my destination from starting…plz suggest me course from starting .

    thank you

    1. hi rakish,

      here ananth. me too 2012 passout did my B.E IN ECE and planned to do cisco certification. as a newbie to networking you should start with ccent cert which gives you basic knowledge. you should also go through the basics of networking taught you in your college. Be sure that you are visiting the CISCO LEARNING NEWORK often.

      1. thank you sir.,but can u suggest me a best institued in nagpur which gives the practical know well…..

      2. hi ananth…………

        i want some guidline on ccent so can u help me out on this…this is my email id (rakishkhadode@gmail.com)…plz send ur mobile no.

        thank you,

  6. Let me correct you with your statistics first. Passing rate of CCIE Lab exam is not 3%. Not at all. You should not use statistics of last 10 years. but if we take passing rate of last 3 years of CCIE R&S and Security. Every Second person attempting, is clearing the Lab exams of CCIE R&S and Security. This is all because of some institutes, who are providing hands on Training on Real Cisco devices.

    If we take passing rate before 2009, it was around 10%.
    But today while There are some institutes in India, USA and UK, who are providing CCIE Racks, CCIE certified Trainers and 24/7 Lab facilities, passing rate is improved dynamically.

    Passing rate for CCIE was Low, because resources were not available.

    But Today you have all the resources available. You have CCIE certified Trainers with 10-15years of experience.
    You have dedicated racks for you to practice, provided by institutes like INE, Network Bulls, ACIT, IPExpert etc.

    You have 24/7 Lab facility available, where you you can eat Cisco, Drink Cisco, Speak Cisco and Pass Cisco!

    Passing CCIE today is not a big deal.

    Companies are hiring CCIE fresher candidates in Oman, India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Dubai, China and Nepal also.
    CCIE as a fresher is a kind of replacement for MBA and CA courses, in which candidates are not sure about placements. But After CCIE, job is assured, as competition is very less.

    Gaurav Sood
    CCIE#29785

  7. I hear a lot of you going for CCNA then expecting to secure a job. Its not easy even for a Graduate who has no hands on experience no clue on CLI. I’ll suggest get your CCNA, CCNP then apply for CCNA jobs with your CCNP. CCNP Troubleshooting exam is real world and its tough but interesting. Speaking from experience as I failed it several times. Most people fail to secure jobs after going through interviews because they fail expressing themselves in an Engineer lingo. Those are people who dump the exam not understanding the technology. If I were to be asked to explain the implementation of a certain protocol. I would respond at a CCIE level of explaining that technology and that says hey this person is well advanced beyond his CCNA, CCNP level of understanding. You get interviewed based on your experties you put on your CV. If you fail to respond on what you have written on your CV then you might as well go home and sweep the street (jokingly). I hope I make sense. MCP, CCNA, CCNP-South Africa

  8. hi joe just to start with im 38 and just passed my compTIA a+ now entering comptia a+ networking would you recommend going on and doing ccna after a+networking or am i to old heading into that directing?

  9. Hello Joe
    My name is Rahul currently I m working with IBM as a system Operations specialist from last 9 months before that I was in accenture as a CSA. I m a cisco certified network associates [ which I completed 2 years ago only but couldnt able to crack a job in networking field 🙁 ] . I m thinking of enrolling myself for CCIE but totally confused , will i get a job in networking field after passing CCIE written (I m not mentioning LABS here as I know it is one of the toughest exam ).I don't know if I can definitly find a job with this certification. Please tell me your oppinion. And, how much a CCIE can earn in average? Eagerly waiting for ur response 🙂

  10. I advice the young talented friends to stop dreaming of becoming a network engineer because no jobs are available for freshers.so make some fake experience to achieve your dream. take Risk to be Ishq

    1. I disagree! There are tons of jobs, yes many require experience, but many do not. I get requests ALL of the time from recruiters (at least daily) look for engineers. A CCNA alone will NOT get you a job… you need experience to go along with it… however, it you study and get your CCNP with little experience you will get a job… Buy some used routers on ebay – build a home lab.. you will need to invest in yourself to be able to get the skills you need… but you will be able to get a job.

      Remember from an employers point of view – if you don't know something, that's fine – you can be taught the technology.. but if you're a dick – you can't teach someone not to be a asshat.

      1. Hi, I am from chennai, India. I have done BCOM with 49.4%.I got a 6 yrs of enterprise technical support experience. I am expert in wireless and switching domain. I am CCNA,CCNP and MCP certified. I have worked with MNC like dell . I am interested in masters from NUS or NTU in networking domain. Please provide the guidance for cracking these university will I able to sustain in singapore or us job market being a commerce grad ? Please help me out by providing details which university will consider my experience and not my qualification.

  11. Hi Joe,

    My friend stumbled on to your site and suggested I give it a read. I'm dealiing with a difficult situation. I've 43, I have a BS in Criminal Justice and have basically worked in retail management my entire professional career. I have absolutely zero experience with networking/IT etc, but I've alway found it interesting and enjoyable when I've played around with computer repairs and talking to IT when I've had issues at work. I make decent money and thats why its hard to change what I'm doing. To go back to school and change careers would be virtuallly impossible to keep up financial obligations.

    Now that I've bored you with my background. I have an opportunity to get my CCNA in a 16 week course ( with the same friend that stumbled upon your site). Money is tight, but if I could come out of this with a new well paying career it just may be what I need. Would this be a wise decision or am I wasting my time and money? Will prospective employers be turned away by my age and background (with no experience)?

    Thank you
    Darin

    1. Hi Darin, Glad you and your friend could drop by.

      To be completely honest with you, a CCNA alone won't get you very far and may not even get your a job. Though it is a great start, it is only an introductory level certification. You really need to have some experience under your belt before you can expect any decent pay.

      If after you've achieved your CCNA… and you're still very interested in Networking, I would suggest continuing on to get your CCNP. At the same time, applying for work within the networking field. Your age won't be too much of a factor, and could help in some situations as you are mature and reliable (at least I hope you are at 43 – lol)

      No matter what, employers are looking for experienced networking professionals for the big projects and the big salaries. But don't let this discourage you… if you find you really like this type of work then the money will come. As will all things do what you love to do and the money will follow.

      I hope this helps and good luck!

      Joe

  12. Hi
    To all i see alot of you saying I got the CCNA now will i get the job. The answer is no. While the CCNA is a great certification to have it will not simply get you the job. I talked with one of my instructors at the Cisco Academy. This instructor is a distribtion engineer by day and network instructor by night. He told that he was asked to interview new talent for networking positions he said that most of these prospects were test passers not true networkers. He harped on the importance of LAB TIME working on the actulal equipment in Cisco Case Studies. My advice is to keep studying for the CCNA but at the same time attempt to find some old refurbished equipment and get your hands dirty. Another suggestion is work on your personality for when you do get that interview, Many of these Managers are looking to fit you on a team.
    Good Luck
    MDO

  13. hello sir
    I have completed my B.E(E&C) now planning to take up Infrastruture Management services course(Networking)

    But will not be able to work in shifts

    So is it compulsary that i should work in rotational shifts??

    Waiting for your feedbck

    Regards

  14. sir,
    i'm doing my engg(3rd) in information technology,i did my diploma in computer science engg and i did my hardware & networking course.
    And after 1 yr i want 2 do my P.G course and which course will suits me 2 become a network engg.

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