Colorado Technical University

Networking Jobs - What is required and how do you get experience?

I have the crazed interest in computer networking; I love tinkering with computers and feel that this is the role for me. However, what is the job realm like for this type of career? What is generally required to work as a networking engineer. Is it stable? Is the income decent? My University, nor do any near school, offer network training etc. There are, however, a few tech schools that offer training in Cisco etc. Would something like this be a good idea? Is it possible to find work with mere certs like CCNA and no working experience? Thanks!

Public Comments

1. networking is a huge field.. ranging from people that design the plan for how networks should be setup.. to people that pull cable to people that do day to day maintenance on routers... usually experience is the single largest requirement... a ccna certainly helps but won't get you a job by itself... if you want to break into the field find a company with a large IT infrastructure and see if they have any intern jobs in networking... it would be a good place to get a foot in.. failing that you can always try helpdesk.. work it for a year while working with the networking guys.. then move over...
2. the computer networking is a big field in computers.. you would apply the skills you need for that job. if you have experience, you can get the job if they hire you.
3. Here are some sites to learn and practice subnetting: http://easysubnet.com/ http://subnettingquestions.com