Hello, I am currently taking the full CCNA courses at my local DMACC, while attending my high school, eagerly awaiting to graduate and attend college for a Computer Science degree. However, as I progress my IT career status, I was wondering, if anyone here works as a network administrator, or deals specifically with designing, implementing, or troubleshooting networks for businesses, small or big? Do you like your present job, and what do you like and not like about it? I'm looking forward to either becoming a full -time network administrator, or going into entrepreneurship to start a local IT support center. Thank you for your details...

P.S. - Has the cost changed for the CCNA exam?

Geek Squad CIA
CompTIA A+ Certified
CST Certified
Certs-in-Progress:
CCNA, CompTIA Network+

7 yrs in IT here, I still like it, except for working with IT ppl (joke), and clueless IT managers (no joke). Was downsized in 2001, went self employed (I couldn't buy a job back then....thanks OSAMA) and will not (hopefully) go back to working for anyone. I do residential, small biz and large biz consulting/support with Networking, PC/Server/Networking/Application Support w/ Novell, Windows systems.

I would recommend self employment, especially if you're single. Gets hairy working night/day/weekends with family. $$ is good though.

Just another stupid saying...

If I were you with your present educational background and youth, I would suggest after the computing stuff do Business Administration with the goal of becoming a CIO.

I had 18 years in construction that taught me project management. 15years in computing starting with being a CNE.

As CIO I get to design, interact with numerous contractors [thank goodness for project management experience]and take the CEO's vision and turn it into reality. I do all the research, cost analysis and presentations to the Computing Committee/Board. There is never a dull moment.

Downside is nothing ever goes exactly as planned [so you better be ready] and in every job I have worked you have to work with and tolerate stupid people. I can live with ignorance [because they just don't know - part of your job to educate in a way they can recieve] but you will find really dumb people with lots of credencials that don't know diddly squat. Nor can they reason themselves out of a paper bad. But that is in all trades and all fields. You just have to get used to it. That is the downside.

If you put 15yrs in with a large company you would have a great benifit package and salary base. With some savings you could then go into an entrepreneur enterprise. Not only would you then have the experience/background but you would always have something to fall back on. Those 15yrs would build the relationships and knowledge you would need to succeed in business on your own.

You have a bright future. Be good to yourself and remember that as much as you give, you will get back even more.

Knowing the correct answer and giving a correct answer, are two different things

My first recommendation is while I applaud a college education for getting a well rounded education, do not rely on your college degree to land you a job by itself. Try to have certifications upon graduating. Get your CCNA, maybe have CCNP by the time you graduate. Perhaps go for your MCITP (MCSE replacement by then), etc.

There's no reason you can't have both a college degree and a major certification or two, but simply to illustrate the importance of vendor certifications, you would actually be better off initially to have certs over a degree. Time and time again, surveys show most employers hire and pay certified candidates more than college degree holders on average.

In the long run, a college degree will help you quite a bit. You'll learn things most certifications don't prove you know how to do, such as read and write well, etc. But get the technical hands on knowledge demonstrated by being certified, too!

I've been in IT full time for three years now, and did side work for 7 years before that. I do enjoy it. I love challenging work, and IT is very much that. The money is also good. I currently am an engineer for a very large implementer of Microsoft based technologies. Previously, I have worked as a contractor at a federal agency, and worked as a Premier Product Support Engineer actually for Microsoft. It's been a hell of a ride so far.

I do find working with other admins/engineers is challenging because many of these people are talented in the area, but are tolerated because of that despite not being good in other areas such as written and oral communication skills, project management, or they have extreme personality quirks.

Managers are a mixed bunch. I find managers in IT who used to be technical are more often a pleasure to work with, since they know how IT stuff goes, know when someone is BS'ing and not doing their job, don't hire inept people, etc. Other managers who weren't ever technical however can have unrealistic expectations, hire people who don't have real technical ability, etc.

I will say this about IT - If you don't like to learn new things, don't bother going into it. Things change so fast in IT, it's a struggle to keep up. Personally, I love to learn stuff, so I thrive in it, but I see so many people who just don't have the mental energy to keep their skills up to date, they end up having 5 year careers and then go into something else.

Always pretend your job could be gone at any moment, and be preparing in case that happens by keeping your skill set current. It will keep you motivated to keep learning, and it usually results in you finding better opportunities whether you leave by your own choice or not.

Finally, do not EVER let your employer stop you from furthering your skills. I know so many people who get pissed if their employer doesn't pay for training in something, so they say, "well, since they won't pay for training, screw them, I'm not learning it!" Absolutely retarded way of looking at it. Even if you need to pay for things out of pocket that are valuable to learn, do it!

Good luck to you!
"Enough, enough bowing down to disillusion!
Hats off & applause to rogues & evolution!
The ripple effect is too good not to mention.
If you’re not affected, you’re not paying attention!"

I was wondering, if anyone here works as a network administrator, or deals specifically with designing, implementing, or troubleshooting networks for businesses, small or big? Do you like your present job, and what do you like and not like about it?

I do. I'm presently employed as a network technician in a university. I deal specifically with designing, deploying, maintaining, upgrading a large WAN. All told, I have almost 15 years in the IT industry and spent the first 12 or so doing everything from hardware break/fix on the bench to you name it. I've maintained Windows based domains, created them, upgraded NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 Active directory etc etc etc. Prior to IT work, I spent many years working in construction. That has been an added bonus since one of the first questions asked me at the interview for this position was "Can you read blueprints?" (In my sleep, yes thank you!).

Do I like my job? You bet I do! It offers endless challenges and opportunities to learn and grow. This year alone we're deploying VoIP and an enterprise wireless solution. On top of that, we're finally evergreening out the old junk switches in favor or some nice new high density L2 and L3 switches. I'm the lucky fellow that gets to do all the ground work. We're replacing single switches with stacks. I've just finished our first 4 switch stack which will handle all the firewalls and DMZ equipment in our main data center. Next are two more 4 switch stacks for Servers and Clients. Again, all in our data center. Later in the year, or next year we'll be evergreening out all the equipment in the wiring closets and upgrading our core switches to 10 Gig.

What do I like about it....aside from good pay and killer benefits (we even get the week off between x'mas and new years...with pay....over and above a generous holiday package, health, dental etc etc etc) I like the constant challenges and opportunities to learn. Prior to this position I hadn't worked with VoIP or enterprise wireless. Needless to say, I've been spending a lot of time lately on reading and research in between projects and day-to-day maintenance and upkeep. Also, since I'm in the Telecom and Network dept. I've been learning about telephony. Of course, having to hook a VoIP controller to the PBX was quite interesting. I look forward to learning the programming the PBX switch. At present, I can move phones and troubleshoot basic phone problems and other easy stuff like that.

What don't I like? Having to deal with end users who assume I do nothing but sit on my butt all day waiting for them to call with a problem and who act huffy when I don't appear within 10 seconds of the call. Oh, and I also dislike the folks who schedule a move and then opt for moving themselves in advance without notifying anybody and then have the temerity to call and complain because the network and phones aren't hooked up.

I'm not going to say anymore about education and such. Both wanderer and heropsycho said more than enough on the subject. I will say one thing. Do not assume you'll walk out into the IT world and get hired on to a big dollar job to start. Like anything else in this world, you have to work up to it. I've been through two, two year diploma courses as a mature adult and the one thing that amazed me was all the kids who were certain they were going to walk out the door and get $100,000.00 a year jobs. It just doesn't happen. Most of them got jobs doing benchwork or on a helpdesk for 8 to 10 dollars an hour to start. With the education you're getting, you won't likely have to start that low, but no matter where you start, remember, it's just a start. Work hard, learn everything you can and more and it will all pay off in the end.

Good luck!

IMHO the posts contain some very good advice. I have been a self employed contractor for 23 years now but the real hooker is "How do you get started?" With all your qualifications you will invariably be told, "not enough experience" IT is not the only business with catch 22's. I spent 15 years in the Royal Air Force and our classic was "You cannot land in Gibralter unless you have landed before!" Nice! In your case and this relates to the UK but I suspect the same in the States, the best approach is to get yourself a position on a Company Help Desk for about two years. You will get experience with a commercial network and just as importantly get experience of Business. After about 18/24 months you can probably expand your horizons and move to 2nd line support which will get you into the server build/configure world. After about five years (approx) you will have reached the "tipping point" where your experience and qualificationa are becoming really saleable and the rest is up to you.I am now in the situation where my experience alone gets me work, my MCSE, now ten years old is frankly worth nothing since I have been too busy to update it so I never mention it on my CV so my "tipping point" has gone over the other way, however you go, IT is a dynamic industry and I have spent a fair amount of my own money keeping up with the changes, Linux for example, many many servers are actually running on Linux, I contracted to an ISP for about 18 months and they had over 800 Linux servers, proxy servers etc. so you have to be willing to educate yourself. IT is a really interesting business, the only thing I would rather do is fly but that's no longer possible, enjoy! It will be worth the effort.
Best wishes for the future.

That is the biggest fool thing we have ever done. The Atomic bomb will never go off, and I speak as an expert in explosives.
- Admiral William Leahy

First of all, these are all excellent replies to the question. Each one of you shared clear and consise experiences. I would also like to add that alof of Technology and career placement is luck. Let me explain. I graduated about a year and a half ago with a tech degree. I thought that i was going to be placed in not really a high entry postion but something related to my field of study namly Networking. Needless to say I have not and instead have been doing helpdesk(Phone support). Perhaps it was my qualifications but my friend who is with me is summa cum laude from a major university with a degree in CIS and is also doing helpdesk. Others who i have met have little experience or alot of it and have placed in really excellent positions. What i am saying is that alot in my opinion is luck. Right place, right time. Although i do agree that people need to earn thier stripes and i am one of them. The downside is that you tend to forget alot of what you learned if your not doing it. Thats where personal responsiblity comes in. For me i continue my education, be it certification or whatever. I am trying to show my future employer that I havent just let time slip by. Life isnt alwasy fair, you take the cards you are dealt with. I sure as hell dont want to do helpdesk but I am still young and a recent graduate so i still have time. Keep your head up and never start learning. In the end its really your leg up.

Chance favors the prepared. You never know when you're gonna get your shot, so be prepared when you get it. It may take as long as steady solid work visible to your manager, or as short as fixing a VIP's issue, or fixing a major issue on the network the best brains in the company can't.

And I can't stress this too much - a college degree is not enough.

Think about it from a potential employer's perspective. Sure you've learned generally what this stuff is all about, but what can you specifically do with a particular product the employer has that they need someone to support? Vendor certs at least better than a college degree prove real practical skill and knowledge better than a college degree.

http://www.certmag.com/images/12506...

Take a very close look at page 18, which shows the average salary by education (from some higher learning all the way to doctorate). The salary jump from simply some college classes all the way to Doctorate’s is a mere $24,000. I say mere because you have to think about the amount of work and money it takes to get a doctorate’s degree compared to a major vendor certification. But if you’re going for a BA/BS, you’re only going to jump up $10,000/yr.

Take a look at page 24. The average salary for just a network administrator is $64K. DB administrator’s make $83K. Compare that to the average doctorate’s degree holder ($68K). You have to know a network admin doesn’t have a doctorate’s degree! Yet they’re on average making a mere $4K less. DB admins certainly don’t have doctorate’s degree (the vast majority anyway). So how did they get those jobs?

Take a look at the certs that get you the highest amount of money (p. 30). #1 is CISSP, which is IT security. Holders of that cert make on average between $105,000-115,000! That’s approaching double someone who has a doctorate’s degree!!!

Eye opening, isn't it? :-)

"Enough, enough bowing down to disillusion!
Hats off & applause to rogues & evolution!
The ripple effect is too good not to mention.
If you’re not affected, you’re not paying attention!"

Very good piece of question and answers by Senior tech guys here.

This is the reason I like this forum.

I have just landed a job in IT as Tech Support person.

Deal with different issues of different level every day. I have joined this job 2 months back and still I find everyday a new day.

This is what IT is! Dont assume anything and learn more is the key to success here.

Thank You very much all for sharing your views and such a valuable experience.

Networkid

"Try more achieve more"

OK, it looks like after a few college visits and some research, I might be changing my degree from Computer Science to Management Information Systems (MIS). It seems to be where I have more experience, based off of just high school and college classes so far. I have actively searched for and applied for various internships, dealing with help in Java programming, review and catchup in C++, maybe an intro into C#, and then of course the hardware portions; of which include networking, etc. I am gaining some experience working as a Geek Squad Agent, but plan to move into a more professional career as time progresses. I plan on taking my CompTIA Network+, and then finally CCNA, and then roll over to CSNT + CCNA, then work for Server+, and some cert relating on network security. Internships are important in these situations, my friends say. Thanks for the advice, please post more, as I enjoy reading and taking such excellent consultation!

Geek Squad CIA
CompTIA A+ Certified
CST Certified
Certs-in-Progress:
CCNA, CompTIA Network+

If it were me, I wouldn't bother with CompTIA certs. Go for the bigger boys:

Cisco - CCNP, CCIE
Microsoft - MCSE, MCITP when available
CISSP
PMP

Some of those may be a bit daunting for you this early in the game, but there is absolutely no reason you couldn't handle getting MCSE right now. And the nice thing is MCSE never expires, unlike the next gen of Microsoft certs like MCITP will without renewal.

Action Pack subscriptions are only $300/yr., and that would get you access to all the software you would need to build a test environment using a free virtualization product such as VMWare's VMWare Server or Microsoft's Virtual Server 2005 R2 or Virtual PC 2004 or 2007 beta. (Gets you lots of other software you can legally install and use, too, like Office, Windows XP, Visio Pro, etc.)

"Enough, enough bowing down to disillusion!
Hats off & applause to rogues & evolution!
The ripple effect is too good not to mention.
If you’re not affected, you’re not paying attention!"