Intro to Network Administration (Career Help)
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Good morning,
I wanted to post this following inquiry to see if anyone that has successfully made an impact within the field of network administration could provide some assistance.
Here's my backstory..
I graduated in 2014 with my Associates. I obtained my CCNA and A+ certification. It seemed though at the time that anyone that cared about needing a CCNA either (A) wanted someone with years of experience or (B) wanted someone with a Bachelors. Of which I fit neither. So I accepted an IT support technician role which was the most demeaning position I think I've ever held in my life. Not for the position itself but the environment. In short, they gave you a list of tasks.. Task A, Task B, and Task C and they slapped your hand if you went any further. Fast forward to 2016, and I accepted a position as a System Administrator which certainly broadened my horizons from a technical perspective but still couldn't find a niche where I could actively sharpen my skills in network administration.
We are now in 2024.. my CCNA certification has expired losing any value it once had. I am trying to sharpen the skills I had in school (and they were sharp in school) but losing hope that I am fighting a losing battle. It's been 10 years and I am still trying to figure this out. I have since obtained my Bachelors, but really questioning what steps or path do I realistically need to take to finally say.. I can do this.. when a Network Administrator position opens up on the job boards.
I sincerely would appreciate any help, from anyone who has made it..
Thank you,
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I'm sorry to hear that your experience working as a helpdesk technician went so poorly. I'm lucky to say that I haven't had the same experience as you, but that is the roll of the dice sometimes.
Since you're on these forums I would assume that you have an ITPro membership already, so I would highly recommend looking at the CCNA or Network+ courses which are hosted by Ronnie Wong. He's a great teacher and those courses are very well done.
Do you currently have a homelab to get hands-on experience with the concepts of the CCNA? If you don't you can usually find very cheap used cisco hardware to practice those skills. If this is a barrier you can signup for free and use Packet tracer (which I'm sure you're familiar with) from Cisco. Oh, and there's an awesome Networking Fundamentals course that Wes Bryan does too that I plan on watching at least once a year as its a great refresher!
If you're looking to practice network/sys admin work I would recommend looking at building a virtual lab and create the services that a small/medium business would need imlemented. DNS, DHCP, Domain controllers, GPOs etc. If you have hardware that supports 802.1x you could setup RADIUS and play with that! I am currently writing my own journey with a homelab setup in another post which you can read if you like and get an idea on what you might want to do with your own lab. You can find here.
With all of this said, you have several years of experience working in IT. Even with your CCNA expired, I would think you could get a job as a Net admin fairly easily depending on where you live. Something that I've learned (and I'm pretty sure I've heard Daniel Lowrie say multiple times) is that the job requirements that you see on any posting are a wish list. Even if you hit ~50% of the requirements, I would encourage you to apply. The laundry list of asks on a job posting are either just posted by someone in HR who doesn't know what they're posting or the company itself wants this person to be their entire IT team. And honestly, there's no better way to learn that being around the technology all day at work. Maybe thats the best way for you to learn and feel confident about networking?
Sorry for the long post! I hope this helps. If I'm way off let me know and clarify your question and I will be happy to help :)
Have a great day!
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Thank you for the reply. I feel you hit the nail on the head. I think I have to figure out what the best way would be to move forward from an implementation perspective, at home.
Do you have any thoughts as to certain specific labs that could be completed that could translate well into the workplace.Thanks,
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Hey @Benjamin-Frame-0 !
Great answer from @Andrew-Despres.
I would also suggest networking in a "human" sense as well to help get you on track for a great SysAdmin/NetAdmin job. Find local groups and online groups to connect with other IT folk. If you have a local community college, try and connect with the Computer Science or IT department. You can volunteer to perhaps come in and speak to students about your experiences, and in the meantime build up your personal network. Overall, you will begin to talk with people who hire IT and understand some of the things they are looking for.Can't tell you how many jobs I've had in the past came about by someone saying, "Hey...I know I guy who would be great. Give Chris Ward a call."
Best wishes on your journey and thanks for letting ITPro be a part of it!
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I'm glad my answer worked for you haha.
It really depends on what you want to focus on. Personally my goal is to understand more how a small/medium business setup works with Active Directory, GPOs, software deployments etc. What technologies do you want to learn about?
Just doing a quick Google search I found some sites of people explaining what they do with their homelabs for networking practice. This one link text from John Woodruff has some great examples like setting up a Pihole, running a Plex server for your media or creating a Retropi.
I personally setup Adguard Home as my DNS resolver to block ads and other malicious websites. I also run a Plex server for my media library so I can watch it anywhere in the world.
To help you find out what might be asked for in a Networking role you can look at Networking jobs posted on LinkedIn and see what technologies they're specifically looking for and try to implement them at home. I know a lot of vendor offer "Home versions" that are free that you can use and learn their product. Adguard is one example that I use as I mentioned above. I know Veeam does this as well if you wanted to have some experience with enterprise grade backup software. I also think Packet Tracer will be your best friend as well to get some "virtual" experience with higher end networking technologies that are very costly to actually purchase.
Lastly, you can also ask a chatbot what would be a good networking project to take on at home. I've done this myself for projects to do that would help me with my Server+ certification and it was great!
I hope this points you in the right direction! Let me know if you have any more questions for me and I'd be happy to help.
Take care!
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I've been a Systems Administrator (Mac-based), Help Desk Technician, and Desktop Support Technician. I too am looking to get into Network Administration, and am currently pushing toward my CCST, on the way to my CCNA.
I have been in some very toxic work environments myself, and it does get very tough to keep moving forward - especially when blocked at every turn by the employer. One of the reasons I pay for a premium subscription to IT Pro TV is because the jobs I've had don't offer any type of continuing training, and I'm tired of lagging behind.
As for a home lab, I would suggest, if money's an object and you can't get your hands on physical equipment, download Packet Tracer from the Cisco Skills for All website (https://skillsforall.com/). There's even a couple of good Packet Tracer courses you can take to familiarize yourself with it better.
Good luck, my friend... Reach out if you'd like a support pal. This is a great community, full of good people and amazing edutainers.
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I agree with all of this. I've been in mostly help desk/support roles for over 10 years and am too trying to get something more in networking. I just got my Network+ last year. It is tough but I am learning more every time I log into ITProTV and know that I just have to keep learning. Dealing with the toxic work environments is also very common and I deal with that now sometimes. It is what it is. We gotta keep fighting and keep learning. I'm glad I'm in this community as well to commiserate with you all haha. Have a good rest of the day!
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Right now I'm in a non-IT-based role at a large healthcare company in a contractor/temp situation (pays the bills) while I look to get back into IT.
One thing I do like about the job I have now is that, while I am working, I can watch unlimited IT Pro TV videos and continue learning, but I am continuing to apply to positions in the meantime. I'm guaranteed a paycheck through the end of 2024, so I am using this time to study and get my networking cert so I can get into the field.
I'm happy to be a part of this community. Some really cool people here, including the edutainers...