Importance of Scripting or Linux in Networking Career

Hello all,

I am scheduled to take my CCNA here in the coming weeks and I am going over my next move in my cert path. I am currently a level 2 support/field tech at a MSP and in my pursuit of new employment that will offer more room for progression I have identified scripting and Linux as being weak areas in my experience/knowledge.

Now my love for networking is telling me to keep right on going in this path, I was thinking CCNA security, then CCNP. With that said there is very little I know about being a network engineer in a live environment, I would hate to get to that level of networking expertise only to be passed up or not be able to perform my duties because of limited knowledge in these areas, at the same time, there is so much to learn that I don't want to spend time acquiring knowledge that won't be used.

I am just curious to find out how often such Linux/scripting knowledge would be used in such a career, and furthermore, are there any other areas of knowledge or certifications that aren't directly related to networking that would prove useful in a networking career?

Thanks!

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Comments

gbdavidx

Id strongly recommend getting network plus first

bugzy3188

gbdavidx wrote: »

Id strongly recommend getting network plus first

Thanks, but I'm actually ready to sit for the CCNA I did study for the Network + but because of lack of funding I never sat for it, studied and prepared for Security + as well, same story.

higherho

Depends what you want to do. Software Defined Networking is getting a lot of attention in the networking world. Scripting / knowing the Python language would help. Now I think having a linux background is more useful to me with a networking background than windows.

I want to heavily focus on networking and I've seen some people do some pretty cool stuff with scripting in a JUNOS environment too.

Levithan

Dont waste your time with the network+, the CCNA is much more respected in the networking world, even if its an entry level cert. Id highly recommend getting linux skills or a cert in that area if you can. Ive seen quite alot of jobs asking for linux skills in my area, and especially for scripting.I personally plan on getting the rhcsa after i finish my ccnp this year....

networker050184

Scripting is always nice to have in your tool belt regardless of the are of IT you are in. The more you can automate the easier your life is and the more you can accomplish. It's something I wish I would have started picking up sooner. Not having the skills hasn't held my career back, but it has made my life harder sometimes!

dmoore44

I agree wholeheartedly with networker050184. I spent a lot of time avoiding writing code because I didn't enjoy the experiences I had in college with it (C++, Algorithm design, etc...) that I refused to write any bit of code. But I've recently picked up powershell and python, and it's made my life so much easier. Now I spend a lot of time looking for mundane tasks that I can automate.