Want Networking career

Hello I just completed my CCNP: Routing & Switching last week, it took me a month to get. I have 6 month experience as a network technician but the company got bought out. I have 5 years experience with linux/data-center work. I really want to get into back into networking now and maybe go back to college.

I have some people calling but I have a bleak outlook they all seem to want more than a CCNP (they all say "cool CCNP so when are you getting your CCIE"...like CCNP is a cakewalk) & 4 years of networking experience and they want me to know just about everything. I'm starting to learn juniper but starting to believe I might have to go back to data-center work which pays a lot less and not what I want to do with my career.

I really need a guide on how to get into networking, If someone is willing to teach me networking I would be willing to relocate. I live a couple miles from Washington D.C., normally I would figure this would be perfect place but everywhere wants a top secret and not willing to start TS process. Besides I'm not sure I want a TS job.

Please help I am very positive now but I want to stay that way, I know after a month I will probably be depressed, so I want to start down the right path.

Find more posts tagged with

Free for TechExams community: Cybersecurity salary guide

Compare cert salaries and plan your next career move

Button

Comments

anhtran35

You need to stick with your desire to be in the Networking field. You already have a CCNA. There should be some ENTRY level positions available especially in NOVA. I'm not sure why you have not gotten any offers. There are smaller IT shops in the area that would pay for an entry level Network guy. In regards to the tech questions, I suggest you be up front and state that you have very limited technical experience.

jem7sk

It seems that though you are in the perfect area for a networking job there is also a lot of competition which is probably the problem. If you did relocate you might find that you don't have as much competition and can easily lead the pack of candidates for networking positions in another city/state.

OfWolfAndMan

Lots of jobs means lots of competition. Practicing not only the technical questions, but also the generic interview questions is crucial.

In my opinion, Cisco likes playing some words on their exams, but in comparison to some of Microsoft's stuff, their questions are fair. Rather than memorizing questions, get to know the technology. If you'd like, PM me and I can shoot you a list of technical questions for you to look through overall. They're not all CCNA level questions, but knowing a little extra could set you apart.

lookingfornetworkjob

anhtran35 How do I find the positions needing entry level networking? I am trying all the big job search engines. I use other methods to find jobs as well. Maybe there is something I am not doing?

I used her resume and updated with my father......as of yet no networking jobs are interested after they learn I don't have either VoiceIP or ASA or enough Juniper knowledge. However I am getting other IT jobs saying there interested in me for my networking knowledge but the job is not centered around networking. 99% of the networking jobs are senior positions and I do not get called for the junior networking jobs. Some of the positions were interested in me just because of my CCNP (with my old resume).

I have a few opportunities and interviews that happened that might lead to jobs but I think my only choice is to go back to school after I get a job beneath me and work my way up.

Reading the news about true unemployment rates I think there is a ton of job competition for people in my same situation. This might take a while.

DoubleNNs

Take a few days to get familiar w/ Juniper Junos.
There are free materials out there. For labbing, you could create an Olive and/or use GNS3. Junosphere is also an option.

Additionally, you can try to get experience w/ Arista and/or Cisco NX-OS, which are very, very similar to Cisco IOS.

Within a few days or weeks you'd be able to tell an interviewer that you have at least the basics down of other networking equipment and would at least be bale to quickly learn the Non-Cisco-Vendor equivalent to the Cisco commands you do know.

Also, brush up on your OSPF/VRRP and other open protocols for interoperability between diff vendors equipment.

lookingfornetworkjob

So I got a great job with great pay, they said I might configure ASA later and networking is handy to know but it is not a networking gig but a data-center engineering gig. The pay is great and they are going to be sending me to Amsterdam, every so often for training or the other data-center..The co-workers are awesome....Not exactly what I had in mind after completing my CCNP but I am super psyched about this job. If they are going to train me on ASA this is special job...it mostly has to do with linux training and computer hardware which it seems that I know a bit more than my coworkers maybe but linux I do not.

The only problem,

all I see are Junipers ............NOT HAPPY ABOUT THAT! Oh well I guess it forces me to learn if they want me to configure, this would be painful but great.

robby005

Try to get junior network engineer job and gain some experience. After that find job totally related to cisco and get into cisco networking.

Magmadragoon

Congratulations lookingfornetworkjob I hope you get a lot of hands on experience there.

dsgm

lookingfornetworkjob wrote: »

The only problem, all I see are Junipers ............NOT HAPPY ABOUT THAT! Oh well I guess it forces me to learn if they want me to configure, this would be painful but great.

I know i am mostly cisco centric myself but i have dabbled in juniper and i love it, definitely will be going down that path one day

stylezunknown

Thats great man.

lookingfornetworkjob

So the company is treating me good. They let me borrow a ASA to play with and train with for a long while.

So they will send me to Amsterdam for training but not on networking.

shodown

lookingfornetworkjob wrote: »

So I got a great job with great pay, they said I might configure ASA later and networking is handy to know but it is not a networking gig but a data-center engineering gig. The pay is great and they are going to be sending me to Amsterdam, every so often for training or the other data-center..The co-workers are awesome....Not exactly what I had in mind after completing my CCNP but I am super psyched about this job. If they are going to train me on ASA this is special job...it mostly has to do with linux training and computer hardware which it seems that I know a bit more than my coworkers maybe but linux I do not.

The only problem, all I see are Junipers ............NOT HAPPY ABOUT THAT! Oh well I guess it forces me to learn if they want me to configure, this would be painful but great.

Don't worry about specific platforms. You are there to learn how to do networking. The syntax will be different, but you are their to learn how OSPF, and BGP solve problems more than how to type them in. Yes there are some specific's in how Juniper vs Cisco implement BGP. For example cisco uses weight as one of the attributes, but you can pick that up pretty quickly if you moved to a cisco shop.

nascar_paul

Iristheangel wrote: »

I blame my mother. She had me writing resumes when I was 18 and applying for pizza delivery jobs :P

I'd thank her. That was an amazing piece of work!