Become an expert in one area vs general knowledge in lots

rockstar81

Really been thinking a lot about this as of late, at what point do you put majority of your efforts into one tech/subject instead of trying to learn everything? At what stage did you do this?

pevangel

Start specializing when you've figured out what you want to do.

I've tried specializing from the beginning because I knew I wanted to do networking. I didn't get a job in networking right away though. My first job was more of a systems admin role, but I was studying for Cisco certs instead of Microsoft certs because I had no desire to stay in systems. I was just trying to get my feet wet in IT. Now I work in a strictly networking role.

TheFORCE

rockstar81 wrote: »

Really been thinking a lot about this as of late, at what point do you put majority of your efforts into one tech/subject instead of trying to learn everything? At what stage did you do this?

This is an evolutionary process. At some point you will have to decide what you enjoy working on more and what you are really good at. That however does not mean that you do not need to focus on other areas to get general knowledge of how things work.
Now, to answer your question, the more time you spend on the IT field the more you learn. With that knowledge, eventually comes the decision to focus on a specific subject. Many people work on different positions until finally they find what they really like. Took me about 4-5 years to figure out where in the IT field I should specialize, after working on 3 different positions.

DevilWAH

rockstar81 wrote: »

Really been thinking a lot about this as of late, at what point do you put majority of your efforts into one tech/subject instead of trying to learn everything? At what stage did you do this?

At the stage you understand that fundamentally all IT technologies are the same, and that when you break it down passing emails around the world is not that much different to routing packets or writing policies on firewall.

But it also depend what you are wanting to end up doing. It you are working in networking or system admin is it more beneficial to have a good general knowledge of IT than for example if you are a programmer developing a financing package.

techfiend

pevangel: How easy was it for you to find a network position while working as a sys admin? I'm in a situation where I really like networking but working as a sys admin with unmanaged switches, where I can't get any valuable networking experience. I'm enrolled in WGU for net admin which includes MCSA's but I'm thinking of switching to security, which includes CCNA's. Problem is I don't know what position I could obtain with a CCNA and 1 year of experience as a sys admin. No experience, outside of labbing, with anything really technical in networking. So current plan is getting the MCSA's to move into another sys admin role where I can get some valuable networking experience while studying for CCNA.

red.roadster

In my area is seems as though they look for a lot of Jacks-of-all-trades. I've noticed a lot of job listings that seem primarily focused on networking/Cisco, but many of these same positions list ask for MS admin experience.

Curious how common that is.

pevangel

@techfiend

I also didn't get experience in networking in my systems job, so I studied on my own and did a lot of labs. I read all the CCNP OCG and FLG books. Watched a ton of videos (CBT Nuggets, INE, Safari, Youtube, etc) and did a ton of labs (study guides, gns3vault, made up my own). I put all of my focus to studying since I wasn't learning it on the job. I studied at work, at home, in the car. When I take my wife to the mall or grocery store, I would stay in the car with my laptop and do labs in GNS3. I may not have had professional experience in networking, but I always killed it in technical interviews.

My first networking job was in a NOC, and it wasn't too difficult to find with a CCNA and some experience. I actually had another offer that paid 25k more than the NOC job but it was in systems. People thought I was crazy for turning down the systems job and taking the NOC job which was a pay cut from my job at that time. But I wanted to become a network engineer, and a NOC position was a step in the right direction.

techfiend

Thanks for the insight pevangel. I too am aiming to be a network engineeer but getting a NOC tech position after sys admin is what I'm afraid of. It seems like a backwards move and probably a substantial pay cut. Also every noc tech position I've applied for has long hours and seems really boring, they have video games and exercise equipment as something to do. I may just try the MCSA route to get in with a bigger company that has managed switches I can hopefully get some experience with while studying cisco.

JOAT's are pretty common around here as well, a lot of openings online are looking for ccna and/or mcsa and usually listed as a sys admin position.

riahc3

Ive also asked myself this question...

I find that being a expert in one area will land you a job. General knowledge in lots will help you move up the ladder so to speak once you land a job.

My advice is to focus on one area or at least areas around.

N2IT

Expert in one thing is pretty weak to be honest and a JOAT who knows very little about anything is even weaker. I would think a blend of the two would serve you best.

Russell77

red.roadster wrote: »

In my area is seems as though they look for a lot of Jacks-of-all-trades. I've noticed a lot of job listings that seem primarily focused on networking/Cisco, but many of these same positions list ask for MS admin experience.

Curious how common that is.

These type of bended router+switch+server positions seem to be more common in my area vs just router+switch.

Christian.

In my experience is better to specialize yourself in something specific to get better positions and higher salaries, but never crossing the line to become an expert on a single tool (example, Cisco Firewalls). The idea, at least in my case, is to try to become an expert in a field (like Firewalls) and getting knowledge in related areas (like networking). That way you can jump on similar jobs without worrying that a certain product or technology can become obsolete.

pevangel

@techfiend

It sucked having to take a pay cut, but I kept telling myself (and my wife) that it was only temporary. There is a lot of downtime in the NOC job, but I used it to study and obtain my CCNP. A few months later, I landed a network engineering job.

When you do get that job with a bigger company, be vocal about what you want to do. Make sure they know that you are interested in networking and ask to assist the network admins/engineers with any of their tasks.