desktop support -> Network Engineer?

I am currently working on a associates networking specialist degree a CCNA and hoping to get a desktop support type role soon.

my question is if and when i get the desktop support position how can i then position myself to gain experience that would benefit me in order to become a network engineer?
It seems to me that most people from that point go into systems admin/engineering which in my mind seems a lot different that a network engineer.

i figure im gonna need my CCNP and i want to get CCSP because i wanna focus on security some. Are there any Microsoft certs or anything other than cisco that i should be looking at aswell? i imagine im gonna need a M$ cert to get a desktop support job anyways, just trying to figure what one and if ill renew it.

as you can see i may be a little confused

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Comments

AlanJames

Just let the company that you work for know where you interest is. I started in a desktop role with my last job, and moved into networking.

concentrate on the cisco certs, and offer to help out the networking team when ever they need help (moves and changes etc)

Aldur

Is your goal to work more in the enterprise or infrastructure realm? If your going to work with enterprise then you'll want to get MS certs, if your shooting for more infrastructure then you might be able to get away with nothing but cisco certs. Although, even if you are going for infrastructure you may still want to get MS certs since it will be hard to get infrastructure experience with no networking experience at all.

Phliplip112

Aldur wrote:

Is your goal to work more in the enterprise or infrastructure realm?

Infrastructure is what i enjoy doing the most

Aldur wrote:

Although, even if you are going for infrastructure you may still want to get MS certs since it will be hard to get infrastructure experience with no networking experience at all.

so are you saying to get the networking experience i will need a MS cert of some kind?

Any suggestions on which? at a quick glance the MCSE looked like one i would be most interested in but i will have to go back a look at it see if there is a prerequisite certification or not. it also seemed a bit much for a help desk position. i don't want to be over qualified

edit: after looking at the MS website i suppose that i should try for the MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration 70-642. this a good idea? the MS website and certifications are kind of confusing

jworley

I imagine it's different from area to area, but my second IT job was Helpdesk, and I had no certs when I got that. In fact, there was only one guy who had his MCDST, and he made no more money than the rest of us

While working towards my CCNA there, I expressed my interest in moving to the network realm. Chance never came, and I moved into their security department (which was kind of a joke...). Meanwhile, I passed my CCNA, redid the resume, and started applying everywhere I could. I aggressively pursued a networking job and eventually, I was given an opportunity.

Once you get your CCNA, I wouldn't sit around on a helpdesk. Start looking for a networking job right away!

Phliplip112

But that would be difficult to pull off for me because i only have about 1 year refurbishing PC's and servers in this warehouse and have not finished my degree (done at the end of this year, hopefully).

i mean if i get lucky and go straight into networking, thats great! but realistically i don't see that happening. i still send my resume to the people in hopes that i get a call but usually at the CCNA level they also seem to want some kind of MS cert as well as experience.

this is in the ATL area BTW.

jworley

Phliplip112 wrote:

But that would be difficult to pull off for me because i only have about 1 year refurbishing PC's and servers in this warehouse and have not finished my degree (done at the end of this year, hopefully).

i mean if i get lucky and go straight into networking, thats great! but realistically i don't see that happening. i still send my resume to the people in hopes that i get a call but usually at the CCNA level they also seem to want some kind of MS cert as well as experience.

this is in the ATL area BTW.

Yea, I understand your concern. I don't have a degree either. Probably won't for a while, if ever.

To be honest, I think if you're seriously job hunting, you should do more than just send in your resume. When I started my last job hunt, I looked up every company in the area that you can reasonably assume has an IT department, put their phone numbers in a list, and called them asking about career opportunities, asked to speak with HR or Network managers, so on so forth.

You might surprise yourself with who will be interested in hiring a Network Admin/Engineer who has a clean slate (as far as experience goes). A lot of companies want someone they can train from the ground up, they just don't advertise the position! The company I'm with hired me even though I had little to no VPN or Firewall knowledge (much less experience).

It's at least worth the effort!

Whatever you choose to do, good luck. Hope this helps... or at least motivates.

Daniel333

Phliplip112,

Desktop supoprt is a good start, then work your way up to a jr. network admin, then senior network admin. Might take a few years, but that is really the way to get the experience you need. Along the way earn the certification just above your job grades.

jamesp1983

Daniel333 wrote:

Phliplip112,

Desktop supoprt is a good start, then work your way up to a jr. network admin, then senior network admin. Might take a few years, but that is really the way to get the experience you need. Along the way earn the certification just above your job grades.

Phliplip112

jworley wrote:

To be honest, I think if you're seriously job hunting, you should do more than just send in your resume. When I started my last job hunt, I looked up every company in the area that you can reasonably assume has an IT department, put their phone numbers in a list, and called them asking about career opportunities, asked to speak with HR or Network managers, so on so forth.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck. Hope this helps... or at least motivates.

That is a interesting tactic mind if i steal that one from you? it doesn't matter because i going to anyways

Did you do this after you got your CCNA with zero experience? you must really be able to sell yourself.