IT Support to Network Specialist. How to get there?

laptop

I was thinking about this for so long and I am not sure how to get there. Maybe someone who has gone through this phase can give me some professional advice?

I want to become a network analyst or network specialist. I'm currently doing IT support to help customers with our products and services. It has nothing much to do with desktop support or windows support. The things I do now involve creating tickets, following up on tickets, assist clients whenever their system goes down, change encryption keys, talk to clients and investigate why they can't access specific reports (permission issues), and basic troubleshooting skills (asking them what happen? is the monitor working? what error message you got, when it last happen). After identifying the issue, we usually send a tech out to sovle the problem and I don't do any of the hands-on solving process. The tech we send out does everything. Sometimes we use remote login through some network to access the machine and analyze the issue. But, I'm not really doing any network-related analysis.

I am trying to figure how to bridge the gap from IT support to becoming a Network specialist. The thing here is that what i'm doing now has nothing much to do with networks. When I look at job postings, they want someone with network experience...which I wil not have. Even if i do get my network+ or ccna certs, i stll dont have work-related experience to back it up.

This is why i'm asking for your help....how to bridge this gap? I dont want to be the guy who pick up calls for years. I want to be the guy who sits behind the scene to analyze network traffic, etc.

Advice?

NightShade1

I guess you could start like maybe doing one year of tech support with computers, while you on that, you get certifications for servers, you will see some networking in there... work for a few years in that and then you can get into networking
This is the easiest way and the normal way pc repair--->server guy --->network guy

lucky way which was my case

get a CCNA and pray someone give you a chance... in my case an ISP gave me a chance for being a tech in their noc and i started doing networks.... i moved to another ISP and keep looking at the network but this time as network engineer and now im on another company and im looking switches routers firewalls, wireless, and servers i did the other way around O_o which is not normal but oh well....

I guess just try the first one its the easiest way...

N2IT

It really depends on the environment you work, granted you are in help desk. I get a lot more networking experience than server experience. Infact we aren't even allowed to remote into the servers except for special instances. However we can telnet into the routers and use Netview to get some basic network experience. Obviously I am not setting up remote warehouses or corporate infrastructures, but I am still gaining some experience in networking.

it_consultant

Getting your CCNA plus putting out feelers at your work are good first steps. It helps to learn something about networking and then fix something at your work that no one else could or were too lazy to try. Be careful not to screw anything up though when you are taking all the initiative.

RobertKaucher

laptop wrote: »

... Even if i do get my network+ or ccna certs, i stll dont have work-related experience to back it up.

This is why i'm asking for your help....how to bridge this gap? I dont want to be the guy who pick up calls for years. I want to be the guy who sits behind the scene to analyze network traffic, etc.

Advice?

Study for the CCENT and start advertising your services among local small businesses and non-profits like churches. Donate your time but be clear about the types of services you are offering. Building small office networks is a good way to get started. You might be running cable and configuring routers. Things like that. While you are doing this continue studying for your CCNA and scouting out possible jobs you can apply for. Experience of any sort is better than none at all.

phantasm

Network network network. I tried for 7 years to get into the IT field. After moving to FL I contacted an old friend to see if he knew of any IT jobs. He put me in touch with his old boss who hired me as an IT Analyst doing all sorts of stuff. After being laid off I got hired by an ISP (I had obtained my CCENT prior to being hired) to work in their NOC as a Network Technician. I did that for 18 months and now work as a Network Analyst III providing Tier II support (I now have a CCNA) for a very large network.

In the end it comes down to who you know and what you know. See if you have the oppurtunity to work with some network people, if so spend some time in their neck of the woods and see where that leads you.

NightShade1

phantasm wrote: »

In the end it comes down to who you know and what you know. See if you have the oppurtunity to work with some network people, if so spend some time in their neck of the woods and see where that leads you.

it doesnt comes down to who you know... it helps yeah but it just not that....
I didnt know anyone in the NOC i got hired to be a Network Technician Level II

I got hired because i answered everything the asked me in the way the expected :P

you need skills.

Knowing ppl helps but is not defenetily