Real Job

zimskiz

Hello!
I'm from London i don't where to go ahead.I have CCNA certification, no experience in a real environment.
In 6 months i will finish my Computer Science Faculty and i just really don't know what to do.

In websites like : reed.co.uk , gumtree.co.uk, londonjobs,co.uk i've found a lot of requirements for a Network Engineer(that's what i will become).
Why do i have to do everything in that company : security, wireless,voip, linux server, windows server ? too much for a human i think.

My ideea was CCNA - CCNA-Voice -CCNP - CCNP-Voice + Linux ,i think this it is more than enough for a decent life and a decent salary.

Please i need your advice!

drkat

Unfortunately you're going to have to keep pounding the pavement. You may need to take an entry-level ISP job to gain experience. That's honestly where I'd start is with any telephone company or ISP.

The Linux cert may be useful if you're planning on doing linux admin. However the other certs would prove for the network/voice stuff. You'll need to decide where you would like to specialize.

zimskiz

I want to be specialize on Voice and Routing&Switching and seems like i need Linux because VoIP it is now on CUCM and he it's based on linux. The problem it is market, on a complex search on those website(reed,gumtree..etc) you find always for a CCNA, CCNP:
Skills required.
CCNP
Experience with Cisco ASA Firewalls
Experience with Cisco 6500 series switches
A good all round CCNP Network Engineer with excellent
Why should i know ASA Firewalls ?...this is security.

drkat

To be honest with you:

A Network Engineer may touch voice but most likely not - that's why you're seeing CCNP + ASA/6500 etc.

The reason they want you to know ASA is well it's a network device. You're the Engineer so it's your job to secure the network (to a point) IT Security groups focus really on say Enterprise Security and Change Management etc - but a lot of roles want you wearing other hats.

You may want to start looking at sites querying for VOIP/SIP/CUCM etc - this will get you into the voice realm which by the sounds of it is where you wanna be. You dont necessarily have to be hard-core R&S to do voice but it does help to understand the basics. However you wont get into any crazy EIGRP/BGP stuff doing voice since you'll simply lay out your voice network and the data network engineer will help carry your packets across the network per your design. Think of it as design+layers 5 and up

I personally do voice right now and have done R&S - you really do need to sit down and try em both out; and really DECIDE what you want to do. I'm in a pretty shallow boat right now with stuff and depending on the company they could have you doing r+s and voice and desktop support and servers and x and y and the farmers daughter.... you know what I mean?

You'll need to prepare a concise goal of what technologies you want to work with (and be specific) and where you want to be... to say "Network Engineer" is pretty vague and you really need to specify what functions you want to perform. Sure you might have to do some of the stuff you dont want to do or something that isnt your core competency - but you'll atleast be on your way.

pham0329

zimskiz wrote: »

I want to be specialize on Voice and Routing&Switching and seems like i need Linux because VoIP it is now on CUCM and he it's based on linux. The problem it is market, on a complex search on those website(reed,gumtree..etc) you find always for a CCNA, CCNP:
Skills required.
CCNP
Experience with Cisco ASA Firewalls
Experience with Cisco 6500 series switches
A good all round CCNP Network Engineer with excellent
Why should i know ASA Firewalls ?...this is security.

...because it's part of the job. Most places have ASA/Checkpoints firewall sitting between their network and the internet...how are you going to troubleshoot connectivity problems if you don't know anything about them? Most places aren't big enough to have a person solely dedicated to security, and as such, that job falls on the network engineer.

Also, even though CM/CUCM is running on linux, it's an appliance, and you're not going to be interacting with linux very much.

SharkDiver

I get what you're saying, but you will have that.


When my company posts jobs for my current position, they want CCNA, CCNA Voice and CCNA Security. In all of the divisions that I know of, from Ohio through Pennsylvania to New Jersey, I am the only one who has all three of those, and 90% of the guys don't have any of them. Companies seem to ask for the world and hope for the best. The last person they hired, for that exact posting, had none of those and still got the job.

Apply anyway, and let them sort it out.

zimskiz

Ok , but i should i learn in this 5-6 months to be prepared for the real world?
Nobody will hire me with this certification....and i need a basic salary (Rent and bills 500 pounds + 200 Underground subway+ 150 for eat = 850 pounds), so i need at least 950-1000 for the salary.

drkat

If money is tight then you may want to look into a part time or full time job in another field that isnt in your desired career. I also wouldnt focus so much on the certifications right now. Go out - pound the pavement and find the job and then work your certs (if you so desire) the certs alone arent going to be very helpful and besides you're talking 1000+ for the bills --- those certs are 950+materials.

sieff

You don't need experience with Linux to be a Voice Engineer. The OS is closed anyways. If you need root access to the UC servers, you'd engage TAC in normal conditions. The biggest demands I've seen in my consulting experience are VoIP, Data Center / Virtualisation, Security, and Wireless. R&S is considered a fundamental skill. Voice guys tend to be the busiest in terms of projects and constant work, but the Data Center guys work at higher bill rates. A VMware or Cloud Computing project bills anywhere from $200-350/an hour. The Cloud Computing guys make TEXA$.

halaakajan

guys who work with virtualization earns 250 to 300 per hour ? that is awesome. what are the certifications for virtualization ?

mark_s0

zimskiz wrote: »

Hello!
I'm from London i don't where to go ahead.I have CCNA certification, no experience in a real environment.
In 6 months i will finish my Computer Science Faculty and i just really don't know what to do.

In websites like : reed.co.uk , gumtree.co.uk, londonjobs,co.uk i've found a lot of requirements for a Network Engineer(that's what i will become).
Why do i have to do everything in that company : security, wireless,voip, linux server, windows server ? too much for a human i think.

My ideea was CCNA - CCNA-Voice -CCNP - CCNP-Voice + Linux ,i think this it is more than enough for a decent life and a decent salary.

Please i need your advice!

I don't know if you've tried cwjobs.co.uk, theitjobboard.co.uk and purely.co.uk but they are more IT focused and may bring you some better results. You said you need £1000 a month to cover bills etc.., in London, I would've thought most companies could offer you at least that. My first job in London gave me £19k no experience so it is possible.

Do you have much customer service experience? I would think most companies advertising a 1st line position, especially in a ISP environment, would take someone with better CS skills than tech skills as it's easier to teach someone technical skills.

Try to stay positive and just keep plugging away at those applications. There are many banks and ISPs, not forgetting LINX in London, just keep your eye out for those opportunities. Maybe try looking at companies' websites directly as well as job sites, you may find some jobs aren't on reed etc..

zimskiz

mark_s0 wrote: »

I don't know if you've tried cwjobs.co.uk, theitjobboard.co.uk and purely.co.uk but they are more IT focused and may bring you some better results. You said you need £1000 a month to cover bills etc.., in London, I would've thought most companies could offer you at least that. My first job in London gave me £19k no experience so it is possible.

Do you have much customer service experience? I would think most companies advertising a 1st line position, especially in a ISP environment, would take someone with better CS skills than tech skills as it's easier to teach someone technical skills.

Try to stay positive and just keep plugging away at those applications. There are many banks and ISPs, not forgetting LINX in London, just keep your eye out for those opportunities. Maybe try looking at companies' websites directly as well as job sites, you may find some jobs aren't on reed etc..

What was your first job ? what was there expectations they had from you? what you knew at the time of beginning?

sieff

halaakajan wrote: »

guys who work with virtualization earns 250 to 300 per hour ? that is awesome. what are the certifications for virtualization ?

let me clarify, "Data Center guys work at higher bill rates". meaning they bill between $200-350/an hour. their salaries are on the high end, but that's how much the consulting firm makes on the bill rate. most of these guys have VCP certs, and lots of experience with VMWare, EMC, HP Cloud, Hitachi, F5, etc.

mark_s0

My first job was a service desk analyst providing remote first (and eventually second) line support for bespoke software, Windows XP, SQL Server, desktop, laptops, printers and some LAN networking. I did that for a year before moving into a more desk side type support role. In terms of expectations, initially they wanted people to learn as much as they could about the above to give them the opportunity to move into a second line role. But then I found that they only pushed the people who wanted it.
At the beginning, I had no degree and the CompTIA A+ certification but I think they saw enthusiasm to learn and that helped me a lot.

It may be that you will have to get a more desktop support role that also deals with LAN/WAN networking before moving into a networking-focused role. That's what I had to do and honestly, I hadn't touched Cisco before starting my CCNA. It's only very recently that I've got my CCNA and found a proper networking job. Saying that, I also know someone that came out of uni into a 1st line networking position. It's a tough game at the moment, but whether you're lucky enough to get into a networking position straight away or have to do a year of desktop first, it's definitely possible and if you really want it, stick with it.

zimskiz

So, what should i learn now? Server 2003/2008 or Linux or what...?

mark_s0

My point wasn't really to get you to consider studying for other things instead, I was just trying to advise that there's a few ways to get into networking and that you shouldn't give up.

If you want to know what OS's are used in a networking environment, I'm sure more experienced folks will be able to advise on their experiences. I start my first networking-only job in a few weeks so it's difficult for me to advise on it at the moment.

zimskiz

mark_s0 wrote: »

My point wasn't really to get you to consider studying for other things instead, I was just trying to advise that there's a few ways to get into networking and that you shouldn't give up.

If you want to know what OS's are used in a networking environment, I'm sure more experienced folks will be able to advise on their experiences. I start my first networking-only job in a few weeks so it's difficult for me to advise on it at the moment.

OK..You are working now only on Cisco router, switch ?(that is what are you learning on CCNA). Did you "touch" Checkpoint, Mitel,Cisco ASA or maybe a Windows server or Linux server?

drkat

zimskiz:

I've never had a job where I touched just one thing. Most companies arent spending the cash for a specialist in each area.

You can have a core competency of networking - no need to go out and learn 100 different things.

You will however have to figure stuff out on different products though good luck to you

zimskiz

drkat wrote: »

zimskiz:

I've never had a job where I touched just one thing. Most companies arent spending the cash for a specialist in each area.

You can have a core competency of networking - no need to go out and learn 100 different things.

You will however have to figure stuff out on different products though good luck to you

Define,please, core compentency of networking.
I agree that i have to know security ,wireless, voip but what the hell they ask Windows server ?...I'm a network engineer not a system engineer.

pham0329

For small/medium size companies, their network engineer is also their server/system engineer. If you want a strict network engineer position, you're looking at bigger companies, who, will only usually hire you if you have experience.

Even if you go strictly into networking, I think it would be a mistake to not learn some server administration. Eventually down the line, you're going to have to interact with servers, whether that's AD/DHCP/DNS/etc...

Turgon

zimskiz wrote: »

Hello!
I'm from London i don't where to go ahead.I have CCNA certification, no experience in a real environment.
In 6 months i will finish my Computer Science Faculty and i just really don't know what to do.

In websites like : reed.co.uk , gumtree.co.uk, londonjobs,co.uk i've found a lot of requirements for a Network Engineer(that's what i will become).
Why do i have to do everything in that company : security, wireless,voip, linux server, windows server ? too much for a human i think.

My ideea was CCNA - CCNA-Voice -CCNP - CCNP-Voice + Linux ,i think this it is more than enough for a decent life and a decent salary.

Please i need your advice!

Helpdesk for large firms or work for a small shop as a trainee selfstarter dealing with everything that you will have to learn on the job. The pay will suck for 12 months but then you can move on. Try a small integrator or solutions provider first as you get lots of hands on. Then go for work with the large firms. The hands on with the small firm will be challenging as you have no experience, will have to work long hours, will make mistakes, have everything thrown at you, get no training or help....but if you survive you may have better opportunities for progression in a large firm where so many people these days enter a cube to do routine things forever. Well.. until they get outsourced and join the growing queue of other cube people looking for work.