Work schedule for a CCNA Network Admin??

Hey guys, I'm currently studying for my CCNA and really want to become a Network Administrator but I figured I'd get as much info as I can before I devote everything into this. My question is what type of work schedule should I expect being a Network Admin?? Does this job require only nights like 5pm - 1am or am I going to be working like everyone else human hours 8-5??? Thank you guys in advance from reading this

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Iristheangel

The schedule can be all over the place and you will be on call. Depending on how big the shop is and their hours, you can be oncall 24/7 or you may be able to have weeks on and off depending on how many people are there and the oncall schedule. It's definitely a time commitment and if you're working for a big company, you'll never have *just* 8-5 Monday-Friday because any major changes to the network or modifications usually aren't done during business hours as to not disrupt productivity. The good news is that the opportunities, advancement and pay is great

Deemeetri

Thank you for the quick reply Iris

but major changes doesn't happen often correct? it's not like I'm going to be working after hours every week right? on a different note, I've only done call center tech support and end user hardware/software support, would the CCNA be enough to open a door for me on becoming a Network Admin? or would I have to learn the System Admins aspect of it as well like Server 2008 R2, Active Directory, VPNs, etc etc?

Iristheangel

Depends on the job and the size of the company. The bigger the company, the better the pay but the more hours you'll work. I work an average of 50+ hours a week at a Fortune 500 company and we have over a hundred sites so staying after work to make changes is common. I'm supposed to work monday thru friday but here I am at the datacenter right now on my 10th hour of work for a core merge. whether you are working with servers or networking, you should expect odd hours and being oncall randomly. The only way to have regular hours is usually being in management.

Basically, if you want to be making good money and working in a technical position, you are signing up for more than 40 hours a week and long nights randomly. There's a thread around here where someone asks how many hours a week everyone works. That should give you an idea for how rare it is to work only 40 hours a week in this field when you are salary. My experience has been thay once you transfer to salary, you say goodbye to 40 hours consistent a week

Deemeetri

oh that's fine haha I'm prepared for that, the compensation is well worth it I would think

but I mean I will still be starting my day just like everybody else right? not starting my day at like 3pm or 5pm right? as long as I start in the morning and have some time to grab drinks after work I'm fine because something tells me this job will make me drink lol

Iristheangel

That REALLY depends on the company. If you're working at a 24 hour shop or a NOC to start, you may be working funky hours but if you start at a small shop, you'll probably be working 8-5.

Mike-Mike

I dont know if it's universal or not, but certainly in my area most of the jobs are 12 hour shifts on a rotating schedule