4 years of expierence in IT so far, will it be hard to land a networking job?

3-5 years of expierence in IT so far, will it be hard to land a networking job?

I have about 3-5 years so far, once i get my ccna will it be hard do get a network engineer type job?

I have experience in desktop and service desk, and about 4 years total

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NetworkVeteran

gbdavidx wrote: »

I have about 3-5 years so far, once i get my ccna will it be hard do get a network engineer type job? I have experience in desktop and service desk, and about 4 years total

How much experience do you have with routers/switches? If none and no degree, taking you on as a network engineer would be assuming too much risk for me. You'd be fine for a role that involves a limited amount of accessing routers/swtiches.

gbdavidx

I would have my CCna before applying for any networking jobs

I keep getting hit up for desktop jobs on careerbuilder, should I go that route if I want to get into networking?

networker050184

Do you have any actual real world experience with networking? That will help tremendously. If not it will be a more difficult road convincing someone to hire you to do somehting you've never done before.

gbdavidx

just troubleshooting basic end

networker050184

It's going to be tough trying to get an engineering position with your small amount of experience. You'd be better off looking for something a little lower on the networking totem poll.

gbdavidx

i've seen people get networking jobs with only CCNA as their first IT job

Dakinggamer87

I would suggest getting into a role that has some networking involved to build up some experience with routers/switches or perhaps a NOC role maybe to move more into that area.

Good luck!! I'm trying to move more into networking as well hopefully after I get my CCNA I can start making my move in that direction

gbdavidx

Doesn't the cert basically say you know the stuff??

YFZblu

gbdavidx wrote: »

Doesn't the cert basically say you know the stuff??

CCNA topics != real world network engineering

Dakinggamer87

gbdavidx wrote: »

Doesn't the cert basically say you know the stuff??

It definitely helps build a solid foundation of networking but a lot of companies may prefer hands-on experience over certs but it's gonna be different at every company. CCNA can only help you move into networking and will be very beneficial.

NetworkVeteran

gbdavidx wrote: »

Doesn't the cert basically say you know the stuff??

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has separate written and driving tests. There's a difference between reading about something--even passing a test saying you remembered most of what you read--and actually doing it.

Education, Certification, and Experience are each different but complimentary.

A role involving some networking would be a good bridge!

Danielm7

NetworkVeteran wrote: »

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has separate written and driving tests. There's a difference between reading about something--even passing a test saying you remembered most of what you read--and actually doing it.

Education, Certification, and Experience are each different but complimentary.

A role involving some networking would be a good bridge!

Very true! Just last weekend I was at a motorcycle safety class where I watched 2 people who had perfect written test scores both fall while doing basic exercises on a motorcycle and fail their riding tests. Just answering questions and really being able to do something are not the same thing.

gbdavidx

What if i setup networking switches and routers on the side for a friend of mine's company it would be a production environment

Nutsacjac

gbdavidx wrote: »

3-5 years of expierence in IT so far, will it be hard to land a networking job?

I have about 3-5 years so far, once i get my ccna will it be hard do get a network engineer type job?

I have experience in desktop and service desk, and about 4 years total

Have you ever touched a router/switch in production before? I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's very, very unlikely that someone would give you an engineer position with no experience.

Get the CCNA and apply at a NOC if you want to get into networking. Good luck!

NetworkVeteran

What if i setup networking switches and routers on the side for a friend of mine's company it would be a production environment

I suspect that would help you land that NOC position the previous poster suggested.

gbdavidx

I don't think there are many Noc's in my area, my current company has one but they're not hiring any time soon

tpatt100

How can you have 3 "to 5 years of experience? You either have 3 or 5 unless you are trying to "wink wink" call stuff that is not really experience "experience" like a lot of people do when they are starting out lol.

gbdavidx

I have exactly 4 years, 7 months in desktop and service desk experience

xocity

I would say get a CCNA and have a really well written resume and really good interviewing skills. Just having CCNA isnt going to make things magically happen for anyone. Some companies are willing to take risks but if your up against people who have the certs and exp and references to back everything up, dont get your hopes up.

It suggested to go a step lower or maybe see if you can do some side jobs on workforce or intern temp jobs to get the exp. I know a lot of people that claim they are experts because they have 20+ certs but when it comes to realy world troubleshooting, theyre lost. Most hireing managers would feel the same way.

Anyway, Good Luck!

gbdavidx

I applied for a desktop and network ops type position, wish me luck!