Career Advice, networking/cloud

Hi everyone,

It's a new year (happy and successful one to you all). I haven't done much of any studying since last year

. Corny jokes aside, I really have not done much learning in a few months. I'm not lazy, just trying to reevaluate things and see what to do. I have been with my current employer for awhile, holding a number of positions. I'm a network engineer, but the company is on the small side, so I don't see all the things that other network engineers on this site probably see. I also handle VMware (again), as the guy who was doing it screwed up big time, and since I'm the only one who knew it, they decided to hand it back to me. I didn't mind that though, as I was the one who set it up from the start. I feel though that it's time to move on. I'm not learning much of anything at work anymore, or getting exposed to anything interesting. Other than that, company is cool, and I make a good salary (100k)

That being said, I decided to start looking. I've interviewed for some network positions, and so far been offered 2. I turned them down, because they both required travel (domestic and/or international). Don't get me wrong, I love networking. I'm just at the point where I have no interest in traveling. Local travel, I'm okay with, but leaving my wife/kids for days or a week, or more, just doesn't interest me. Especially, international. I looked at other networking jobs in hospitals and universities, but they don't pay.

I've been trying to figure out, what other areas are good for me but that can still use my networking skills and take me to a new level. I do like working with virtualization, so that's an option. I also like security, but probably not nearly as much as others on this site. My other thought was cloud. I see Amazon Web Services is hot in my area and seems like it's still growing. Based on my marathon of a post, does anything think AWS is a good path for me to go down? Will I lose all my networking skills doing this?

I'm open to other suggestions, as well.

CE

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Comments

Mitechniq

I dont see why you need to forget or abandon your network skills. AWS just recently established a new specialized certification on networking in the cloud. I would do a quick 'network' search on this webpage https://www.portal.reinvent.awsevents.com/connect/search.ww and you will get some real good videos from 2016's ReInvent conference.

CE1028

Mitechniq wrote: »

I dont see why you need to forget or abandon your network skills. AWS just recently established a new specialized certification on networking in the cloud. I would do a quick 'network' search on this webpage https://www.portal.reinvent.awsevents.com/connect/search.ww and you will get some real good videos from 2016's ReInvent conference.

Thanks for the link, will surely check it out. I guess maybe what I was also trying to see is, if I chose the AWS/Cloud route, will my network knowledge assist me during my job search. I have the VMware background, but that's strictly private cloud.

kiki162

You can always use your networking skills and branch out into other areas. Sounds like you are bored and burnt out at your current job.

You are looking at a specific type of job, one where you don't have to travel and where it pays enough to support your family...I totally get that! I started as a sysadmin, and I'm now more on the infosec research side. I got my VCP5 several years ago, and just recently upgraded to VCP6-DCV. Initially I took the class at Stanly, and got my VCP because the job I had at the time I thought was going to move to a VM environment, but that never happened, and I moved on from that. I interact with vCenter with my current job, but I don't do anything on the admin side of the house.

Getting into the IT security/cloud side of IT is a hot area. See what jobs in your area are looking for. Several years ago, I started thinking about future job opp like you and what I needed to do to get into those type of roles. I started looking into studying for CISSP, but decided to start with the SSCP exam first, once I passed that, I moved on to the CISSP, and eventually got that. That certification help get me into the position I have now.

Maybe you have jobs in your area looking for VMware engineer...or maybe there's a market for people with AWS experience. My point to you is this...you need to start preparing yourself, do the research, see what companies are looking for. It may take you several months to get there, but it's completely doable.

CE1028

Thank you for reply. I agree with you. I'm in no real rush to move on, so if it takes several months, no problem. I have looked into both cloud and infosec. I looked into Azure and AWS a lot last night, and then had a look on the job boards. It seems AWS/Azure jobs are heavily focused on developers. Unfortunately, that's not really me.

Infosec is interesting too, but need to get a plan on how to get there. I can start with the SSCP like you. Network security seem to tie more to my current set of skills, but I'm assuming that I'll probably find myself in the same boat, with the traveling all over. If I look at a security analyst, the pay cut would probably be too big, and I have no idea how to get to that kind of position.

darkerz

Azure/AWS/etc. "Cloud" jobs are a tough one. You do not need a dedicated infrastructure person... Until you do. It's best to pickup on the skills you can and begin leveraging scripts, as a start - Powershell for Azure, Python/Ruby/Perl/Bash/??? for AWS, and build a repository of skills just from that alone.

Development in Cloud Infra shops sounds interesting until you do it. Then its boring and the real fun is automating your automation.

CE1028

darkerz wrote: »

Azure/AWS/etc. "Cloud" jobs are a tough one. You do not need a dedicated infrastructure person... Until you do. It's best to pickup on the skills you can and begin leveraging scripts, as a start - Powershell for Azure, Python/Ruby/Perl/Bash/??? for AWS, and build a repository of skills just from that alone.

Development in Cloud Infra shops sounds interesting until you do it. Then its boring and the real fun is automating your automation.

My guess was that you only need that infrastructure person during the initial setup, and when changes need to be made. I have to say, reading these job descriptions, none of it sounded fun

kiki162

So take a look at the isc2.org website, look at the SSCP requirements. Usually you need at least 1 year experience in specific areas. See if you have any opp. at your current job to get into another position, or take the time to dive into CCNP Security, CCNA CyberOps, or VCAP certs.

At the end of the day, you need to figure out what type of position you really want. Develop an interest in something that will help increase your skills set. I still think that CISSP will be your best ticket to maintain your current pay, and get you into a new position that you enjoy.

MitM

Why not stay in networking, if that's where your passion is? I'm in networking, and I don't travel. Your job search may be longer, but it might be possible.

Maybe other network engineers on the forums can jump in

Verities

CE1028 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

It's a new year (happy and successful one to you all). I haven't done much of any studying since last year . Corny jokes aside, I really have not done much learning in a few months. I'm not lazy, just trying to reevaluate things and see what to do. I have been with my current employer for awhile, holding a number of positions. I'm a network engineer, but the company is on the small side, so I don't see all the things that other network engineers on this site probably see. I also handle VMware (again), as the guy who was doing it screwed up big time, and since I'm the only one who knew it, they decided to hand it back to me. I didn't mind that though, as I was the one who set it up from the start. I feel though that it's time to move on. I'm not learning much of anything at work anymore, or getting exposed to anything interesting. Other than that, company is cool, and I make a good salary (100k)

That being said, I decided to start looking. I've interviewed for some network positions, and so far been offered 2. I turned them down, because they both required travel (domestic and/or international). Don't get me wrong, I love networking. I'm just at the point where I have no interest in traveling. Local travel, I'm okay with, but leaving my wife/kids for days or a week, or more, just doesn't interest me. Especially, international. I looked at other networking jobs in hospitals and universities, but they don't pay.

I've been trying to figure out, what other areas are good for me but that can still use my networking skills and take me to a new level. I do like working with virtualization, so that's an option. I also like security, but probably not nearly as much as others on this site. My other thought was cloud. I see Amazon Web Services is hot in my area and seems like it's still growing. Based on my marathon of a post, does anything think AWS is a good path for me to go down? Will I lose all my networking skills doing this?

I'm open to other suggestions, as well.

CE

I suggest OpenStack instead of AWS; you have the virtualization AND networking background, both of which will be very helpful in learning how to build and maintain a private cloud (not many people have that type of experience). OpenStack is common with MSPs and Telcos since its hardware agnostic and can be built upon their existing infrastructure, so they're often looking for people with that kind of skill set.