Aspiring Architect

adrichards88 · September 2014

Hello,

I am looking at a community college program that grants an associates in applied science for network administration. I currently have a BA and soon will have an MA in the unrelated field of Philosophy/Literature. The community college program graduates you with a CCNA and is taught by Cisco certified instructors. I plan to take an extra course to get CCNP within the first two years.

My question is this:

Is there any hope of starting at the bottom rung like this and moving up to architect in 6 to 7 years? Or is it only people who graduate from MIT and Harvard that work at large companies as architects?

Can anyone give me an idea of where I could work after receiving a CCNA? And does anyone have any advice on what kind of jobs to look for if one is trying to climb the IT career ladder?

Thank you!

shodown · September 2014

You don't need to go to MIT or Harvard to be an Architect. Getting there in 6-7 years is tough, but doable. The way to get there is to have jobs that get you the type of experience that can lead you that way. There are quite a few paths to get there, but I'll say this. At the Architect level there are usually two types. I'll say again experience will be KEY. You work at a crappy place don't expect to be there anytime soon if ever.

Solution Architect's

Presales engineers who can put together proof of concept designs, they do a lot of labbing and documentation. They usually help sale the solution to the customer and are entitled to some of the proceeds of the sale.

Network Architects's

Usually lead a team of other engineers, comes up with the standards for the deployment of the network, involved in Tier 4 troubleshooting, overall responsible for the health of the network, and maybe involved in the money matters at times. Usually 10+ years of experience and knows general networking very well, and knows a little about VoIP, wireless, security, and data center.

Some networks are so massive that they have to have VoIP architects outside the normal network architects just do to size. This is where I"m currently at. I work as an architect now, but its my own company so I kinda just gave myself the title. I usually provide the customer with all the documentation for the work to be performed, and contractors that I use they get the standards and templates from me on how to deploy something. I also run labs of newer versions of voice software so that when customers decide to upgraded I'm already ready as I run the new software as soon as it comes out.

Hope that helps.

Dieg0M · September 2014

I know a couple of architects that don't have a degree. 6 years is cutting it short, I would say at least 8-10 years. In the first 4 years you will be junior-intermediate level depending how fast you move. At 5 years + you can try to get a senior role and once you have been a senior in a couple places and close to the design teams, you can pull off an architect position. Remember that 10 years at the same job is not the same as 10 years at a different job every year. Good luck.

gorebrush · October 2014

Architect is my ultimate goal too. I am 10 years into my career at this point, with 6 years of "some" networking, and 2 of pure 100% network work. However, with CCIE coming and a broad knowledge base, I am hoping that I can get to architect level within 4-6 years from now - so that would roughly be 6-8 years of networking before becoming an architect. I'm 31 now, so let's put a target of "before 40" on it.

I wish you luck with your venture!

adrichards88 · October 2014

shodown wrote: »

You don't need to go to MIT or Harvard to be an Architect. Getting there in 6-7 years is tough, but doable. The way to get there is to have jobs that get you the type of experience that can lead you that way. There are quite a few paths to get there, but I'll say this. At the Architect level there are usually two types. I'll say again experience will be KEY. You work at a crappy place don't expect to be there anytime soon if ever.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for the info! Can you advise what crappy jobs to avoid? I am not pressed to have work, so I have some luxury to pick and choose jobs.

silver145 · October 2014

answer: ones that you dont want, unless we physically checked every job out you were going to apply for how the heck would we know? A "junior" tech position at one place may offer 10,000 times more opportunities than a senior role at another so that's you to investigate.

shodown · October 2014

adrichards88 wrote: »

Thank you for the info! Can you advise what crappy jobs to avoid? I am not pressed to have work, so I have some luxury to pick and choose jobs.

Its hard to really get this figured out. You should try to work for a company that re-sales gear that way you get to work with the latest and greatest.

Companies to avoid working for internally.

Companies that depend on consultants for there heavy lifting unless you are senior when you can get involved in the politics and money. Most of my work comes from companies of this type who have "senior network engineers" on staff, but they are just that in title, they are more like network administrators who really don't understand the technology and they are just working to get by and want to keep the network as is, because they don't want to be exposed as not really understanding whats going on.

adrichards88 · October 2014

shodown wrote: »

Its hard to really get this figured out. You should try to work for a company that re-sales gear that way you get to work with the latest and greatest.

Companies to avoid working for internally.

Companies that depend on consultants for there heavy lifting unless you are senior when you can get involved in the politics and money. Most of my work comes from companies of this type who have "senior network engineers" on staff, but they are just that in title, they are more like network administrators who really don't understand the technology and they are just working to get by and want to keep the network as is, because they don't want to be exposed as not really understanding whats going on.

Ok. I think I understand you. Forgive my ignorance, but can you clarify what you mean by "gear", "working internally", and "involved in the politics and money."

Thank you!

networker050184 · October 2014

Gear = Routers, switches, etc.

Working internally = Working as the companies in house IT staff.

Politics and money = Internal battles of who get's to make decisions on spending the companies money.

adrichards88 · October 2014

Thank you all for your advice. I've already picked up books at the library so classes in the spring go smooth. I look forward to this forum being a continued help!

ccie14023 · October 2014

A bit of a late reply, but I happen to be an architect at a major company (Juniper Networks) and so I think I can contribute some experience here... Personally, I think humanities degrees are quite useful. I have a BA in Political Science with a minor in Classics (Greek/Latin) and while not directly relevant, the critical thinking and writing skills you acquire in a liberal arts program are very beneficial to moving up in the tech world. This is especially the case because so many people these days can barely put a sentence together anymore. You will stand out.
As for MIT and Harvard, I certainly didn't go to either of them. I have an M.S. from Golden Gate University in Telecom Management, which is fine, but in the end doesn't count for that much. Experience is the most important thing. I would highly recommend pursuing a CCIE (or JNCIE!) which makes you stand out from the crowd, but I've known many good architects who never got certified, and even a few who disdain certification entirely.
I worked for two years at Cisco TAC which was very good experience... However, when you work at TAC you are, as a friend put it, "like a chicken on a chicken farm." It's easy to get stuck there, and it's a brutal job. If you go in for a couple years with a plan to get out, however, it can be the fastest way to learn networking. With a CCIE or similar cert, it's also easy to get a job at a VAR, which is a good place to get a wide variety of experience at different customer sites.
I would caution that the word "architect" if overused and ill-defined. It encompasses a huge variety of jobs. I would say: be prepared for some tough jobs at first (like TAC) but as you get into the industry, identify other areas that interest you. They may not have the "architect" title. For example, maybe you would be a good technical marketing engineer and would find it a rewarding job. Don't get too set on a title until you know the industry.

Aspiring Architect

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