Networking Job Opportunities

Contents:

1. Basic Qualifications

2. Experience

3. Certifications

4. Resources

a. Companies

b. Job sites

c. Forums and others

1. Basic Qualifications:

The positions normally required by the companies include the following:

• Network Engineer
• Systems Engineer
• Network Administrator
• Systems Administrator
• Security Analyst
• Network Architect
• Systems Architect
• Systems Programmer
• LAN Engineer
• WAN Engineer and the like

Basically, they differ in the domain knowledge. A Network Engineer needs to be knowledgeable of LANs, WANs, and Internet technologies.  A Systems Engineer needs to be knowledgeable of Operating systems including Windows, Unix, and Linux. Note that the streams will have some amount of overlap.

The recommended basic qualification for these positions is an Engineering Degree (like B.S. in Electrical, B.Tech, or B.Sc.(Eng.). Of course, it  primarily depends on the aptitude to build a career in a given stream. At least a diploma is desirable for Network Administrator or Systems Administrator jobs.

2. Experience: Normally, Companies ask for 1+ years of experience. This is to ensure that the candidate is able to attend to the day-to-day practical issues in a given domain area. If you are still looking for your first job, lookout for a trainee position or at least have a home networking setup with as few as two computers. It would provide immense insight into the working of networked systems.

3. Certifications: Certifications should be pursued as a step towards building a career. Though, a certification helps in getting a job, it depends on several other factors like basic qualifications and relevant experience. 

If you are looking for a networking career, the following certifications may be worth looking into:

• Cisco Certified Network Associate CCNA
• Cisco Certified Network Professional CCNP
• Juniper Networks Certified Internet Associate JNCIA
• Network+

For Systems administration career, the following certifications are relevant:

• Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator - MCSA
• Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer - MCSE
• Sun Certified System Administrator For The Solaris Operating System
• Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT)
• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
• LPI (Linux Professional Institute) Certification, and several others

With the rapid escalation in the use of Internet and intranets, the requirement for systems, and network security has increased significantly. There are several certifications available in this domain.

The following are offered by Security Certified Program (securitycertified.net) offers the following vendor neutral security certifications:

• Security Certified Network Professional
• Security Certified Network Architect
• Cisco Certified Security Professional (CCSP) is offered by Cisco (http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le37/le54/learning_certification_type_home.html):
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional - CISSP (cissps.com)

It is advisable that you have basic certifications like CCNA or MCSA before pursuing security certifications. Normally, security concepts involve advanced techniques and prior knowledge of networking or operating systems is a definite plus.

Among the security certifications, CISSP is widely acknowledged as authoritative and vendor neutral.

For introductory networking certification, CCNA provides solid networking concepts and  terminology. CCNA is a required certification for pursuing CCNP.

If you intend to pursue Linux OS administration, Redhat certifications can provide a valuable knowledge and experience. LPI is a vendor neutral Linux certification and not yet as popular as Redhat certifications.

4. Resources:

• Vendor websites

  • MCSE/MCSE
  • CCNA/CCNP

  • Redhat certifications

  • CCSP
  • CISSP

• Job sites

  • Computer Jobs (computerjobs.com) - You can search for a computer/networking job by city and/or state (in the U.S.). They offer several methods for applicants to restrict access to confidential information.
  • Techies.com - without registering, search through their employer job postings by keyword and location or through head hunter job postings by keyword. You must register to apply for a position, but they offer only 2 levels of resume privacy ("Active" and "Inactive"). A Privacy Policy is posted.

• Forums and others

To be added soon!