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Making the Jump From Sysadmin to Network Administrator?
termdex asks: "I've been looking to move from systems administration to network administration for the last couple years but for some set of reasons networking seems to be an impregnable area of work.
My experience has been like the often clichèd 'chicken and egg' scenario. Most employers aren't interested in candiates that lack serious network admin experience (ie: 80/20 network/other), but it would seem difficult to get that level of experience if you're currently a sysadmin. What advice can Slashdot readers offer as what works best in making lateral career moves? What experiences can you relate that shows difficulty or success?"
I thought they were one and the same job - I suppose if you take the definitions literally I see what you mean.
:o)
I do both then. Do I get paid double now?
Net+ is a lightweight course of study, and is reasonable to get quickly.
I would aim for Cisco CCNA. If you understand OSI and TCP/IP well enough to mentally calculate subnets, be able to describe how sequence numbers are synched, and know the mechanics of ARP and RIP... You are half-way to certification already. Now add Cisco-specific stuff. I would recommend the Sybex CCNA study guide. Simple, and complete. This will lend additional credibility to a resume re-write, where you put a network "spin" on all of your existing experience.
Next, you might look at Cisco's CCNP - the network planner cert. Depends on how much you get out of certification, and how it's valued by your employers.
Your management at work, if your company is not really dysfunctional, should be able to help. With a good manager at work, you should be able to outline your longterm career interests, and get some support and direction to make this kind of move. This is what weekly one-on-ones are for - supposing a good manager!
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Well, in my job experience (small to midsize companies) those two jobs are effectively the same. You wear whatever hat is necessary to get what needs to be done, done.
So, if you want my advice I would say to get a job at a smaller company where you can easily wear multiple hats, grow your experience, experiment with technologies that *you* think can help your company instead of being stuck with dead-end technologies that some PHB mandated from on high. After designing and implementing a few successful projects you should be able to get a job anywhere.
If you're stuck in a larger-sized business, a good company will support your efforts in migrating to a different department. It's usually a win-win situation. You get to do what you want, the company gets to keep someone that they already trust and who knows much more about the company's specific operations than a new hire. If your boss won't help you switch departments, then a good HR person usually will.
This is interesting. Even in the largest of companies, I have never seen a real distinction between system administrators and network administrators. I supppose that you would be lower on the totem pole though. In any case, my suggestion to you is, scrounge a few older PC's that are greater than 100 mhz (should be easy nowadays) scrounge/buy a router/firewall. I will make an assumption that you are using a windows based network. Yes, I am going to advocate this, steal win2k advanced server, exchange, etc. Install w2kAS, buy a book on it, read the book (I recommend mastering windows 2000 server, I think its a sybex book). Install Active Directory, get IIS working to serve webpages, leave your ftp on anonymous login by mistake and have it taken over as a DIVX server (cleaning up the mess will remind you to never do it again). If you can scrounge up a 300mhz+ machine, put 512MB of ram in it, and put exchange on (youre looking for functionality, not speed). create a small lan out of the scrounged PC's put whatever OS's on that you want, and configure them all to talk to each other. Buy a domain - you can get them for $10. Take one of the machines, throw two nics in it, *nix, and make it a firewall. I think you see the point- simulate the environment you want to learn about, its no longer prohibitively expensive to do so. MS would probably encourage this activity. One caveat- you will be best off if you can find a decent ISP - one that will provide you with a static IP and wont block ports. That may be impossible or very expensive. A solution to that would be a second router, in between the "play" lan and the cable/DSL modem. Attach a machine on this second router to simulate a machine out on the internet. If you are looking to get experience on cisco stuff, well... then... youre going to have to spend a significant amount of money no matter what. after you have done all this, fudge your resume.
If you're trying to move from a "pure" OS position directly into an "IP routing and switching only" type of job, you'll probably find it difficult. Especially in today's job market.
:-)
I run a corporate Network support group that handles LAN/WAN technology, and my staff of 8 is mostly people who have started out as sysadmins and developed their networking skills along the way. The value this background brings is that their general OS and application knowlege allows them to troubleshoot beyond typical "Layer 2/3" problems. It also provides a more open interaction with our sys admins, who do not have routing and switching expertise. We do have several router geeks who focus on our IP routing and LAN/WAN switching infrastructure, but it's the folks with the mix of general OS and specific networking skills that keeps our DBA, progammer, and system administration customers happy.
If you're trying to get into a ISP or Telco NOC, you'll probably have a tough time, without demonstrable routing and telecom experience. OTOH, if you can find a corporate IT shop that supports a variety of technologies (WAN/LAN, Security/Firewalls, Internet, Data Center, etc), you can exploit you sysadmin knowlege in a networking environment. Make sure your resume highlights your relevant networking experience.
Some of my best overall Network Engineers came to me as Unix or Windows admins with a general understanding of networking, and a strong desire to learn more. We're not shy about providing training, and after 6-12 months we end up with very effective engineers who play nice with others.
Good Luck!
If a garbage man knows how to drive a truck, that doesn't make him the equivalent of a professional chauffeur. He may be able to do that job, IF he is exceptionally talented, but that doesn't make it the same task.
Get a part-time job as network admin for your local non-profit group. They might be able to advise you on how to get a tax break for your labors, if they can't outright pay you.
Battered spouse shelters, HfH locals, unaffiliated museums, etc. can always use help with technical matters. Find one that is looking to create a network presence.