Is Network Engineering a Viable Career?

An anonymous reader asks: "I'm fresh out of high school and interested in getting a job in networking. One option is a degree in networking, the alternative I've considered is just getting certificates (CCNA/P, A+, MCSA). A large factor in my decision is which route is most likely to land a secure and well-paid full time job. I'm located in Melbourne, Australia and I don't have any local contacts in the industry who can advise me, and so was hoping some other Australian (or international) readers could share their knowledge and experience with these issues."

Comments

Re:School

[SaDan]

*yawn*

I'm another person who doesn't understand what college is for, and while I don't make six figures at the moment, I'm not far off. I'm also still advancing professionally and technically.

College truely isn't for everyone. Been there, tried that... repeatedly. :-) I didn't flunk out, I managed to get hired on full time as a Unix admin for the university (salaried, professional staff). I didn't have time to take classes (although I tried, and hated every second of it), and the classes I did take were at least five to ten years out of date anyways.

A degree is nothing more than a very expensive cert, in my eyes.

Some people need the time in college because they don't know how to learn. Those same people are the ones who benefit from certification classes, from what I can tell.

The social networking aspect of college might help some people, but so would making friends in another city who are in your line of work (like going to a usergroup meetings).

I would not work for you, because you don't understand that people are different enough in the way they learn and operate. You also sound like a closed-minded person, which is probably just the beginning of your list of deficiencies.