Advice to New Network Engineers
Here are two key steps that can help make the difference between a short, unhappy stint and a long, successful career in networking.
August 12, 2013
In my shift from the world of voice back into the world of all things networking, I’ve found my new role includes a significant amount of mentoring others new to the networking field. This got me to thinking: What is the best advice I could give someone green and trying to get hands-on experience in networking? I've narrowed it down to two essentials. Feel free to disagree with me, although I will warn you that I am a redhead, and it's entirely at your own risk.
No. 1: Think before you do As engineers we face a constant stream of devices, setups, requests, and technologies, and we are rarely given enough time to truly dig deep into a technology before some manager says, "Make it work, and make it now." With the landscape constantly changing, it's imperative that before you change anything on a production network, you ask yourself three questions:
•Does this make sense?
•What will I impact?