Month: December 2016

Another very common question I hear a lot on the internet is: “How can I get started in networking?” or “What does it take to become a Network Engineer?”

As you may have read in my previous post about getting started in IT – there usually are several ways to achieve this goal.

I’ve seen for-profit schools offer Associate degrees in Network Engineering, promising students lucrative careers in this field once they graduate. These type of programs will usually also include vouchers for various technical Certifications along the way. Sadly, the vast majority of the students in such programs often graduate with only one or two Certifications at best.

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This topic is very near and dear to my heart, as one of my students once told me: ‘I just want to make 6 or 7 figures’ after I asked why he wanted to work in IT.

Yes, 7 figures is not a typo!

Let the truth be told. Not everyone who works in IT will make $100,000 or more. The folks who do make this kind of money have worked very hard on their careers to get to where they are today. Most everyone I know had to start at the bottom at one point or another.

There is also no right or wrong way to get into this field. What do I mean by this?

I’ve heard of people who went to a University for 4 years to study Computer Science, only to find out that no one will hire them fresh out of College, due to the lack of real-world experience.

Others, do not even have a Computer Science degree and work in this field. As a matter of fact, some of the best IT guys I know have degrees from other disciplines such as Business, Geology, History, Psychology or even Criminal Justice.

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