Are you interested in becoming a network engineer but not sure what you will do in an entry-level position? Work as a network engineer is an undeniably intriguing career path. After all, it lets you design, implement, and maintain networks linked to the Internet. Network engineers work with many technologies in exciting and creative ways. Plus, you can start down a network engineer career path faster than you might imagine. And it starts by first answering a single question, what does an entry-level network engineer do?
What Does an Entry-Level Network Engineer Do?
The term network engineer does a good job of explaining the fundamental elements of the profession. Network engineers apply basic engineering concepts to the infrastructure which allows digital networks to operate.
When people use the Internet, it can be in an invisible and seamless way. You don’t see a physical server when you load a webpage up on your computer. The elements that a network engineer works with are more obscure than what a lot of other engineering disciplines work with.
You can separate an entry-level network engineer’s job into three categories. They include working with physical hardware, software, and tech support. Some additional elements, like security and cloud computing, emerge from a combination of these three areas.
Hardware
The physical aspects of network engineering involves servers and routers. While a small company might only work with a single server for its internal network, the largest companies might have entire server rooms filled with racks of servers and industrial cooling. An entry-level network engineer will be called on to work with the physical elements of those servers and networking systems. This could involve router configuration, server backups and upgrades, or even troubleshooting hardware failure.
Software
All of those physical devices work with software. While home routers are straightforward devices that don’t require a lot of extra power, enterprise-level routers are so powerful that they run full operating systems. An entry-level network engineer will handle all of the hardware used to maintain a network. This can include anything from routers all the way to complex cloud-based servers which depend on networked connections to function.
Networking hardware is the most self-apparent aspect of network engineering. However, the software is just as important. An entry-level network engineer will work with all of the software including the command line utilities associated with Linux, firewall configuration, and even the network monitoring tools which can indicate hacking attempts.
Support
An entry-level network engineer will also support coworkers with network usage, hardware, and software. This includes writing out schematics and documentation. However, the most common aspect of this support role comes with direct tech support. Network engineers will help anyone from coworkers in the same IT department to remote customers connecting to their system.
Convergent Technologies
It’s also important to remember that all of these roles converge to some degree. Support leads to investigations into software errors or hardware problems. Upgrade cycles require discussions with various teams within a company. And of course, the software involved with networking runs on physical hardware.
This convergence is most evident with cloud computing. Cloud computing is a recent concept that’s revolutionized the IT world. It abstracts hardware to run in a networked software-based environment. On a consumer level, this is seen with cloud storage. You can use networked storage as a second hard drive, but that storage isn’t sitting on a single physical drive. It’s instead shared between many different computers in a “cloud.”
Physical clouds are emergent phenomena derived from nodes of condensed water droplets. And network engineers make computing clouds by linking singular servers as nodes within a larger “cloud” that combines specialized hardware and software. While it’s an advanced concept, it’s still under the skillset of an entry-level network engineer.
Security
Finally, network engineers will help secure these elements and protect them from outside attacks or internal security breaches. This is done through real-time monitoring and reviewing logs. However, a network engineer will help set the standards used for security within a company. For example, they might decide on password standards or even note potential issues where outside visitors might stumble upon secure data.
Where Do Entry-Level Network Engineers Work?
Entry-level network engineers can be found in almost any industry that uses networked computers. One of the most obvious examples is the data centers that host websites and maintain remote servers for companies. However, it’s common for companies to have their own internal server rooms maintained by network engineers. In this role, a network engineer will maintain a small network with only a few servers. Or, conversely, they might work at a larger company with an extensive server room. One of the great things about network engineering is that networking has become ubiquitous in the modern workplace. Almost every industry depends on networking to some degree. And because of that, you’ll often find a network engineer role at a wide variety of companies.
How Do You Become a Network Engineer?
The sheer number of skills needed to become a network engineer can make it seem like an intimidating career path. However, it really just means that you may need a little extra guidance along the way. The most efficient way to do so is through a technical school. Technical school design curriculum to give you a solid foundation that you can build upon throughout your career. With small class sizes and industry experienced instructors, you get the best possible education to start working as a network engineer.
What Do You Learn During a Network Engineer Program?
Some of the subjects covered by a network engineer program include routing and switching, the security measures intrinsic to networking, and the various elements associated with cloud computing. All of these subjects and more are covered at an extensive enough level to translate into full certification paths for CompTIA, Microsoft Azure, and AWS.
Want to Learn More?
IT careers have become essential not just in Austin but globally, and there is no better time to pick up than now. In 2019 Austin was ranked #1 in Best Tech City for IT jobs by CompTIA, and the demand is only growing.
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