A ? for all the network & system admins

[Delinquent]

I've been talking to some and they say that that networking as we know it, is going to be obsolete in a couple years as soon as they work all the bugs out of wireless communications. I'm curious as to what you guys and gals think b/c I just finished my first semester for a degree in computer networking and I don't want to waste my time and money if it's gonna be useless when I get done.

 

[JohnnyO]

Like anything computer related, you have to keep up with technology .. but I find it hard to believe that EVERYTHING will be wireless in a few years.

Just learn something about Gig Ethernet and Fiber Optics.

 

[Latimer]

Wireless communications scare me. All that sensitive information floating in the air.

 

[Delinquent]

yea that's one of the main bugs they have to try to work out is the security issue of it. The degree gives me certs for A+, cna, msce, net+, and ccna. What I'm thinking is just learn the core classes like winnt, win2k, unix, and the routers and switches. So I'll have to knowledge of being able to work in networking but leave my options open to wireless possibilities.


BTW if I remember correctly Johnny O you work for cicso right? Everyone keeps saying the market is really flooded with just basic ccna techs. Also that I heard that Cisco is building a school in India and they plan on pumping out an estimated 100,000 cisco tech per year. Any truth to that?

 

[Delinquent]

Damn I guess I gotta re-evaluate my goals. Only thing that seems to be in demand are programmers (which I will never do) and Oracle which I really don't wanna do either since a lot have to code also plus do the whole database management.

 

[JohnnyO]

I'm sure we're flooded with CCNA's at the moment .. that's a VERY easy test to pass, and anyone can do it with about 18 hours of studying .. it's only a TCP/IP test, OSI model test, with basic IOS commands.

I haven't heard of any school in India .. however I have heard of vocational partnerships with high schools to make recent HS grads CCNAs.

 

[Delinquent]

Yea that's true. My old high school just hired one this past year. Pisses me off that they didn't do it a few years ago when I was there.

 

[Latimer]

Get your foot in the door first. That's the most important thing. Then worry about what direction you want to go. Experience will always outweigh a certification. Paper certs aren't going to last long in the IT field. A certification will get you an interview and that's about it. It's not money in the bank.

A bunch of High Schools offer the Cisco Networking Academy Program. It's even offered in two juvenile detention centers - one in Texas, the other in California. It's a great program.

 

[HappyScrappy]

some of the bluetooth stuff will certainly be big soon.

also, for a while there will be much overlap, so there is still a need for the base knowledge - the stuff might be sent via wireless, but it still needs routers and stuff - it isn't like there will be this big black box that just does magic wireless actions for you

 

[Latimer]

it isn't like there will be this big black box that just does magic wireless actions for you

Actually, I'm working on that right now. I'm gonna call it snaggletooth. The box is going to be navy blue though.

 

[HappyScrappy]

Actually, I'm working on that right now. I'm gonna call it snaggletooth. The box is going to be navy blue though.

 

[Delinquent]

I heard of company called avisent or something like that just introduced a fully digital router that no one has yet. What about juniper also, they seem like they're an possible competitor too

 

[slickdadd]

bump. I can't figure out what i wanna do. Confuses the hell out of me every day. The plan is to get an business degree and my a+ net+ mcse and ccna, like many others but it just seems like a lot of work for little return from what so many are saying.

 

[slickdadd]

see thats what im afraid of. That it would be so much work, and constant learning, just to rise up to better positions, constantly, never having security, and never settling in and being happy. A constant climb with no set destination. Am i wrong? Current IT people opinions?

 

[L.A.X]

Like anything computer related, you have to keep up with technology

This is the truth...I was forced to re-evaluate my situation when Sony launched the playstation 2. But I feel I did pretty well retaining all the information I picked up in their handy instruction booklet, and being that the (sorry for all the technical jargon) "paddle" has not changed, people should be able to ease in to the new era ....

 

[8pack]

So what if everything goes wireless. That doesn't mean sysadmins will be obsolete. Someone will always be needed to run the software and install the relay antennas for wireless. Please people.

 

[supersizeme]

that's why i thank my lucky stars i am a unix pimp. the demand for my shit is not going to go away anytime soon and technology is not going to all of a sudden change the operating system that the majority of internet servers run on. right now everyone who's in the NT server, networking, pc support business that got laid off is basically screwed because of how saturated the market is. they are a dime a dozen in this day and age. flaming heterosexual spoke the truth - get into either database admin, unix admin, or some sort of relatively hot, new programming and you should be ok. don't get stuck doing what everyone else is trying to do in the IT field.

 

[manny78]

Wireless communications scare me. All that sensitive information floating in the air.

why not at least you're sure nobody gonna cut the wire.....

 

[grip'n'rip]

Personal Experience

I am the IT Manager for the company that I work for and I don't have one certification. I was hired based on my experience with networking, database administration, troubleshooting etc. I work for a big company in my area and I will tell you all that it is not the piece of paper that you received from college or a training facility that will get you a good job. It is the experience that you have and how good you are at what you do. I beat 11 other people for my job and I'm sure at least some of them were certified but lacked the experience to get the job done. Knowledge is power and that is what it all boils down to......knowledge.

 

[slickdadd]

well im confused what to pursue as usual

 

[slickdadd]

as well, to get into database admin, would that be sql, or oracle

 

[Delinquent]

I've noticed down here in the Orlando area is that everyone is looking for experience. Well what about us that are trying to get into the field but can't due to all companies wanting people that have at least 5 years + experience. Are we just S.O.L?

 

[CONTRACTION]

Networking will be around for a very, very long time. Even with wireless technology, WAN still will exist. I've studied wireless technology and was almost recruited by a wireless technology company. Routers, Switches, WANs, LANs, MAEs, NAPs, IXs...there is just too many key components in the whole "Networking" world for it to just all vanish. The technology will keep advancing and networking will just evolve to a higher level.

As for other computer-related fields...software engineering ALWAYS has job openings...UNIX has been around forever and is still big....there is always a need for system administrators.

BTW, I'm a network engineer...

 

[r00+]

Laser Disk

Didn't they say VHS would be dead when laser disks came out?

The truth of the matter is simple, the medium which a network communicates makes no difference in the actual administration of a network..

It's not like a wireless revolution will likely use protocols that aren't compatible with the present ones. Otherwise they'd cut themselves out of the market.