To work as a Network Admin need a degree?

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NetTechie

Limp Gawd
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Jan 10, 2014
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I've been consulting a lot of people on this topic, and I'm getting a general consensus that a 4 year degree (or above) in Computer Science is important to get a good job as a Network Administrator. Or even a 2 year degree in Computer Science, but the biggest thing I'm hearing is being certified is not enough to get a good job in this field.

I had originally hoped that having some certifications would be enough to work at a good company in Network Administration, perhaps not initially in the job I wanted but be able to start at a higher level then say Help Desk. Apparently from what I am hearing, this is not the case.

I also considered getting what is called an Advanced Technical Certificate from a community college in the areas I was interested in. That takes 2 years but is only one class per semester (per certificate).

The biggest emphasis everyone has had is learn the material for the technical interview. Well, Computer Science will most likely not fully prepare you for networking questions, which raises the question for me why companies want you to have this degree, as it mostly focuses on coding it seems.

Would just being CCNA certified and MCSA certified be enough to get a job that is better than Help Desk?

What are your thoughts in this matter?

Thank you!
 
Short answer: Its a checkbox, thats it. It's right there next to "can lift more than 40lbs"

Long answer: The purpose of a college degree is to show that you can succeed in something that is boring and hard. Certs show that you "know" the technical aspects, but theres a lot more to a job than that. College is supposed to expose you to other fields that help you in your career. Things like public speaking, sociology, psychology, business administration, etc.


EDIT: And yeah, pretty much any technology related field starts with Helpdesk.
 
yes and no, with enough experience you don't need it.
But these days who will allow you to get that experience without it?
Even with experience it makes it easier to get a job and opens some doors to have the degree.
CS with a secondary in business administration or the reverse would be a good place to start.
MBA with a secondary CS can open a lot of high paying doors.
 
Hmm, business degree. That is an interesting idea. That applies to almost any field, but with an emphasis on computer science it might be enough to get a Network Administration job. I'll look into it.
 
In my personal experience, it comes down to a matter of

Who you know
Well written/laid out Resume/Cover Letter
Speaking well during the interview

More and more places I've been to/interviewed for were looking for people skills followed by technical aptitude (last 3 jobs have been this way). Now, a straight Network Admin job would be reversed, but that title can be a little vague. I was a network engineer who did server migrations, PC Installs, break/fix work, among a variety of networking projects for hundreds of clients in the Michigan area.

I also don't have a degree, nor am I sure if I will even get one. OTOH, having just certs with little/no experience, really will be difficult to get your foot in the door. Getting a foot in the door is much easier with a degree. What, if any, experience do you have right now in the field?
 
Good question, my experience is very limited as far as networking because I've only had access to home/consumer networks. I recently purchased a stack of cisco equipment, to learn on. I also purchased a server desktop computer to learn Windows Server on. But as far as actual hands on I've been limited to what I had access to. As far as general computer knowledge of consumer type systems, I've done a lot in that regard. I passed the A+ without any preparation.

Edit: I've been thinking about it, and I did do some other stuff that is networking related I guess. I was a webmaster for an ISP for their web site. I designed it as well. I built several gaming web sites and ran them too. I also setup a server computer running Apache on windows and installed PHP and MySQL and used a photo gallery running on php to publish photos when I did some photography. I hosted it off of DSL as the ports were not blocked. I later hosted a couple other domains on the same computer, using BIND on windows, and had the system running as a DNS server. The ip was not static, so I had an app that updated my ip with the DNS forwarding service I was using (free). I guess this might count as a bit of experience with admin related activities, though rather limited. I know some HTML, CSS, some Javascript, and also PHP. I used Dreamweaver and Photoshop for designing and maintaining the web sites.
 
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wizdum said:
EDIT: And yeah, pretty much any technology related field starts with Helpdesk.
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This. I am a NA/SA and never trust anyone on the network, much less someone new. Minimum of 1 year help desk before we consider a move up the chain.
 
To me, a degree can be a substitute for some experience (and vice versa, to an extent) - generally as a "Check mark the box on HR and get a phone screen". To have only a degree, you're probably still looking at help desk job (but, maybe as a level 2 -- depending on degree, of course!).

Experience, especially if recent and very related to the job you're after, is necessary no matter what to get into Jr/Admin/Sr/Architect type positions. School is great and that degree is nice, but after spending 10 years as a worker, the degree becomes less relevant.

However, as others have pointed out, there's something to be said about that formal schooling as well. It shows that level of dedication and willingness, drive to succeed. There's also things at school that you might not learn on the job. Having that schooling will help you hit the ground running in most cases.

So, take a close look at the local job market and see what requirements they're putting on the listings. Talk to some recruiters and see what suggestions they have. Based on what you've given here so far, I don't see a reason to hire you above a helpdesk tech. Once hired though, you can almost set your own pace as to where you go and how fast you go there.
 
I have a business degree, and fell into a desktop technician role due to connects in a medium sized (2000+ workstations) business. I've always been technically inclined just never thought to do it for a living. Anyways, found that I was interested in networking so I learned and passed the two tests to get my CCNA and now I'm spending part of my time on the network. I have access and trust to do anything, but also the guidance and mentoring to not eff anything up. I would recommend a tier 1 or tier 2 support position at a bigger company and work your way in. Even with everything I know, there's a big benefit of starting near the bottom and learning on the way up.
 
NetTechie said:
Hmm, business degree. That is an interesting idea. That applies to almost any field, but with an emphasis on computer science it might be enough to get a Network Administration job. I'll look into it.
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You can get a business information systems degree.

Anyway you do not need a degree but it will help. Experience is more important. Still in many places you can expect to start low, not always help desk low but junior admin low. If you work hard and prove yourself you will get promoted. Now if you want to move into management then a degree will be more of an issue.
 
Raekwon said:
[...] Anyways, found that I was interested in networking so I learned and passed the two tests to get my CCNA and now I'm spending part of my time on the network.
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I'm looking at getting my CCNA on my own, at bare minimum before looking for a job in networking. Would help desk or such be the starting point if you have a CCNA already when you start working?
 
OP, are you able to manage a network? If yes, apply. If no, then seek a role that's more suited for your skillset.

Degrees/Certifications will help your career/job advancement. If you have the concentration, time, and financial investment, to actually acquire them, do it. I apologize for the run-on sentence.

As it was echoed previously -- everyone [usually] starts on the helpdesk. I feel it should be almost mandatory to start here because it helps with exposing new techs/engineers to current/real world technologies without overwhelming the person. Furthermore, understanding escalation procedures, "how-things-work", and collaboration is very beneficial to you. It's a HUUUUUGEEEE responsibility (or at least, it should be if you care about your job) to make sure shit runs like it's supposed to. You don't want that type of burden right off the bat -- build yourself up for it. Imagine when the "network" (generalized term here) goes down, and now you're the one responsible to fix it. If you had all the time in the world, sure...however, in the real world, that is not the case. Imagine being under the gun: facing the problem head on, as you're in a phone conference with upper management dramatizing the event as you're trying to concentrate and stay awake. Oh yeah, sleep. Sometimes that doesn't happen because you gotta do after-hours work when users are not online.

Yeah, start with helpdesk. Don't get burned out too soon.
 
School teaches you the theory. Certification teach you the technical stuff. Hands on gets you to apply those. Some certifications teach THEIR way (Microsoft is a huge example). Microsoft's way isn't always the best way or the real world way. Help desk gets you in the trenches to learn how things are really done. You apply the degree and cert knowledge to things, but find that much of it is out of date or not the way things are really done. It's good knowledge to have, though. It's not worthless. It's just not applied knowledge. So, while the degree and certs (I get certs to go with experience) show you know the technology, it doesn't show that you can apply that to real world situations.

Get your foot in the door with the degree and certs. But, no one is handing you the keys to the network right off the bat. Those are earned. You can go to driving school and get your drivers license, but you're starting with a POS car, not the Ferrari. Prove yourself. You have the knowledge. Get in there and show them you can do it, work your way up.

Don't worry, though, most of us all did the same thing. Started at the bottom. Just don't get stuck in helpdesk. Go above and beyond, express interest in the higher positions, ask to help them out or shadow them. You'll gain that extra experience, show them you're capable, and if someone is sick or out - you can be the backup guy because you'll know how it's done.
 
Ur_Mom said:
You'll gain that extra experience, show them you're capable, and if someone is sick or out - you can be the backup guy because you'll know how it's done.
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This is a big one for me. I've got a pretty nice promotion coming up in the next few months for this exact reason. Our IT Director was on vacation, and the second in command was out due to a freak motorcycle accident. The network went down across 5 buildings, so they called and had me take a look at it while the IT Director got ready to board a plane and fly back here. I recognized the problem as part of an ongoing issue with a flaky device that had been left in service because it was part of a failover pair. The other device in the pair failed at the same time as the primary decided to be "flaky", so everything went down. The fix was rather complicated (don't want to make this anecdote too long), and required knowledge above what is expected in "Help Desk".

The major reason I was able to "save the day" wasn't because of my 4 year degree or certs, it was because I had been shadowing the higher-ups for a quite a while, and knew how their specific network operated, along with ongoing issues that they had been working to solve.

After that, they started trusting me to be "the backup guy". Then I pulled off a couple other saves like that, and they started offering me promotions, instead of me having to ask.
 
As the above poster pointed out knowing the network and knowing where to look for problems and how to test for them is not something you will learn by getting certs or a degree it takes experience but the problem is getting past hr and getting a chance to prove yourself.
 
TechJunkie

I have many network admins that work for me. I will hire experience and confidence any day of the week over a degree. Degrees (especially baccalaureate) are highly conceptual and teach minimal practical knowledge, if any. If I'm hiring an admin, I want them to have the confidence and skill set to come on board and right away draw maps for themselves to understand how the network is interconnected. Troubleshooting is also a key skill set for an admin; you don't learn troubleshooting and critical thinking through a degree program. I administer practical tests during interviews - candidates that can look at and dissect information from a packet capture usually have work experience to go along their certifications.
 
Interesting, so a 4 year degree wouldn't really prove much other than my ability to survive through school. It wouldn't hurt, but in a couple years of self-study I figure I could get fairly experienced if I study a lot.

I purchased 10 books on server 2012 R2 from MS Press, also Mastering Server 2012 R2 which is somewhat beginner, and 4 on CCNA prep. I'm thinking a good book on Active Directory will be my next purchase as far as books. I don't mind reading a lot, I taught myself PHP on my own and did that while on a road trip where I had no computer. I just read through the entire reference book doing my best to understand it. When I got home I was able to write the code I needed to do the tasks necessary to build the web site I wanted. I later was paid to tutor some master degree students on it, they were doing a php project. Took me 3 months to get to the point I could tutor.

So for me at least, self education has been fairly productive.
 
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While self-education is great, it does not at all count for real world experience or a degree in HR's eyes. Even a home lab doesn't truly count as experience.
 
Yes and no, awfully depends on where you're applying. Some are a bit more lenient then other's. This is what it is like down here, not sure in the States.
 
A company can't teach you people skills. They can teach you how to replace a hard drive and reset active directory user password though...
 
Eulogy said:
While self-education is great, it does not at all count for real world experience or a degree in HR's eyes. Even a home lab doesn't truly count as experience.
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Yeah having experience in the real world is very important. I agree. But to get experience you have to have something to start with. Like a degree, and/or certification. Hence my question, is a degree important. I guess it depends on who you are talking to, but if HR requires a 4 year degree, most likely you will be out of luck either way without one. Though I suppose if you start at a company that does not require it, the experience gained might count.
 
NetTechie said:
Interesting, so a 4 year degree wouldn't really prove much other than my ability to survive through school. It wouldn't hurt, but in a couple years of self-study I figure I could get fairly experienced if I study a lot.

I purchased 10 books on server 2012 R2 from MS Press, also Mastering Server 2012 R2 which is somewhat beginner, and 4 on CCNA prep. I'm thinking a good book on Active Directory will be my next purchase as far as books. I don't mind reading a lot, I taught myself PHP on my own and did that while on a road trip where I had no computer. I just read through the entire reference book doing my best to understand it. When I got home I was able to write the code I needed to do the tasks necessary to build the web site I wanted. I later was paid to tutor some master degree students on it, they were doing a php project. Took me 3 months to get to the point I could tutor.

So for me at least, self education has been fairly productive.
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I'll even expand on this. In a larger, enterprise type environment, network professionals don't do server or systems work. This is a challenge I face quite a bit when hiring: an applicant will come from a MSP or small shop where "network engineer" is a title for someone who plugs in switches and manages servers. In a true enterprise environment, those roles are separate positions. While you can make a comfortable living being a jack of all trades, specializing is where your skill set and demand for your position will come from. Having familiarity with systems as a networking guy certainly does help, as does the reciprocal.

I certainly suggest deciding whether you want to do server work or network work and then specializing and seeking positions that allow you to do so.

Take a look at these sample job descriptions as an example:

Network Engineer: http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-bes...iptions/network-engineer-job-description.aspx

Network Administrator: http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-bes...ork-administrator-job-description-sample.aspx

^^ Notice no server/systems work involved.

Systems Administrator: http://supportingadvancement.com/em...advancement_services/system_administrator.htm

^^ Notice very little reference to networking.
 
Disclaimer: CTO of a good IT consulting company/VAR.

First, a degree never hurts your chances of doing anything, ever. There is also nothing that says you have to get a degree first before a good job. My BS and MS both came after I had been working as a systems/network admin for several years.

Certifications are great. Pick and choose them wisely. Don't just collect them. Focus them on what you want to do. Maintain them. Back them up with real experience. The downside is that almost all valuable ones require constant recertification. A degree doesn't.

If I was building my ideal Network Admin today it would look different than ten years ago. First, you obviously need to know how to manage a network. Then I'd want you to have some understanding of how a business works. Take some classes. Minor in it. Something. But understand it at a basic level. Know the different between Opex and Capex and when and why you'd use each one. Next I'd want you to have some scripting/development training and experience. Nothing crazy...but learn Python. Learn a good configuration management tool like Puppet or Chef. Be comfortable with a REST API.

Networking is moving away from managing devices via CLI or device-specific management tools. The world of SDN (Software Defined Networking) is coming very quickly. You'll want to know how to script, how to manage things via APIs, and who to integrate it with other workflow and automation systems. That's the future.
 
Might I add that some of the really useful certifications (MS VM etc) down here are very useful for job finding but very very costly expensive. Other then that MCSA and CCNA/NP are about as useful to the world of entry level networking.
 
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