Looking for a Tier 1 ISP Mentor for career advice.

Tue Nov 22 11:52:29 UTC 2011

Scott's point is very true!  Motivation will help you go very far,
much farther than certs/knowledge alone.  As a soon to be
college-grad, be ready for the initial disappointment, :-), even
though you'll have your CCNP, you have no real experience, so you'll
start at the entry level.  That's not a bad thing, but you might see
it as such.  The reason it is good, is that while at the entry level
(networking that is, I'm not talking about a helpdesk), you'll get to
touch and interact with a lot of different things with very little
"total" responsibility.

As you impress your peers, this will trickle up towards management,
and eventually work it's way out into better tasks and larger
responsibilities (try to not get caught up in "the title").  I'm
speaking from experience here, I'm a senior network engineer for a $2
B company, yet only 25 years old, currently working on my R/S CCIE
purely for the learning experience.  It took me nearly 4 years to move
from an associate to a senior in my company, which is not common in
that short of a time-frame for my employer, but that's where the
motivation piece comes in -- expressing true passion, and learning
things because "they are cool/interest you" will take you far.
Learning on paper is what you're taught in college and it only works
so far, but learning from hand-on, like the lab you've got built, is
where you attain the knowledge/troubleshooting/experience that will
help you succeed.

A comment earlier in the thread mentioned "should I learn active
directory/exchange"?  I hear this a lot from our fellow associate's on
the team.... and to be honest, if you are learning something just to
add it to your resume, that will be a waste of your time.  But, if you
are learning it because you find it interesting  or just want to
explore, then by all means go deep into it.  I personally go by the
motto "go full in or don't go at all".  So if I'm going to learn
something, I'll get as deep as I can into it, and focus on just it for
a little while, then I'll move to something else, and focus on just
that.  If you try to focus on too many separate things, you'll become
this odd ball of knowledge that can't really hold you own -- a tip in
the industry that will get you far:  be able to take ownership, and
fully run/own what you're working on.  Regardless of level/title/role,
a person who takes initive (within the scope/dynamic of their
position), will go far.

Best of luck to you,
David.

On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 5:32 PM, Scott Weeks <surfer at mauigateway.com> wrote:
>
>
> --- tyler.haske at gmail.com wrote:
> From: Tyler Haske <tyler.haske at gmail.com>
>
> I'd love to have varied experience with a bunch of different companies, but
> first I'm trying to guarantee my first network engineering job out of
> college.
> -----------------------------------------------
>
>
> You've already taken the first step.  That step being you becoming more motivated than many of the other soon-to-be-graduates around you.  This motivation will carry you a long way in your career.  Who knows, you may be applying to someone here on this list one day...
>
> scott
>
>