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Question

Any Network Administrators avalible for a few questions?

Aug 9, 2016 8:29AM PDT

Basically I was given the opportunity to go to college but one of the condition's is that I interview someone that works in network
administration. So im looking for someone to answer a short set of questions. It asks for your name but just your first name is fine, and the phone number isnt needed. If you're interested I can PM you the questions, then you can PM me the responses. Thank you for any help.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
I haven't met such in years now.
Aug 9, 2016 8:53AM PDT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_administrator defines this job but today I find such a position to be on the rare or endangered side.

That is, the IT staff tend to do a lot more than work on the network itself and once the network is up, we usually don't allow them to redesign or change it without good reason.

As to the questions. Just add them to this post or another and see if folk have answers.
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Not so rare
Oct 5, 2016 8:31AM PDT

I know this post is a few months old now however I needed to chime in.
The position of network administrator is hardly rare or endangered. Obviously the majority of your experience is with smaller companies, where as you mentioned the limited IT staff usually does everything.

However all large corporations have many network administrations. It is not uncommon for there to be multiple daily changes to the network, there is no "set it and forget it" when you are talking about a large global corporation.

When a company has over 50,000 WAN routers (not even counting local routers and switches, wireless access points, etc.) they need large teams of dedicated Network Administrators.

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There are not a lot of companies with 50,000 WAN routers.
Oct 5, 2016 9:20AM PDT

And what these techs do are usually by rote or a service ticket system.

The network admin at the offices I work eventually vanished as we usually were a bunch of programmers and the demands of the IT were not network admin related.

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Like I said...
Oct 5, 2016 9:29AM PDT

This makes it obvious your experience is with small companies and startups.
Your limited experience does not equal all that there is.

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So how about ATT and Mot?
Oct 5, 2016 9:46AM PDT

Even there most of these were relegated to a ticket system that didn't require network engineers.

Here's my view on this job category. There are plenty of schools like ITT Tech prey on talking up this position but the awful truth is that it's pretty crowded and not a lot of open jobs.

Those that sell classes and certs really get upset when you pull back the curtain on the training scams.

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I was talking to the IT
Oct 5, 2016 10:17AM PDT

at the VA hospital yesterday , (just shooting the breeze as I was walking around) and he is one of three for this huge institution employed. They have one IT per 8 hr. shift on duty and his duties are pretty broad from fixing computer glitches to tightening up an A/V cable on a tv set . He did this stuff while he was in the Air Force for 15 years .

Now he's training to be a RN because he said the pay is so much better and right now he's making in the mid six figures for his IT work and feels the IT field is flooded and wages are declining and nowhere near the $100k-$150k/year that DrRobertHume claims others get.

This is just an observation from a NOOB

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Spot on!
Oct 7, 2016 7:51AM PDT

That's what I'm seeing too. There are still a lot of ITT Tech type companies talking up this job area. In the US it's very crowded and the complaints about long hours, ON CALL or you lose your job and low pay is common.

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I messed up
Oct 7, 2016 8:04AM PDT

with that figure though,
I meant to say this IT is in the mid 5 figures , under $45,000

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Answer
Questions
Aug 9, 2016 9:09AM PDT

Name (Last name is optional):
Position:
Company (Optional):
Are there jobs in the field:
Within your company:
Within the community:
What skills are required:
What training is required:
What certification or license is required:
What do you feel are the satisfactions or advantages of the work:
What is the potential for advancement:
What is the salary range for entry level:

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Answers
Oct 5, 2016 8:40AM PDT

I assume you don't still need these since it is several months old, however, I will tell you that there are defiantly jobs available in the field, within my company, and many other corporations.

As mentioned by the other poster (in a way) most smaller companies do not have dedicated Network Administrators. The IT staff is expected to be a jack of all trades sort of deal.

You will need experience in those sorts of positions to be able to obtain a Network Admin job at a larger corporation. They are looking for experience over everything else. Certifications and education are nice however you have no chance of making it in a global corporation environment without lots and lots of experience.

As such, it is hard for me to know what the entry range salary would be. However $100k-$150k/year is what most of the network admins on my team make. Keep in mind this is a Fortune 10 company and everyone has at least 10 years real world experience.