7 Ways to Stand Out as a Network Admin

A network admin is one of the most critical roles on any IT team. Server admins are great at keeping the servers humming, but without the network admin, no one's going to be talking to those servers. InfoSec is vital as threats increase, but without the network, there's nothing to protect. 

Whether you're an ambitious rookie looking down the road for a specialty or a seasoned veteran ready for a career change, network administrator is an excellent role to work toward. Even with every CIO and manager's head in the cloud(s), the employment outlook for net admins will stay steady in the coming years. Even better, if you land at the right company and build up some seniority, it can be a very lucrative career. We have your attention now, right?

But, to turn your passion and interest into a full-fledged career, there are specific skills you’ll need to make sure your work stands above the rest. Here are seven ways you can step up your professional game.

1. Develop Soft Skills

Knowing the tech side is important, but you also need soft skills to succeed. Start with teamwork. Any company with a large enough IT department will have a team with different roles. 

But they all share the same goal: to support the company's IT needs and goals. You are one piece in a bigger game. Working in a team is highest up on the spectrum of soft skills required to stand out — and also encompasses a broad swath of skills for success. Effective communication, being a good listener, and problem-solving will all help make you an optimal team player.

Another critical soft skill is project management. Knowing how to configure a switch is one thing. Planning for all the required hardware, considerations, and personnel to pull off a multisite, multinational network is quite another.

There are project scopes to set and work within, budgets to set and operate within, timetables to plan for, and final objectives and deliverables to, well, deliver. Studying parts of the PMP (Project Manager Professional) certification material could pay dividends in learning to run a large project, helping you to stand out as a valuable admin.

2. Get to Know AI

AI is one of the most important up-and-coming disciplines in networking. To stand out, consider getting a Cisco Certified DevNet certificate. The DevNet certification focuses on merging the best worlds of networking and software engineering. It hones in on network design, security scanning with AI, and network automation fundamentals. This certificate is highly sought after, and earning one would definitely set you apart.

Often, AI and cloud technology go hand in hand. AWS, GCP, and Azure all use AI. For example, AWS has SageMaker, which is its ML platform. It can train and deploy models to analyze network traffic data, find patterns, and predict congestion. You can create models to identify traffic spikes and potential bottlenecks. You can also adjust routes to optimize data flow.

Having a working understanding of the cloud and how it can be used with AI will put you lightyears ahead of the competition. 

3. Familiarize Yourself with Scripting

If you have a task that takes more than two minutes and you have to do it more than once a week, you should be writing code to automate the work. It doesn't matter if it's Bash, Python, or C++. Learn to script and make the computer work for you. It's incredible how many mundane tasks can be quickly eliminated with basic scripting skills.

4. Learn About IaaC

IaaS (Infrastructure as Code) is one of the most useful emerging technologies. IaaS is a way of defining your networking infrastructure using code. So, instead of manually configuring each device, you write code that is uploaded to the cloud and configured there. Often, this code is written in JSON, XML, or HCL (Hashicorp Language). IaaC eliminates human error because developers write it only once and then use it repeatedly. 

Learn about CloudFormation Templates, TerraForm, or Azure Resource Manager (ARM). Each one of these will develop your skills as a network admin and put you a cut above the rest.

5. Learn About SD-WANs

As workforces become increasingly disparate, modern solutions need to be created to network everyone together. SD-WANs play the perfect role in connecting modern, work-from-home environments. SD-WANs are software-defined solutions that facilitate connectivity and performance in a WAN (Wide Area Network). 

SD-WANs do a great job of centralizing network traffic control. They dynamically route data across multiple connections, like broadband, LTE, and MPLS. They also boost security, flexibility, and performance for connecting users to apps in cloud and remote work settings.

To really prove your chops with SD-WANs, study up on the NSE 7 SD-WAN exam. The exam will cover everything you need to know about SD-WAN connectivity, how to use it, and when.

6. Vendor Specialization

Another oft-ignored qualification is specialization in a particular vendor. To manage the network and vendor contacts, large companies buy entire network stack from one hardware vendor. So, for that company, an admin already fluent in their preferred vendor rises to the top.

Whether you are a networking newbie or a seasoned pro, start by picking one vendor for all your home lab gear to learn on (you do have a home lab, right?). As for which vendor, none is more ubiquitous across any SMB or enterprise environment than Cisco. Learn Cisco gear, and you're qualified for any number of net admin positions.

Learning about vendors dovetails into another topic: certifications. Once you get above the CompTIA Network+ level of certification and experience, network certs start branching into tracks provided by specific vendors. Cisco has their networking certs. Juniper has theirs. Sonicwall has theirs. And so on. Each works through universal networking concepts going beginner to guru, with an emphasis on their gear.

To illustrate this, let's return to our Cisco example. A CCNA cert will help you through a couple of years of experience and networking knowledge, but it keeps coming back to how to apply that knowledge to Cisco gear. You learn about switching as a general concept, then specific examples of configuring ports and VLANs on the Cisco command line. The same goes for routers and firewalls.

7. Familiarize Yourself with Vendor Inventory

Our final point is knowing your vendor's offerings. You got that sweet net admin job in that Cisco shop and are planning a significant hardware refresh (because you're a project management master) and need to select switches. 

Okay, Cisco sells three bazillion different switches. What's the difference between a $500 switch and a $5,000 one? Which do you need for access and backbones? Which are upgradable? Why might you even need upgradable switches? VARs (value-added resellers) are helpful here, but you have to know your stuff, too.

Rock the Skills

If you can program a router blindfolded, you might think you have what it takes, but missing any of these soft or hard skills might limit your job options. The real net admin rockstars go beyond the terminal to become super well-rounded — and it pays off with huge dividends in their careers. So, dig in and figure out where you need to level up.

Here is some great training to get you started.

• Network Access Methods

• CCNA Security Training

• Network+ Training

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