IT career, education path questions

[JimmiG]

I'm currently taking career education, "network and systems technician". During this first year, there have been a lot of courses dealing with networking, including CCNA and some basic Windows server and client stuff (active directory, policies, OU's etc.) as well as 12 weeks of practical training (I did mine at a small ISP for business customers).

For next semester, we get to choose between two options. The first alternative is wireless networks and security (WLANs), path two allows you to specialize in Microsoft's Server technologies, Windows Server, Exchange server and SQL Server.

As there are probably a few posters here who work with this stuff, I was just wondering what you'd say is the best option if you want to get a job...

To me, it sounds like wireless networking would be more "fun", but from a career perspective, it would be better to learn the server technologies properly, then pick up the wireless stuff as you go. What do you think?

 

[theflyingpig]

Wireless networking --> Work on your own.
Servers --> Work for a company.
Everyone knows this.

 

[spidey07]

Wireless is only going to get bigger and there are very few people who actually know what they are doing in that area.

 

[Jzero]

I work in a mid-sized enterprise and I don't see us ever hiring someone specifically for wireless. It just doesn't require enough day-to-day management or maintenance to justify hiring a specialized resource.

 

[yllus]

I would not train for wireless as my primary career area. Not at this time anyways.

 

[Mide]

Go servers, you'll be much more useful if you can bring up and manage an exchange server from scratch and/or any other server for that matter. The opposite "path" would be to be a networking guru with cisco certs and up.

 

[spidey07]

I work in a mid-sized enterprise and I don't see us ever hiring someone specifically for wireless. It just doesn't require enough day-to-day management or maintenance to justify hiring a specialized resource.

Consulting is the way to go. That way you're not a permanent expense to a company, but a profit center. People who know what they are doing with wireless can make a shit ton of money because they are in such high demand with very few being any good at it.

 

[wheresmybacon]

I’d probably go the server route, although I’m biased b/c that’s what I do. Exactly what would you be learning with the wireless option? Telco-level stuff? Foundations of subnets, protocols, etc? Seems like that stuff would be all covered in the CCNA part…

Unless you’re interested in working for or directly with telcos and providers, you will (or should) pick up lots of network knowledge as a by-product of working with Windows servers.

The internal network groups I’ve worked with basically just argue with the telcos all day, and occasionally troubleshoot and fix network hardware. To me that sounds horribly boring, but maybe you’d like it.

In my experience Exchange and SQL knowledge is more valuable, but if you’re talking about really advanced network design or new technologies, that’s another story…

 

[JimmiG]

I work in a mid-sized enterprise and I don't see us ever hiring someone specifically for wireless. It just doesn't require enough day-to-day management or maintenance to justify hiring a specialized resource.

That's what I'm also thinking. You could always work as a consultant like others have suggested, but then you're not always guaranteed businesses that need your services, especially in this smaller town where I would like to stay if possible. I'd probably prefer a steady income, even if it's a little lower on average.

I’d probably go the server route, although I’m biased b/c that’s what I do. Exactly what would you be learning with the wireless option? Telco-level stuff? Foundations of subnets, protocols, etc? Seems like that stuff would be all covered in the CCNA part…

According to the information we'll learn to configure and secure local wireless local networks. No telco-stuff. Protocols, vlans, subnets etc. were covered in CCNA so I suppose we'll only deal with the actual wireless stuff. It sounds a bit fuzzy to be honest, compared to the server related courses. It's not a choice for the entire year, the path-specific courses probably make up 2-3 months in total.

 

[whitedragon2203]

Go Wintel/Servers - Get into server virtualization. Get a couple years experience and get into Project Management. Try to work for big shop IT, for your years as well.

I use to be a contract workers, then consultant, then a perm for a VAR/Consultant. Before all this, I was a "Systems/Network Engineer" - but trust me, you want PM work. You want to be a PM for a large company, it is insanely easy, and insanely good pay.

Spidey is right that consultants make good money, but if you land a good PM job at a Fortune 50 company, you will literally cry when you see how much your range is.

P.S - They are tears of joy.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Servers, at this time, you'll end up making more money, then if you specialized in wireless, just like everyone else is saying.