With an expected growth of 28 percent in network administrator jobs in the next couple of years, an increase in the number of individuals who are interested to know how to become a network administrator will spark no doubt. The job outlook for network administrators certainly looks promising and planning to pursue a career in this field will prove to be a good choice to anyone. However, being a network administrator is never a piece of cake.
First of all, it is important that you find interest in working with computers and networks. That is, you should be more of a technical person and there should be willingness for you to expand your knowledge about the matter. An interest with the nature of the job itself proves that you are willing to dedicate much of your time learning more about network administration. Moreover, the knowledge and skills needed to be acquired can be really extensive, thus getting proper training and being familiar with networking and computer concepts is important for an aspiring network administrator.
So where should you begin in your quest to become a network administrator? Education is an important factor for you to increase your chances of gaining more prospects in the field. There actually several ways of obtaining an education to be a network administrator. One such way would be through finishing a bachelor’s degree in computer science or that of a relevant field. Engineering degrees such as computer engineering and electrical engineering are also good choices for aspiring network administrators since the job will involve a lot of computer hardware work. Earning an associate’s degree is another way of obtaining education to become a network administrator.
Alongside with this, it would be best to also earn a certification or have related work experience for better chances of employment. In addition, due to the dynamic nature of the field of information technology (IT), network administrators need to keep up with these constant changes. Hence, even when they are already employed, network administrators still have to frequently update themselves with the latest developments in the field of computers. In this manner, they can be assured that the networks that they work on never go out-of-date. This will also be a great help to the businesses that they work for since IT networks and systems play an important role for many functions of the organizations involved. Moreover, acquiring certifications is also a good choice especially to non-degree holders. Even though they haven’t earned a bachelor’s degree, these credentials can assure employers that they have the expertise needed to be network administrators. There are many certifications available and some may be specific for a certain product or service. Some of the common network administrator certifications are as follows: Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA) and CompTIA A+.
Now that you’ve gained a number of pointers about how to become a network administrator, you should be more ready in strengthening your knowledge about the job. Also, make sure that with your preparation to take part in the career, assert yourself by possessing a certain level of dedication and motivation to succeed in the field.