3 Ways To Transform Yourself As A Network Engineer

Network engineering as a job has changed dramatically in the past two decades. In the past, network engineers were responsible for keeping the network up and running, but today's work is much more complex. Digital transformation, automation, orchestration, and infrastructure changes have opened new possibilities and expanded role bandwidth. In this new digital age, optimizing business results has become a priority for the entire industry.

With the advent of intention-based networks, the role of network engineering will change even further. In addition, the half-life of newly acquired skills is currently around 2.5 years, making it necessary to keep pace with this rapid and accelerated rate of innovation. What is the best way to acquire the right skills and ensure future success? Last week I met with industry leaders at the Software Defined Business Conference and Expo to discuss this. Here are three ways to reinvent yourself as a network engineer:

Learn From The Team

It takes a long time to become an expert at something: Malcolm Gladwell generally defines experience as 10,000 hours of experience. How can you overcome this incredibly long time of experience development? Talk to the people you've been with, learn from their mistakes and difficulties, and continue to refer to them as resources.

Your team is one of your most valuable resources. Listen to them, talk and learn together. You don't just gain knowledge from others. Share yours with others. Clearly set aside time to share ideas and collaborate. In addition to seeking new insights from your team, look at different areas of the organization and larger businesses. Contribute to a culture of exchange, learning and education to promote your growth and development and reinvent yourself as a network engineer.

Justify Learning And Celebrate Success

Team swapping helps accelerate learning and development. Training and certification embody this growth. Eight out of ten managers agree that people certified by Cisco are more knowledgeable and valuable to the organization. According to the Cisco Certifications Value Study, they can take more responsibility, be more respected, and promoted by their peers. What are you looking for? Do you want to reinvent yourself? Start training to get certified. This is the best way to show that you can really stretch your career muscles, take on a bigger role, or switch to a new position. Once you are certified and successfully achieve your next career goal, we celebrate your success, but I don't think it's the end of your reinvention.

Embark On A Journey Of Continuous Learning

Instead of learning what happened at a certain time, learn the journey in progress. To become a continuous learner requires a change of mind from a fixed mindset to a growing mindset. This is mentioned in Carol Dweck's popular book. Having a growth mindset means opening yourself up to new possibilities, new tactics, new technologies, and ultimately becoming more flexible. Being a flexible and continuous learner with a growing mindset that uses both team learning and more formal training creates new career opportunities and ultimately prepares for long-term success.