Where does the future of Networking jobs lie?

[akromyk]

After graduating college around 6 years ago I was told that I should climb the ladder of certifications to increase my chances of getting a job. I often heard that a good route to take was to get the A+ ->Network+ ->CCNA ->MCSA ->MCSE. Unfortunately, I was immature at the time and never bothered to do any of that. Now that things have changed I was thinking that I should do the same route but this time with the MCITP certification (rather than MCSE), along with Security+.

However, now I'm not sure what to do since it sounds like this "CLOUD" thing is right around the corner. If so many of the jobs that revolve around these certifications will be assimilated into Microsoft's cloud then where does the future of networking lie? Where will the jobs be in the coming years.

Based on my limited experience of the field it sounds like a good portion of these system admin jobs are going to out the window. I know that not every system admin job will disapear but I don't want to force my way into a part that is going to be squeezed more and more. Will any of these these low layer network jobs dealing with routers, switches, WANs, etc. grow? Will the demand for them increase at all as users demand more bandwidth?

Also, at the State of the Union address Obama mentioned building the nations wireless networks. Is that going to create any new jobs?

I hear from a lot of people that certifications barely matter and that work experience is what's important but the later doesn't matter if you can't find a job. Studying for a certification is at least something I can work towards at the moment.
Does anyone out there have any idea where there might be a growth in network related jobs in the coming years after this "cloud" and Obama thing start to take off?

Any suggestions on what I should study for as I prepare for the future?

[jak0b]

First I would like to remind you that "cloud" is extensive networking - have no fear :)

And the certifications is becoming more important as competition for the jobs raise, so that is the right way to go for anybody in the field.
Experience matters for the salary, more than it does for getting the job (with exceptions of cause).

Some education is always better than none. :)
I think you should go for it, if you want it.

[janakireddy]

which has good future -- networking or testing or mainframes??

[royng]

Your future will looked better if you had some experience in what you are dealing with. If you had no experience and no certificate to prove your worth, i advise you now is the time to get a few certificates while you can. Most jobs require you to had some basic skills. Study hard, and your future will looked bright

[nhkathy]

Hello Akromyk - After 11 years in the field with some very solid experience but only 1 certification, I'm furiously going for at least two more certs before looking for another job. It does seem to go back and forth between experience and certs, but don't worry about that too too much. For you I would advise the general, vendor-neutral ones from CompTIA, to start out with. Most folks start with the A+, then Network+. After that there are different directions to go in. I agree with jak0b - it's all networking, no 'cloud' worries here either. If you get an A+ I'm betting you can get a job in some capacity. Once you're in the field you'll see what type of specialty appeals to you. Good luck!!! It's a great field, even for women like me.

[royng]

About networking and looking for jobs, i am just an amateur, you should heed nhkathy and jak0b advise. Good luck in finding a suitable job for yourself. The most important is that you like the job otherwise you are going to stay in the job for a few year.

Regards,

Roy

[Nyiss]

While I definatley agree with the previous answers, I just wanted to add that If you go down the route of building up your qualifications, I wouldn't defer from looking for work at the same time. Both myself and my sister walked into our jobs as an IT Technician and Web developer respectivley without any realted qualifications or helping hands. we had the knowledge already but without a peice of paper to clarify it I understand how lucky we were in the current economy. It happends though so just dont get discouraged and make yourself as appealing to an employer as possible.

[royng]

Just to add it is always better to have a certificate to confirm your knowledge. Once you think you had the necessary information, please marked this thread as solved. This will make other posters think that they had contributed something. Good luck to you in finding a , maybe in a few years time

[mohankungumaraj]

I was completed diploma in computer engineering in last year.my academic percentage is 70 in second class.still I am working in bpo.but I want to change my field.so I want to study some certification course networking(or)web desigining which have a best future plz give some acknowledgement..
My email id [e-mail]