Calling all Network Administrators

Post Reply New Topic

I am considering a career change and have heard that us Aspies often excel in this job. I have researched the job and I think it would fit me very well. As the school is fairly expensive I am wanting to be sure before I apply to return to college for this. How do you network admins with aspergers like what you do? How is job availability? What are the challenges you find in this industry?

Thanks!

This just me telling you based on what I have learned so far in college as far as being a network administrator as I am still a college student. A lot of logic is involved for all of this. There is some programming involved but it's command-line based. You'll be involved with a small group of people working together. Documentation is a must. Some math is also involved but not much. I could go on and on but there is a lot involved with this. The job demand is big for network admins. What I think could be the most challenging is documenting what you have done as far as building the network and troubleshooting the network.

Yes, it's suitable and well worth pursuing. There are some things worth knowing.

I'm a 37 year old network engineer in Melbourne, at the top of the game in my (still small) company.

I started in laptop repair and helpdesk. After realizing the place I was in was a meat grinder for both staff and customers, I moved to a small ISP (where there's plenty of scope to work on diverse topics instead of staying in a box).

I self-promoted, basically, by demonstrating enthusiasm for solving bigger problems. After whipping the ticket queue into shape and developing new systems for keeping it there, I started coding in perl and never looked back. In these early days I got my Cisco entry-level certification, CCNA. The radius server had problems, I fixed them. The web-based login portal was a mess, fixed that. Automated business processes, created an online instant signup portal, the list goes on.

In 2015 my little ISP was acquired by a slightly bigger ISP. Commence Chaos.

I was the only guy who knew the systems and came over (the helpdeskers under me fell victim to 'efficiencies'). While keeping ultimate responsibility for keeping things running, I had a responsibility to integrate the two networks in a process which would consume 18 months of all-out effort and self-consumption.

On reflection, I had been protected at the small ISP with my own office and usually freedom to focus on the current project.

Suddenly my deliverables depended on cooperating with peers and superiors, I was jammed in an open plan office with 20 others always talking, I tried to solve my challenges by coding at night and going back to that environment in the day.. really, it just about did me in.

I sought treatment for depression in 2017 and finally came to realize I'm an Aspie for diagnosis in 2018.

Your results will vary from my experience, there's been a lot of consolidation in ISPs since I got my start.

Considering your question, and all the things I most wish I knew earlier (beside the obvious) here's what I think are the take-aways from my experience.

1) you'll most likely start at the bottom - that's the way of things
2) when I think about the folks who self-identified as deserving attention and promotion, it was always their talent and drive to contribute beyond the minimum that kept them learning and asking what else they could do
3) I always stood out from everyone else in terms of grasping complexity, systemizing a mess that would make anyone else throw up their hands, or just diving in and learning an area I needed for the latest task. Looking back, it's clear that spectrum traits made this possible
4) I love making a fleet of network switches or remote routers stand up and do my bidding. Perhaps you would too.
5) the industry is clearly moving towards automation. Anyone who really wants to do well should consider a solid grounding in coding to be as crucial as a decent set of industry certs.
6) Ansible is popular, it's written in Python, it still seems like a lot of the most serious work is done in python. Ruby someplaces, other languages do get a look-in.
7) Folks who say "the machines are coming" sort-of have it right. At least the coders will have competitive staying power for a while. I recommend Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark for further consideration. Available at Audible.
8 ) I really do love what I do. When I do it in an open-plan office, not so much. Just be good and build up some achievements to show off, there's your bargaining power for an office - be indispensable.
9) It really does seem like seeking employment as an Aspie in tech goes best when you can show off a solid set of achievements. Everyone starts somewhere, that's ok too.
10) Generally I recommend "Manager Tools" podcast and their "Career Tools" variant for corporate survival. Lots of super applicable "do this" advice, it' a lifesaver. I believe it's even possible to advance to management with their methods, albeit at the expense of more daily cognitive load than NT's face.
11) I strongly recommend Manager Tools' Interviewing Series product which I own and which helped me massively in my current career search. Again, it's "do this, get that" instructions with a solid grounding in deep experience and hard data.
12) Stress happens. It can be a stimulus for growth. It can plough you under if not offset by rest. I strongly recommend checking out Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness, also on Audible.
13) Noise cancelling headphones FTW
14) Consider swapping out music for audiobooks on the daily commute

Hoping this helps with your decision. Happy travels!