Network engineer jobs

Network engineers are responsible for the design, development, and maintenance of computer networks both within and outside of an organization.

You will be responsible for providing assistance to users, who may include staff members, clients, customers, and suppliers, as well as troubleshooting any difficulties that may arise. This could need the creation of new networks in certain circumstances.

Your objective is to maintain the reliability of a highly available network infrastructure in order to provide the highest possible level of performance to your customers.

You could work on the inside of an organization as part of the IT support team, or you might work on the outside of the organization as part of an outsourced IT networking consultant business that works with several customers.

Networks may include the following:

computer

voice

firewall.

Other job titles that are often used for work in this area include:

architect of networks and architects of computer networks

network/helpdesk support

engineer of support, security, and systems

IT/systems support engineer

administrator of a networking system

support on the first and second lines

VoIP/Cisco engineer.

Different kinds of networks

You might interact with many different kinds of networks, including the following:

Local area networks, sometimes known as LANs, are used to connect locations that are geographically constrained, such as a house, an office, or a small group of buildings.

MANs are short for metropolitan area networks and are used to connect big areas like campuses.

Wide area networks, sometimes known as WANs, are networks that may connect many countries.

Wireless local area network abbreviated as WLAN.

GANs, or global area networks, are the result of integrating the aforementioned forms of mobile communication with satellite technology.

SAN is an abbreviation that stands for "storage/system/server/small area network."

May stands for campus area network and can span either a school or a business campus.

Personal area network is referred to as PAN.

DAN is an abbreviation that stands for "desk area network," which connects workstations and multimedia devices.

Voice over Internet Protocol, often known as VoIP, refers to a technique as well as a collection of technologies that enable voice conversations and multimedia sessions.

Responsibilities

As a network engineer, you'll be expected to do the following:

Create the environment for networking by creating the system configuration, supervising the installation of the system, and establishing, documenting, and enforcing system standards.

Develop and put into action innovative ideas, and work to make the existing environment more resilient.

Maximize the performance of the network by conducting performance monitoring, diagnosing and resolving network issues and outages, organizing update deployments, and working with network architects to optimize the network.

conduct investigations into data network faults in both local and broad area situations utilizing information gathered from a variety of sources.

Protect computer network systems by laying down and strictly enforcing regulations, as well as by designating and closely monitoring access points.

maintain and manage firewall environments in accordance with the information technology security policy

report the current operational state of the network by collecting information, assigning priorities, and managing initiatives.

Ensure that the data network equipment you use has the most recent and reliable firmware versions.

setup hosted IP voice services, routing and switching equipment, and firewalls

During the installation process, give remote assistance to onsite engineers as well as end users and consumers.

provide troubleshooting and fault detection via the internet in the event that problems arise during the first installation.

capacity management and audits of IP addressing and hosted devices should be carried out inside data centers.

Maintain consistent communication with the project management teams, the third-line engineers, and the service desk engineers.

Initial requirement collection should include speaking with clients through email and the phone.

Salary

Beginning salaries range from around £19,000 and £20,000 for most positions.

After gaining expertise, you might anticipate earning between £35,000 and above £55,000 per year.

Earnings for senior network engineers might range anywhere from 50,000 to over 70,000 pounds per year. Contract employees with experience may be eligible for greater pay, which may range anywhere from £175 to more than £500 per day in rates.

A pension, a vehicle allowance, private health insurance, and a bonus system are some examples of the benefits that may be provided.

The size, nature, and industry of the company you work for, as well as the breadth and depth of its computer and network infrastructure, are all factors that might have an impact on your salary.

Because the value of an IT infrastructure is also a factor in income, network engineers in the City of London, for example, might be paid much more than their counterparts in other parts of the country.

The monetary amounts listed are just meant to serve as a reference point.

Time spent working

You may expect to work the normal number of hours each week. However, there is a possibility that you may be on call outside of normal office hours, such as on the weekends or in the nights; thus, you will need to be adaptable in the event that significant technical issues arise.

With enough expertise, you may start your own business or get work as an independent contractor.

What may be anticipated

The job is performed in an office setting; but, depending on the size of the organization and its network, you may be required to work in many locations at the same time. If you work as a consultant, you may be required to travel more often than if you worked in another capacity.

There are a variety of job opportunities accessible around the United Kingdom in corporations that operate big and complex information technology systems as well as consultancies that provide client assistance.

The task may be difficult, especially in the event that anything goes wrong, since businesses are increasingly reliant on their computer networks.

Women are grossly underrepresented in the position, and the gender gap that exists across the information technology sector is a known problem. Action is being done to restore a sense of equilibrium to the situation. Women in Technology and BCSWomen are two resources that might provide you with further information as well as employment openings.

If you are someone who takes pleasure in programming and would want to pursue a career in this field, you should take into consideration the fact that systems support professions, such as network engineering, entail less programming before deciding to do so.

Qualifications

In most cases, a bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as:

computer science

engineering of computer systems and software for computers

computer infrastructures and associated networks

electrical/electronic engineering

mathematics

administration of the network security

physics.

If you have a large amount of experience, you may be able to get a job in this field even if you don't have a degree.

Apprenticeships in network engineering at level 4 are plentiful, and you may search for available positions using the "Find an apprenticeship" tool on this website. Visit the page on Apprenticeships for more information.

If you don't already have the necessary professional credentials, most employers will expect you to pursue more education in order to get them. For instance, several educational institutions and private training organizations are a member of the Cisco Networking Academy program. This program offers different levels of certification for students and professionals working in the network industry.

Skills

You are going to need to:

up-to-date knowledge and awareness of the business and industrial requirements of your employer, in addition to the technical demands of the position

to acknowledge the significance of putting the needs of the customer first or of servicing the requirements of the end user.

good communication abilities for interacting with staff members who are not technically versed in the subject matter.

the ability to handle a myriad of responsibilities while maintaining meticulous attention to detail

aptitude for analysis as well as problem-solving

abilities in cooperation and the capacity to feel at ease when collaborating with a variety of groups, whether they be customers or staff members, within an organization.

abilities in organization and the capacity to prioritize one's workload are essential.

Practice in the workplace

It is beneficial to have relevant work experience, such as that gained via holiday jobs and summer internships, since recruiters often seek for proof that candidates have improved skills through project work and internships.

If you wish to get into network engineering, it might be helpful to have experience in similar fields such as providing technical support, service, and repairs.

Being on the end of the user experience with information technology systems may also be useful since it will give you an understanding of the many kinds of difficulties that might develop.

Find out more information on the many types of work experience and internships that are currently offered.

Employers

You have the option of working for any company or organization that operates big and complex information technology systems. Employers who fall within this category include:

institutions such as banks and building societies

retail groupings

major government departments

scholastic institutions, medical facilities, and municipal authorities

regulated service providers

transit providers

management consultancies.

Because some businesses, including a significant number of local authorities and other public sector entities, outsource all of their information technology (IT) systems to experts, the specialized firms often have openings for individuals who are skilled in networking.

A major information technology corporation may hire network engineers either to operate the company's own systems or to work in the contract services the company provides.

Large corporations, such as Microsoft, provide a comprehensive selection of customer support and installation services, and they hire recent graduates as well as seasoned professionals to fill positions in all areas of information technology support.

There are also a lot of small consultancies that operate by putting up and administering systems for companies that aren't big enough to deserve full-time IT help. These companies' clients are often smaller businesses.

Try looking for employment opportunities at:

CWJobs

efinancialcareers

Technojobs

There are other openings available at recruitment firms that focus on the information technology industry, such as Hays. These opportunities are more valuable, however, if you have accumulated a substantial amount of solid job experience.

You may contact small firms and IT consultants on a speculative basis, but major enterprises often have a systematic graduate recruiting strategy in place. However, you should make sure that your CV emphasizes your personal talents in addition to your technical capabilities.

After gaining a significant amount of experience, contracting might be a possibility for you; for more information, see the Contractor UK website. The majority of employment sites also include available contractor opportunities.

Other job titles that are often used for work in this area include:

architect of networks and architects of computer networks

network/helpdesk support

engineer of support, security, and systems

Support Engineer for Information Technology and Computer Systems

administrator of a networking system

support on the first and second lines

VoIP/Cisco engineer.

Improvement of one's profession

You will need to make training a consistent element of your professional growth in order to keep up with the quickly changing nature of the sector as well as the skills that are required.

Training may be provided to you by larger firms, and they may send you on training courses themselves if they are introducing new IT systems or expanding their IT infrastructure.

You will, however, often be required to seek out necessary training for yourself, particularly if you are looking for a promotion, a transfer in your profession, or are self-employed.

Relevant credentials include:

The Cisco Certification Program is accessible at a number of different levels, including entry (CCENT), associate (CCNA), professional (CCNP), expert (CCIE), and architect (the highest degree of certification that may be achieved).

Certifications from CompTIA, such as CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+

Exams leading to certification as a Professional Cloud Network Engineer are made available by Google.

The Juniper Networks Certification Program (JNCP) offers credentials at the associate, specialist, professional, and expert levels respectively.

Through its Azure cloud platform, Microsoft offers a variety of role-based certification alternatives, such as its Azure Network Engineer Associate training. These certifications may be obtained by passing exams.

Python is a high-level programming language, and its scripting is often used in the management of computer networks. There are many different alternatives available for training courses, one of which is the Python Network Programming for Network Engineers (Python 3) course that is provided by Udemy.

Because courses may be expensive and you might have to pay for them out of pocket, you should examine their applicability to your plans for professional advancement before enrolling in any of them.

Prospects for one's career

The size of the company you work for and the breadth of its information technology infrastructure will, to some degree, determine the trajectory of your professional life.

After gaining sufficient experience, you will be qualified for jobs such as senior network manager and network management. Some network engineers decide to diversify their careers by moving into other areas of information technology, customer service, or management. There is also the opportunity for technical or infrastructural project management, as well as network design.

Those who begin their careers as help-desk technicians have a chance of moving through the ranks to become network engineers, then senior network support technicians, and eventually network controllers (mainly involved in decision-making, staff management and advice on future strategy). It's possible that this is the standard path to take at an organization like a huge bank or a significant government agency.

If you work for a small firm, it's possible that you'll be the only person in charge of the network, in addition to having numerous other tasks connected to IT and technical assistance.

There are also openings available in contracting and independent work within the field of information technology.