Network Engineer
(Male, Age 30) from Huntsville, AL
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Male aged 30 who works as a Network Engineer in Huntsville, AL. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Network Engineer |
|---|---|
| Salary | $35,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 40 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Huntsville, AL |
| Years Experience | 3 months |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work for a firm that provides engineering services for military and private companies in the aerospace field.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I am responsible for the company’s computer network, and all that involves. This includes security – both internal and external – as well as software and hardware issues. I am also tasked to making internal web pages for employees, providing remote tech support to off-site employees, and troubleshooting of company phones.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
medical, dental, and life insurance.
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
It’s about right for entry level- apprentice/journeyman work in my field
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes it does, and I enjoy it greatly. We are a tight-knit crew, almost a family, and most of the people I deal with on a regular basis are my fellow geeks.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I work in an office, shared with my other IT employee. Separate desks and workstations. No complaints about the situation, as it affords us some privacy and it’s not a cubicle.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 4
Hours: 5
Co-Workers: 3
Supervisors: 2
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 6
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | Not at work yet. Typically taking a jog or hitting the weights, catching up on anything I need online, and getting into the zone. |
| 8am to 9am | Breakfast, shower, prep for work, ride to work. |
| 9am to 10am | Boss informs me we have an intruder in the system. I begin to follow proper protocol, primarily this involves setting up a “honey pot”, or false network used to stall an invader and collect enough data to prosecute him or her. The invader is in and out of our system a lot, I wish I could chase him, but ethics deny me the hunt when it leaves our system and enters others. |
| 10am to 11am | My backup takes over while I go to report to our department head on the situation. He relegates me to less pressing concerns and I spend some time setting up web pages and researching new hardware for some upcoming purchases. Most of this hardware is focused on servers and routers and other related network hardware (switches and hubs). |
| 11am to 12pm | Finish research and web pages, and report back to our department head. During my report my coworker comes in and informs us we have enough on the hacker in our midst to press the matter. We fill out an incident report and take as many steps as possible to validate the data involved. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Lunch. |
| 1pm to 2pm | Things are settled down a lot now, so we catch up on some in house tech support. A card reader goes offline and has to be patched back into the network, 2 workstations have minor troubles to be fixed (bad network card and a full blown operating system reload) |
| 2pm to 3pm | Finish the OS reinstall, Windows takes forever to get up and running right. This ties me to a workstation for nearly two hours, so I don’t get much else done. |
| 3pm to 4pm | Two calls from off-site employees having trouble accessing the intranet. Some account permission issues, nothing major to handle – I spend as much or more time on the phone as I do fixing the issue. Quick meeting with our entire department concerning some upcoming changes to security and network protocols as well as an upcoming expansion to an other suite across the way. I give a quick brief on my research on our new hardware. Much coffee is consumed and we are generally happy. |
| 4pm to 5pm | General tidying up ensues. The meeting leaks over into this hour a little, then I prep some paperwork and reading for tomorrow, and kill a little time talking today’s incident over with my coworker. Close of business. |
| 5pm to 6pm | My workday is over, I go home and have a cold beer. ‘Nuff said? |
| 6pm to 7pm | |
| 7pm to 8pm | |
| 8pm to 9pm | |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
Inside man as a friend
What was the application process?
E-mailed a resume, online application, primary interwview, paper app, secondary and tertiary interviews
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
The first interview was a group interview, with my immediate coworker and supervisor. Then I had a 2nd interview with my super’s super, and a final face-to-face with the man who runs the company.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
A lot. From my personal background and experience with computers, to technical information and specific details involving what I learned in school. Some of the questions from the cert tests were bounced around, and some of the standard “tell us one time you completed a major task” sort fo questions.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, I was provided with all the resources I could possibly need, outside of what I brought to the table. I do not work alone, so my senior tech is there, my boss is available and knowledgeable, and I have access to the internet and manuals.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Over two years (9 quarters) of college classes. Most at 4 hours a night, 4 nights a week. And between 1 and 3 certifications per class (1-2 quarters per class) for the most part. Certs involved extra independent study and a test outside of class.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Completely.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
I had no internship, just a learning period on the job. I am still in this period and loving it.
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Put out as many copies of your resume as possible, network with everyone, and ask your friends. You need certain field-related certifications, and a degree helps a good bit as well. And know your stuff.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Good with PCs – both hardware and software. Good troubleshooting and logical processing skills are also a must. Finally, you will be dealing with the technologically ignorant so you need people skills and patience.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
yes, yes, YES!!!!!!
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Bone up on your material. Be prepared to read up a lot, this field is all about continuing education. And expect to sacrifice all your free time to learning th eropes for the next 6 months or better.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Short term only. I intend to ride the job out for a while to finish out my security clearance and to gain more on the job experience, but then it is on to better-paying climes with a more relaxed attitude.
What are your current career goals?
To be over an entire enterprise network, from the ground up, within the next 3 years. Also, to be clearing 6 figures within 5.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | technician | 3 months | 15/hr | Debug and repair servers that failed post-build testing. |
| Prior Job 2 | field tech. | 2 months | 8/hr | Troubleshoot and repair software and hardware issues on client machines. Handle SOHO networking, PC cleanup, and new hardware installation. Data backup and retrieval, misc. PC tasks. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:2.89 (?)
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
4 | Virginia College | Associate’s – Network Engineering |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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