Am I Too OLD to Become a Network Engineer? Study for CCNA | CCNP?
About this video
NetworkChuck answers whether someone is too old to become a network engineer or study for CCNA/CCNP, saying no. Speaking in his late 20s, he says people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are still young and can change careers at any time, and that anyone with hustle and drive can enter networking. He argues older candidates may have advantages with hiring managers from life experience, patience, and customer service experience, and calls soft skills the x-factor for network engineers, drawing on his own Starbucks customer-service background. He cites Gary Vaynerchuk’s message to stop making excuses and start fresh. Help desk is presented as a normal entry point at any age — he recalls two men in their 60s who loved working help desk — and he contrasts that with a man in his 60s who blamed age discrimination but, in Chuck’s account, showed no drive and was not updating certifications. The video also includes Christmas giveaways of David Bombal CCNA courses and Packet Tracer labs, but the core message is that drive and continued studying, not age, determine success.
Key takeaways
- Age in your 30s, 40s, or 50s is not a barrier to entering networking or pursuing CCNA/CCNP
- Life experience, patience, and customer service background can be advantages with hiring managers
- Soft skills are described as the x-factor that can take a network engineer far
- Help desk is a valid entry point at any age, including for workers in their 60s
- Lack of drive and not updating certifications, not age itself, is presented as the real reason for getting stuck
Episode details: published December 20, 2017 · 6:30 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are NetworkChuck’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.
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