How Long Does It Take to Become a Network Engineer? - CCNA | CCNP
About this video
Chuck answers how long it takes to become a network engineer by separating certification/role entry from actually feeling like an engineer who can design and troubleshoot networks, which he says took him about three years of intense studying and long hours including late nights at data centres. For getting started with Cisco work, he says moving from PC troubleshooting/help desk to working with Cisco routers took him about six months. His method was to study visibly for CCENT and then CCNA, tell the network admins and engineers he was doing it, shadow the network admin, and volunteer unpaid for weekend maintenance, upgrades and data centre work so he was the obvious choice when help was needed. He urges viewers to get into any IT role as early as possible, consider volunteering for schools or companies that cannot afford network staff, and actively network through Cisco user groups, forums and community groups, arguing speed depends mainly on effort and visibility. The video closes with a giveaway of 20 David Bombal CCNA Packet Tracer lab courses that day.
Key takeaways
- Chuck distinguishes two timelines from his own experience: about six months to start doing Cisco work, about three years to feel like a real engineer
- Studying in public mattered: letting network staff know he was pursuing CCENT/CCNA created opportunities to shadow them
- Volunteering for weekend maintenance and data centre changes, even unpaid, built skills and positioned him for the next opening
- He recommends entering IT at help desk level as soon as possible rather than waiting until fully certified to apply
- He frames networking with people — user groups, forums, communities — as a major factor in who gets hired and promoted
Episode details: published December 22, 2017 · 6:51 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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