Network Engineer or Systems Engineer? CCNA or MCSA? VCA?
About this video
Filmed outdoors, Chuck compares the two main IT operations paths: network engineers, who work with routers, switches, Ethernet and packets, plus related collaboration, data centre, security and firewall roles, and systems engineers, who work with servers and roles such as Microsoft Exchange, file shares, Citrix/VDI, VMware and Active Directory. He argues the choice is not a firm one-time decision, because both tracks fork into many specialisms and often overlap, especially in smaller companies where staff wear multiple hats and cover for each other. In his own early career at a smaller company he did Microsoft Exchange, terminal services and VMware work while on the network team; at his current larger enterprise employer he is strictly networking and Cisco voice. His advice is to lab and try both, use certifications to sample a direction, and specialise later, noting that specialisation is where, in his view, the big paychecks are. The video closes with a Christmas giveaway of five of David Bombal’s Packet Tracer CCNA lab courses.
Key takeaways
- Network engineering is framed around routers, switches and moving packets; systems engineering around servers, Exchange, Citrix, VMware and similar platforms
- Chuck says job titles are often used interchangeably and the two teams together form the infrastructure/operations staff
- Company size shapes the job: smaller companies require jack-of-all-trades coverage, larger enterprises allow strict specialisation
- He recommends trying both in a home lab before committing, sampling via CCNA for networking or MCSA / VCA for Microsoft / VMware paths
- He claims specialising deeply in one area, rather than spreading thin, is normally where the bigger pay is
Episode details: published December 23, 2017 · 7:49 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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