Boom time for network managers

Punita Jasrotia/New Delhi

The network today has emerged as the most crucial component of a company’s IT infrastructure. Today even an organisation having four to five computers prefers to have a network in place. With the increasing proliferation of networks, the requirement for trained network professionals has increased manifold. As S V Ramana, country manager, systems engineering, Cisco Systems (India) says, “The profile of a network engineer has evolved from a service entity to a change agent. As the need for managing networks has moved on to other areas like sales, maintenance, operations, wireless, security, content networking and even for ISPs, the opportunities are immense.”

Networking as a key function

Typically known as a System Integrator (involved in designing and integrating a new network) or System Administrator (involved in seeing day-to-day networking activity and maintenance of organisational networks), the job of a network engineer, involves a variety of portfolios. According to Laxman Badiga, chief executive recruitment and talent transformation, Wipro Technologies, “The constant development in technology coupled with an increasing market demand have brought about a complete turnaround in the job profile of a network engineer.” Indian software service providers eyeing for global opportunities are aggressively exploring this area.

As the network forms the basic foundation of IT infrastructure for any company, the demand for specialised experts in networking technology is almost consistent. “The growth potential in this field (both in terms of salary and position) is appreciable. But there is a need for practical experience, which acts as a big differentiator,” says Sudhir Sarma, chief executive officer, Network Solutions. The starting salary for a network engineer is anywhere from Rs 7,000-Rs 10,000 varying from company to company. “Designation-wise, one can go from serving specific products to the whole gamut of technology relating to the product,” says Harish Khanna, chief technology officer, Tata Telecom. Starting anywhere from a systems engineer to a senior engineer to even a general manager, the career graph can have a constant upward movement.

The training scenario

What are the qualifications one needs to acquire to become a network engineer? Though any engineering degree or diploma will suffice, the preferred streams are electronics, communications or instrumentation. “Having a basic background of BE, BTech, MTech and MSc from an engineering institute or having done a fundamental networking course from a training institute is the entrance criteria for this profession. Some of the certification courses that help set the level of expertise of a network professional are: A+ certification, MCSE, CNE, CCNA/CCNP etc from Cisco and Solaris from Sun. Says Rahul Thapan, head, education services division, Tata Infotech, “As far as networking courses are concerned, there are a host of them, which enable you to get industry certification and the ones which help you develop skills on a particular product.” Certification courses are generally of three levels: Basic (which develop the fundamentals and product overview), Intermediate (which help one to develop skills on a particular product or technology) and Advanced (courses that enable one to become expert and focus on a particular technology and products related to that technology). For example. Cisco provides three levels of general certification in several different tracks to meet individual needs. Cisco also provides focused certification for designated areas such as cable communications and security.

Skills that give you an edge

A homogeneous blend of software and hardware skills is the first prerequisite for any candidate who wants to carve a niche for himself in this field. Besides this, presence of mind and good trouble-shooting and problem-solving skills are an added advantage. Constant upgradation of skill sets and technical training forms an integral part of a network engineer’s career graph. According to the experts, for a company to prevent their systems from becoming obsolete, a constant investment on training is an absolute must. Most organisations offer periodic training. Says Badiga, “It should be a practice with companies to plan a training schedule, at the start of the year.” The training can be conducted through any medium like workshops by internal or external training agencies or a training allowance provided to engineers. Care should also be exercised to provide engineers with the latest equipment and encourage in-house research.

Once into the profession, network engineering is largely a self-learning process. Attending product related courses and getting familiar with its features, helps an engineer keep pace with the changing trends in technology. Acquiring as many certifications as possible ensures a constant growth path. Networking as a skill is now becoming more and more time-sensitive so a network engineer needs to imbibe in him a touch of customer service skills as well. Advises Thapan, “Resolving problems in a given time frame is the key to emerging successful in this profession.”

The bottlenecks

The problems faced by network engineers are numerous. “As far as the current scenario is concerned they are supposed to have knowledge of multiple network operating systems, their integration, installation, configuration, routing, configuring mail servers and so on. Add to it they have to tackle the problems of virus and security threats,” says Ravinder Goyal, director, Institute of Advanced Computing and Management. Though a good practical exposure and a strong knowledge of basic networking is crucial in this area, industry experts feel that both students and the training institutes lack in these areas.

Hence, the level and reputation of the institute from which a student has acquired training carries a lot of weightage. These courses can start anywhere from Rs 4,000 at the lowest ebb to students churning out highly exorbitant sums. As Sarma of Network Solutions says, “Many training institutes today are good places for hopefuls to lose their hard-earned money. Most of the courses do not add any value in terms of practical expertise and problem-solving skills.” However, he has a word of caution. “The best way is to seek training from a reputed institute after ensuring that there is enough practical exposure. Sharing the practical training details with someone in the industry can give students an insight into the profession. A student should invest considerable time in understanding the fundamentals rather than just doing the course from a certification point of view,” he adds.

But, in spite of having an organised infrastructure, the industry is not able to cope with demand for quality network engineers. The high-end areas like security, wireless, IP networks, where most of the technology developments take place, have seen a dearth of networking engineers. And its only at the base level where the demand is being considerably met. Says C B M Mishra, additional general manager, networking, CMC, “Though there is a lot of hype around some of the well-known international brands, the expertise on concepts is missing, which only creates a negative growth chart for these professionals,” he says. The negative impact of the economic slowdown has had a discouraging effect on many young aspirants who refrained from venturing into the systems integration arena.

The future looks bright for specialised experts in networking technology, as IT infrastructure support is no longer treated as a luxury expanse by companies. “There has been a slight sluggishness in the demand for network engineers in the recent past because of the telecom meltdown. With global companies accepting Indian IT providers onsite and offshore models, the future prospects for network engineers look optimistic,” says Badiga. Thus the demand for the people who can maintain and set up IT infrastructure will be in direct proportion to the increase in the PC market.