3 replies to this topic

[M@CHINE]

i recently enrolled at westwood for networking an th are sending me a kit with wires and other networking stuff, i'm worried that it could become a prob with my limited dexterity. have any other quads been in this type of field

[In The Wind]

 M@CHINE, on Feb 4 2010, 06:22 PM, said:

i recently enrolled at westwood for networking an th are sending me a kit with wires and other networking stuff, i'm worried that it could become a prob with my limited dexterity. have any other quads been in this type of field

Hey there,
Well, yea, you're gonna have issues when it comes to things like troubleshooting a network wiring problem as most of the gear willnot be accessible for you. BUT, you won't have any issues really as a network administrator, which is normally more keyboard based. If you're intrested in computers and networking I would advise you look into a Microsoft certification, MCSE or MCDBA and some Cisco certs as well. These are well paying jobs that can normally be done quite well by someone with a mobility issues. Any kind of network or database programming would be excellent areas to study, but I recommend a university or quality junior college.

EDIT
I see you are in Atlanta, which is an excellent city for a disabled person to live in (I went to Shepherd for rehab). I say study networking, get into a good school.

Something else you might consider is autocad (drafting) or Inventor. That's what I do (but I also carry MCSE and A couple Cisco certs which is the type of work I did before injury) I really enjoy autocad, although I not much into the 2D building stuff

Edited by In The Wind, 04 February 2010 - 06:49 PM.

[M@CHINE]

yea i live right next to shepherd, i know the wiring might not be accessible, but i guess i'll just need help with that part

[Denny]

Knowledge of networking is always good for any job in IT, only network / sys admin generally need to know the cabling part. Now a days 90% of the network maintenance tasks are done remotely, occasionally there will be requirement to patch new cables, replace etc. Very rarely there is need to make (crimp) cables. Network engineers with qualifications (like CCNA, CCIE etc) and experience most likely to do the remote tasks and junior engineers perform the physical part (sometimes nick named Cable monkeys).
If you are interested in networking job, I suggest you try for certifications in networking and Windows/Linux. Firewall (security) administrators, Network analysts, Network management software admin (eg HP Openview), etc also fall in to networking job category. What ever the job, good knowledge of TCPIP protocol is a must.

I have started of (before injury) with windows and networking, and moved to UNIX platform at later stage. Though not directly involved in network administration, we work closely with networks team to resolve any network issues as all servers depends on them.