This book is in response to the daily e-mails I receive from my website TheNetworkAdministrator, that ask the question; "What do I need to know to become a network administrator?" Some of you reading this book might find that you have all the qualifications needed, while others may become easily discouraged. Don’t be discouraged. Nothing long lasting or worth having such as a professional career can happen overnight. As an experienced network administrator and a computer professional I can help you avoid the pitfalls that I see many new computer people encounter and help you realize your objective by making you more employable, by knowing what you can expect as a network administrator and the types of programs you will be expected to know. The problem with most books on computers and networking is they are thick with trivial data that either doesn’t help you get a job or doesn’t tell you what to do once you have one. What All Network Administrators Know is a short book that is to the point from a network manager’s perspective. All the books that you’ve read about computers and networking before this one addressed configurations, program usage and enough acronyms to fill a popular vegetable soup can. This book addresses what you should know before you interview and what you should expect once you have the job.
As you may have already discovered, there are not a lot of resources on the Internet or from your school or university that address how to become a network administrator. Though there is a network administrator in every company with computers in the world, and there are million of us, no one addresses any of the basic questions associated with the job. This is why I have a site for network administrators and is precisely the reason for this book. As an experienced network administrator, I can give you valuable insight and help guide you in the direction that you need to collect the knowledge and tools to advance your career. I will address not only the basic fundamentals, but which operating systems will help you find a job faster, the real tools that you will need to help you do your job, and the corporate politics within every company that is rarely discussed outside of a group therapy session. When you finish reading this you will either be charged up and ready to get started, or realize you’d rather pursue that Liberal Arts Degree that your high school guidance counselor once spoke of.
There is a lot to know to be a network administrator, and reading this book might make is seem a bit overwhelming. It is not my intention to discourage anyone from being a network administrator. For many people, including myself, this is one of the greatest jobs you can have, but I’m not going to sugar coat it either. Being a network administrator can be hard and very demanding. Most books about networking only tell you how to configure software, this book will tell you what to expect when you get the job.