Future target

Hello, this is my first post on the forum;

I was wondering if anybody here has any tips on being a Network Consultant - i am at collage now on a IT course of 4 years then onto university (so far on my 2nd collage year) I know its early doors yet for my target but i am dedicated to networking and would like to know any pointers from the pro's.

Thanks

I think it is important to get a blend of hands-on experience and targetted learning. By targetted learning, I mean taking advantage of opportunities acquire network-related certifications such as those offered by CISCO. I know that in the UK it is possible to get on some these courses for free depending on your age. I would take advantage of this if I was a young student. In addition, enthusiasm for the subject area and a willingness to acquire new knowledge are essential. With regards to experience, get your hands dirty by volunteering your services to a charity or similar organisation who may need some IT expertise but can't afford to pay.

Finally, visit this site regularly and get involved. You'll be surprised by how much knowlege you pick up!

One of the most beneficial things for me has been talking with friends and co-workers about the things you are learning. If you can find these two types of people, it will help you; first, a friend who has the same interests as you that you can study with and bounce ideas off of, and second, a mentor who can validate your thoughts and teach you things you can't get from a book. The use of this site may help you find those people, so be sure to post to the boards and read the articles -- it won't disappoint you.

I think dalight and jwj have all the good points covered for you there. Just to reiterate though that experience is important, it sets you apart from the crowd and grounds your theoretical knowledge in the real world. Nobody wants to employ a walking encyclopaedia (even a Cisco certified one) if he/she can't fix the network when it's broken. You can get experience by volunteering as dalight said, but also by doing your own projects and struggling through problems with the aid of a post for help on firewall.cx

And just to add to the bishop's comments. When I first started working with the bishop, I asked him what qualifications he had in Networking. His answer was "experience". Unless things have changed and he hasn't told me, the bishop doesn't have any official qualifications to do with networking. All his experience has been gained in the real world! But, he has very good theoretical knowledge as well, gained from reading, testing etc.

So, alot of the experience I have gained, as been learned by him giving me a challenge, letting me work on it. And, being available if I definately can't get anywhere. He points me in the right direction, and let me "sink or swim". It has to be said of course, that this is not on the live network, but our test network.

I herd about experience being a biggie such as 5 years was a common one that employee's required you have under your belt, and also i want to get use to different operating system environments too just to be that little bit different from the rest. I do suppose what you say about having certificates early does help and at the moment at collage they are discussing the fact our networking course could be a Cisco Certificate at the end of succesful completion so that would be a bonus. I cant wait to apply for any other certificates when i can such as the Linux, Microsoft and Novell when i can as they too will be an added bonus but like TheBishop said about walking Cisco encyclopaedia i can believe that too. I have a friend who is also interessted in Networking but his future plans lay with engineering in networking but he still is like you put it a good source to talk to for shared knowledge, but one thing i don't have really is a mentor but like stated this site can be an inspiration and i got told about this forum from a collage colleage. I will be staying for the long haul on this site since it rocks - a true dedicated network site :shock:

So how would i go about starting my own projects, what equipment/ software will i require?. Also i forgot to mention i have signed up at collage to the MSDN (The Microsoft Developer Network Subscriptions) i recieve free software media such as Network Server 2003, XP Professional, Project and other few too.

Also a big thanks to everyone who gave advice - big kudos to you all, real good detailed info i got from all you which is greatly appreciated (Networking isn't it the best).