How I’m Pivoting from Helpdesk to Network Engineering

Moving from a service desk role to network engineering isn't just about learning new commands—it's about shifting your mindset from "fixing" to "building."

The Helpdesk Grind

Working at the service desk for the FAA support taught me resilience. Handling 25-50 tickets a day means you have to think fast. But I realized I wanted to do more than just put out fires—I wanted to design the fire suppression system.

Building the Lab

I started small with GNS3 and Packet Tracer. Simulation is great, but nothing beats breaking a real network.

• VLANs: I segmented my home network to isolate IoT devices.
• VPNs: Set up a VPN to access my lab securely from anywhere.
• Linux: Dived deep into RHEL and Debian to understand the OS running the internet.

What's Next?

I'm currently working on my CCNA and diving into automation with Python and Ansible. The goal is to not just manage networks, but to automate the boring stuff so I can focus on architecture.