Network Engineers keep the company's connectivity alive, from office Wi-Fi to the BGP edge in the data centre. Telcos, banks, MSPs, and large retailers hire for this role because every minute of downtime costs real money. This template shows you exactly which certifications, vendors, and numbers belong on page one so a recruiter says yes within ten seconds.
Copy these as starting points and swap in your own numbers.
2024–2025 estimates. Wide ranges by experience and seniority.
For junior roles a CCNA helps you stand out, but many teams hire without it if you can show lab or on-the-job Cisco experience. At mid and senior levels certifications are usually expected, especially with system integrators.
Be honest about MikroTik and list the protocols you actually know (BGP, OSPF, VLAN, firewall): the concepts transfer cleanly. Add a note that you are picking up Cisco CLI through a home lab or a CCNA in progress.
Yes, definitely. Even basic Python or Ansible for routine tasks like config backups and bulk changes is a strong differentiator. Network automation is now expected from mid-level engineers.
Break the tenure into projects or phases: SD-WAN rollout, hardware refresh, data centre build-out. That way recruiters see growth and impact instead of one flat job title.