What mistakes should you avoid as a new network engineer?

As someone said “Fall in love with the problem, not the solution “.

Not having proper or up-to-date documentation is one of the worst things engineers can do regarding their work! Having clear and well-organized technical documentation is very important for a successful career. It gives you valuable resources, helps with decision-making and troubleshooting, ensures consistency and efficiency, saves time and effort, and encourages adaptation and continuous improvement. It is essential to follow best practices, like using clear language and logical organization and regularly reviewing and updating the documentation.

Keep it simple. Too many new engineers want to overthink the design or Issue. When troubleshooting, start with the basics then get complicated and higher in the network stack. In design, create the simplest solutions as your operations teams will appreciate you.

Este generalmente es el talón de Aquiles de los ingenieros en redes. Les gusta mucho diseñar, implementar, pero les da modorra realizar la documentación correspondiente a lo implementado. Y es el punto más importante para que la solución tenga continuidad en el tiempo!

It's good to test all changes in test environment and also have change advisory board to review all changes before they are implemented. This will limit chances of making mistakes during the change in production environment

Totally agreed with you. Additional to this.. Network/Security engineers should follow the pre-checks and post-checks Practice along with respective applications owners testing. This will helpful to avoid business impact and escalations as well.

I have a fun principle: the fear is part of the process to become a good Network Engineer. If you’ve never got afraid to apply a change in PROD environment, you don’t work as a NetEng. You'll probably ask me: “Aren't you prepared to apply this change? Then, you can’t work as a NetEng!” -Applying an ACL filter on the intf which is connecting for. -Turning down all BGP session with a wrong command. -Making a loop on the switches because you forgot anything. Just 3 examples where you can take outage your company for minutes (or hours) losing revenues. Those things happen (shouldn’t) - and the FEAR is the main ingredient to encourage u to prepare your changes on QA env. Don't feel ashamed for being conservative and do all necessary test!

Its mandatory to test the every single change that you are doing. If there is no chance of simulating, at least made changes to be re-validated prior execution. Testing changes on a stimulated environment makes you confident on how to face practical difficulties arrive on live environment after deployment.

The key for a successful network change is to have the hole scope of the things that will be affected with the change and have a detail rollback plan. All the teams involve in the change must participate in these testings.

Never ever think that asking for help diminishes your worth in any way. There is no one who knows everything, and if you find someone who claims the opposite, it is better not to take him seriously. Admitting that you don't know is the first and most important step that will lead you to learning. be happy when you associate with people who can teach you new things. Even when you are at a higher seniority level, keep asking and learning.

Never forget to ask for help. We may poke fun for a minute but we all remember we were there once. I'd always rather someone ask and not have me go back to fix a mistake that could've been prevented.

The only stupid question is the question which was not asked. Just don’t ask the same question twice because that means you did not listen the first time. ;)

Network engineering is a complex and dynamic field that requires constant learning and problem-solving. You should not hesitate to ask for help from your colleagues, mentors, or online communities when you encounter a challenge or a knowledge gap. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but a way of improving your skills and expanding your network. You can also use online resources like Coursera, Springboard, or Engineer Calcs to learn new topics, get tips, and find courses or certifications that can boost your career.

There is no way to know everything all the time and even then, someone knows something you don’t. The key is to come with a curious, open & willing mind to learn. Soak in everything that is being taught or shared and ask questions if you don’t understand. I am always willing to help someone who wants to help themselves but they also need to want it too. I was once there and always find myself there needing guidance or learning too, as well as offering it. Just don’t be expect someone to do it all for you and not interact either, you also need to put in the work as well.

Brest practice also includes going through the documentation. Reading the documentation can be boring but can save your life as a network engineer. I recommend to have handy: vendors good practice docs, CIS hardening guides, datasheet, software/hardware compatibility guide.

As per my perspective and experience, while troubleshooting any network issue start form L1 (step by step troubleshooting ) unless you are confident on the issue and solution on it. Once step by step validation is done and you are sure if the issue does not persist at your side, request another side party to check the issue, if that persists at their side. Important, if you find something new in troubleshooting document it and share.

Following Best & recommended practices is a must to maintain the standard and network hygiene and this also covers every other point like processes, documentation , configuration, compliance , security , management etc. Without best practices in place sometimes small tasks also become massive and can result in unwanted troubles.

Engenheiros de rede devem aderir a boas práticas essenciais para garantir o desempenho e a segurança. Evitar a negligência de atualizações, priorizar documentação clara, realizar testes abrangentes antes de implementar mudanças e seguir os princípios de least privilege são fundamentais. Além disso, a atenção à segurança física, planejamento para escalabilidade e a implementação de robustos procedimentos de backup são cruciais. Ao adotar tais práticas, os engenheiros podem construir e manter infraestruturas de rede eficientes e seguras, alinhadas com as diretrizes dos fabricantes.

Neglecting best practices in network engineering can have adverse consequences. It may lead to inefficient configurations, increased troubleshooting challenges, limited knowledge sharing, and non-compliance with industry standards. Deviating from best practices can result in suboptimal performance, security vulnerabilities, and reputational risks. To mitigate these issues, adhering to established best practices is essential, ensuring a more effective and reliable network infrastructure.

What the customer often ask for is not necessarily what they really want. Ask bigger questions to understand what the goal is. Go from "I need a new subnet with 3 switchports", to "we are adding some printers to the network and we want to isolate them." There may be solutions that they are not aware of. (in this example PVLANs).

Strong communication skills are the secret weapon of truly effective network engineers. If you want to grow in influence within your organization, and you want to truly affect change, you’ll need to sharpen your soft skills along with your technical chops. I was reminded of this communication disparity when working on a circuit outage recently. While combing through logs and reviewing interface statics, a senior director asked for a status update. I told him, “We lost BGP on our internet circuits." He responded with a blank stare. I had failed to shift my communication style and provided zero helpful information to my leadership. I changed my approach and summarized that we lost the logical peering with our provider.

Curiously, my best advice is to shut up and listen. Being a good listener is key to being a good network engineer. Sometimes a technical person tends to go directly to the technical discussion and make many assumptions. Though you are very good technically you need to let the client talk first, understand the requirements, then confirm what you understood with feedback. The mistake many technical persons make is to go directly to the technical solutions and this may be fatal! The more you talk, there is more chance of requirements deviation and additional side works.

Communication is a vital skill for network engineers, as they need to collaborate with other IT professionals, stakeholders, and end-users. You should be able to explain technical concepts in simple terms, listen actively, provide feedback, and use appropriate communication channels. You should also document and report your network status, issues, and solutions clearly and timely.

The best advice I’ve ever seen for communicating is in Celeste Headlee’s ‘10 Ways to have a better conversation’ TED talk. I truly try to incorporate each of the 10 ways into every conversation I have, technical and not. In my experience if you fail at any of the 10, you’re not communicating effectively. I won’t share the 10 ways here; however, I can assure you they are worth the 11 minutes to change how you communicate for life…

“Never stop learning” That has been my mindset since I started in computers and technology. I can remember when I was 12 years old being that child who hung out at the Radio Shack playing on the TRS-80. If you find something in Technology you love learn all you can about it. I have always loved to teach and mentor so here are some strategies. Make sure you are constantly updating your knowledge. Spend at least 8 hours each week watching videos, reading articles, and listening to people who know more than you. Use certifications to test your knowledge. Learn about Public Cloud, Automation, network virtualization, and leadership. Spend time on soft skills they are as important as technology. Improve your writing and public speaking abilities.

Failing to update your skills can result in a gap between your knowledge and the demands of the industry. it also contributes to improved efficiency, helping you troubleshoot and implement solutions more effectively.

Your skill is your weapon. Always be eager to elevate and evolve, push yourself towards mastery. Look for challenges, and cherish every step you take towards achieving a learning goal!

Unfortunately for some and fortunately for others, having the ability to learn and re-learn is one of the best if not the best skill of a network developer.

As a Network Engineer I love learning and updating my skills frequently. My recommendation is never stop learning, that keeps you competitive and up to date with trends technologies, there are a lot of wonderful resources nowadays to develop new networking skills such as Network Programmability and automation. You could try learn about Python and Ansible.

Don't make assumptions that may seem obvious. When someone tell you something is broke, ask questions like "did it ever work"? When dealing with a complex topic Draw, Draw, Draw! Diagrams really help.

Burn out happens quickly. Remember to unplug and get what you need to stay sharp. Yes, you are needed and you are critical to operational success. However, your health and well being must be a priority to continue helping others effectively. You need an environment that reinforces and understands this concept.

Learn & use Linux! Many people get started using Windows, but if you want to get past beginner network engineer, start using Linux.

The network is not a guinea pig to adopt every single shiny tool out there and fancy protocol solutions, its a path for your customer traffic and succesfull business outcome and should be designed and operated in the most optimal way right from the start by following the best industry practised on the top of clearly defined customer requirements. No need for overengineering.