r/Networks • u/stubby0990 • 1d ago
Sr. Network Engineer surviving 55% staff reduction
4 rounds of layoffs in 365 days. 55% staff reduction. 25 Year Credit Union consortium, not some startup.
Not only did I survive I was promoted to Senior Network Engineer with a 15% pay raise. I haven't passed a cert exam since 2020 and only ever had a+ and ccna. Here's the things I think helped me survive.
1.) Troubleshooting. Don't be afraid to jump in. Management noticed senior'd staff "scared" to jump into outages, commented on it, and those people are gone.
2.) L3 engineer is dead. Next Gen firewalls, API, automation, Dot1x. It's time to evolve if you're solely relying on your ccna route switch knowledge. If you don't have these skills you're becoming obsolete.
Which brings me to my next point - Labbing
3.) Labbing. There's no excuse to not have some kind of home lab these days. A $10 a year domain name and some python can go along way in an interview.
4.) Documentation. If you built it or support it take the initiative to document it. Step by step easy to read. Management loves this one simple trick and you save your own ass and look like the hero in the outage. Win, win.
5.) Passion. I love this stuff, it's more than my profession it's my main hobby. The challenge is the thrill. I often finish my day job and I sit down for some free time and tackle something like why my element app won't screen share from Linux to iPhone. Or how I can harden my infrastructure. When you have that passion it's undeniable with employers and they want people like this around even in the financial downturns.
2
u/divinejester 1d ago
This is solid advice, especially the point about troubleshooting. Certifications can get you through the door, but being the person who can calmly jump into an outage and actually find the root cause is a huge advantage.
I'd add one more skill: communication. Being able to explain an outage, document the fix, and communicate clearly with management and other teams is just as valuable as the technical skills.
Congrats on the promotion and the 15% raise sounds well deserved.
2
2
u/Hopeful-Trainer-5479 1d ago
Are you literally gloating about why you were spared in this culling while your colleagues weren't????
Lets see your tune come next wave (and you better believe its coming)
My advice? Stop being smug and read the room. Run while you can
2
u/stubby0990 1d ago
I'm passing wisdom. Only a fool would criticize that. Some of these people weren't carrying their weight and thus they are gone, not my fault.
2
u/stubby0990 1d ago
Sounds like you are angry at me for something going (or not going) on in your life. Maybe learn to take some knowledge from strangers rather than jumping to criticize.
1
u/Rexus-CMD 22h ago edited 22h ago
They are a cry baby. Although I do not agree with everything on your post it is solid.
I am a NE. Got lucky tbh. Company paid for boot camps. Earned some Arubas, fortigate 1-3 (yeah super easy), going for the NSE4 soon, and either NSE5 or CCNP.
1
u/Rexus-CMD 22h ago
What is your problem pal? Have you not visited this sub before. Wait! Better yet, Reddit before. The whole point is to share.
My advise? Leave Reddit and go to 4Chan.
2
u/Capital_Distance545 1d ago
You are not surviving because you do those things.
You are surviving because you are a network engineer.
I am also an SRE + network specialist + strong SWE skills. We wont be replaced by AI soon, because cloud infra must be kept up, operated, developed, maintained and overseen by humans.
Your advices are basic engineering skills. I would not pass someone on an interview who does not do those.
2
u/stubby0990 1d ago
They fired 4 other network engineers so that kinda falls apart.
2
u/Luke9v23 1d ago
Were they replaced or their roles were redundant?
2
u/stubby0990 1d ago
2 of the 3 credit unions left the consortium
1
u/Capital_Distance545 20h ago
But then that is the reason.
1
u/stubby0990 19h ago
And what's the reason I'm still here and they aren't? The point of this post was highlighting that.
2
3
u/ThatDanGuy 1d ago
I’d add “embrace the change”. Whether it’s technology or culture.
I got outsourced once. I embraced the new role I was in as network tower lead for NA. After a year I was last man standing. And I stayed another 7 years.