Bogdan Nastase - Episode 143

On today’s episode of The Route to Networking podcast, we’re joined by our host, James McNicholl and a special guest, Bogdan Nastase, Director of Network Engineering at Fiserv.

During this episode, Bogdan discusses his journey as a networking engineering and automation professional and how he found himself in the industry. Bogdan also shares his advice to those who are considering following a similar career path.

From University to Vodafone

After leaving university with a master’s degree in project management, Bogdan started working at Vodafone. He spent 10 years here, moving from project management to solutions development, first on the engineering side and then as a consultant. After 10 years, Bogdan was offered the opportunity to relocate from Romania to Dublin to work at AWS as a Network engineer. After initially promising his wife that it would only be for a year or so, they recently marked their eighth year living in Dublin. Bogdan spent just over a year at AWS before moving to Fiserv where he currently works.

How do you know if automation is right for you? 

 Bogdan points out that anything you do more than once is worth automating if you can. Relinquishing the notion that you must work in a huge business to feel the benefits of automation. Although in the short term, you appear to lose time by working to automate the process, in the long run you will save time, when you go back to do the task a third or fourth time you will be creating pockets of time that can then be used to invest back into yourself and your personal and professional development. 

Biggest networking disaster? 

 When asked about his biggest networking disaster, Bogdan shares that for less experienced network engineers mistakes are inevitable and should be used as a learning opportunity. In Romania, they have a saying “Those who do not work, do not make mistakes” pointing out that to be human and to do something will mean mistakes, sometimes costly and disruptive but all you need to do is try your best.

The future of network engineering… 

 When looking towards the future, Bogdan shares that learning the basics of network engineering and learning it well are the fundamental skills critical for finding career success in 2024. Not just what it is and can do, he recommends learning the ins and outs at the most basic level, how each protocol works, and filling in any gaps in your knowledge. Whilst knowing JavaScript and PHP could come in useful, if you had to learn just one programming language he would recommend choosing Python due to its widespread use and application.

Bogdan’s advice…

For anyone looking to get into automation now, he recommends getting started as early as possible. He shares how when he was younger, he would spend many extra hours learning various technologies and maximising his 24 hours as much as he could. He stresses that finding a company that will support and invest in your learning is fundamental however as an individual you must be proactive and utilise your free time to succeed in this industry.

 Listen to the full episode, out now.