E112 - Daniel Dib at Conscia Netsafe

On our 112^th episode of The Route to Networking podcast, we were joined by our Principal IP Consultant Charlie Draper and Daniel Dib, the Senior Network Architect Conscia Netsafe. Daniel is an expert in Routing, Switching and Security as well as CCIE and CCDE certified, a Cisco Learning Network VIP and the winner of several awards at different forums. On today’s episode, they discuss whether or not it’s enough to just be a Network Engineer considering tools like Automation are so prevalent now.

Daniel started his Networking career back in 2003 when he went to university. He went for a program that was more of a trade school format which meant it was very hands-on as opposed to the more theoretical university programs. It was also a Cisco Network Academy, so he had time to practise on equipment giving him the necessary experience to move on to the next chapter of his life.

After university, he started working for a Swedish service provider where he stayed for a few years allowing him to work with a load of vendors. His family decided to relocate and at this point, he moved to a place with a NOC doing support as a 3^rd Line Engineer and some consulting which is where he got into the world of consulting.

Looking back on his time and experience at university, he found it helped open doors for him and specifically helped him with his soft skills. Depending on what country you come from, a university can be a great route to start at. For him, going to a university in Sweden, they fund universities through taxpayers’ money, so he didn’t go out of pocket to attend.

Coming out of university, certifications have been the tool that has helped him the most. It allowed him to build a guided learning path where he can measure himself against learning criteria and where he wants to go next. Some advice for those starting, doing a certification will be useful, even at entry level because it’ll help build those foundational skills you need in order to stay relevant.

It’s hard to pinpoint one thing that Daniel is most proud of when it comes to his career. One of the most notable is when he passed the expert-level certifications, which required a lot of dedication and commitment to pass. Also, working on projects such as Air Traffic Control was extremely rewarding and exciting because he enjoys solving problems and particularly keeping people safe on flights from Sweden.

Looking back at his time in the Networking space, some advice he would give to himself when he was first starting would be to just stay curious and keep learning. To try not to get overwhelmed by the study and work that goes into the job daily. It’s a topic that doesn’t get discussed enough in the industry and if he knew that back when he was younger, he would breeze past with a clearer mind.

Tune in now to hear the full episode.