Not satisfied in your career? She rebooted her career at 28 in Networking! Ep 62 - Tracket Pacer

Episode Overview

• The episode features an in-depth interview with Lexie (@TrackItPacer), who shares her inspiring journey of making a mid-career transition into network engineering from a non-technical field.
• Key themes include overcoming imposter syndrome, the shame associated with starting over, and the pivotal role that representation and community support played in her success.
• Lexie discusses the practical steps she took, from a life-changing community college course to landing her first job in a Network Operations Center (NOC) without a CCNA.
• The conversation culminates in a passionate discussion about the challenges women face in tech and a call to action for creating a more inclusive and encouraging environment in network engineering.

Key Concepts

• Career Transition: The emotional and psychological challenges of leaving an established career after many years, including feelings of failure and the fear of starting from scratch.
• Imposter Syndrome: The common belief among career-changers that they are not qualified for tech roles because they didn't start at a young age or come from a traditional computer science background.
• The Power of Representation: The significant impact of having relatable instructors and mentors, particularly for women and individuals from non-STEM fields, in building confidence.
• Foundational Learning: The "magic" of discovering the fundamentals of how the internet works in an introductory networking course, which can ignite a passion for the field.
• Community and Normalizing Failure: The importance of sharing struggles and learning from mistakes openly, which makes the field more accessible and less intimidating for newcomers.
• NOC as a Starting Point: The value of a Network Operations Center (NOC) as an ideal environment for gaining hands-on, practical experience and launching a network engineering career.
• Career Progression: Moving from a "break-fix" NOC role to a Network Engineer 2 position, with future goals focused on diversification (Juniper) and automation skills (Python) over pursuing a CCIE.
• Inclusivity in Tech: A strong advocacy for actively supporting and encouraging women in network engineering, addressing biases, and ensuring their voices are heard and respected.

Quotes

• At 1:47 - "This isn't a science. It's an art. The art. And that art is network engineering." - The monologue concludes by tying the detective story back into the podcast's central theme and title.
• At 9:39 - "I am super excited for our guest this evening. You probably know her on Twitter as @TrackItPacer. Please welcome Lexie." - AJ Murray officially introduces the guest for the episode.
• At 24:33 - "Because it felt like a huge failure." - Lexie explains the initial feeling of shame she had about leaving her previous career after 6-7 years to start over.
• At 28:38 - "I just always assumed that because I didn't start early on it... I wouldn't be able to have a career in it." - Lexie articulates a common fear for career-changers in tech: the belief that not starting at a young age is an insurmountable barrier.
• At 29:00 - "Once I took away that sort of like weird, miserable safety net... the world opened up strangely." - Lexie reflects on how completely committing to a career change, without the option of going back, freed her to explore new possibilities.
• At 30:51 - "That turned out to be the class that... it changed my life." - Lexie identifies her introductory networking course as the pivotal moment that set her on her current career path.
• At 31:37 - "Representation is important... being taught in a class by someone who was close to my age, also a woman... who had a very similar story to me... it made such a huge impression on me. Like, 'Hell yeah, I can do this.'" - Lexie stresses the powerful impact of having a relatable instructor who had also made a career change into tech.
• At 32:03 - "Oh my god, this is how the internet works? It was like, my mind was just blown." - She describes her profound excitement and fascination upon learning the fundamentals of networking for the first time.
• At 55:14 - "My first network engineer job was in a NOC... awesome, great place to learn." - Host Andy Lapteff validates the NOC as a great entry point into the networking field.
• At 56:07 - "I think you have a great mind for network engineering." - Lexie recalls the crucial endorsement from her instructor that helped her secure the NOC position.
• At 58:41 - "You took a lot of action in your life to get to that point. It's not like you were at that, you know, lawyer job and this job dropped out of the sky." - Host Andy Lapteff reframes Lexie's "luck" as the result of her proactive decisions and hard work.
• At 59:18 - "Are you still in the NOC?" "So the position is... my title is a network engineer and I do configurations and things like that in order to fix stuff... it's a break-fix role." - Lexie clarifies that her role has evolved beyond simple monitoring to hands-on engineering tasks.
• At 1:02:22 - "We need more women in network engineering... if you have a woman in your life who is in a tech-related field... make sure you're encouraging her and... don't speak over her in meetings, please." - Lexie makes a passionate plea for creating a more supportive and inclusive environment for women in tech.
• At 1:03:48 - "When the woman who's strong enough to say, 'Yo, dude, I'm here,' he goes, 'Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were so-and-so's wife.'" - Andy Lapteff shares an anecdote illustrating the subtle and overt biases women often face at industry events.
• At 1:04:49 - "It's never too late. You don't have to be a computer science major and get that first gig at 22." - Andy Lapteff emphasizes that there are many paths into tech and it's never too late to make a career change.

Takeaways

• It is never too late to change careers; you can successfully transition into network engineering at any age or stage of life.
• Acknowledge feelings of failure or shame when starting over, but don't let them prevent you from pursuing a more fulfilling path.
• Overcome imposter syndrome by recognizing that a non-traditional background can be a strength, not a weakness.
• Seek out learning environments with instructors and mentors you can relate to, as representation can be a powerful motivator.
• Target a Network Operations Center (NOC) for your first role to gain invaluable hands-on experience in a real-world setting.
• Understand that "luck" in your career is often the result of your own proactive decisions, hard work, and preparation.
• Plan your long-term skill development beyond initial certifications to include automation (like Python) and multi-vendor knowledge.
• Actively participate in making the tech community more inclusive by encouraging, listening to, and amplifying the voices of women and underrepresented groups.
• Engage with the tech community and be open about your learning journey to help normalize struggles and make the field more welcoming for others.