This post provides detailed information on the infrastructure engineer career, including the steps to take to become one and the various job positions you can explore with a background in infrastructure engineering.
How to Become an Infrastructure Engineer
Here are various steps you can take to become an infrastructure engineer:
- Get a Degree
A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a similar discipline is normally required to begin your infrastructure engineering career path and stay a competitive option for companies.
Concentrate on industry-specific skill development during your studies to be well-prepared when applying for entry-level work and joining the labor field.
Before entering the profession, an infrastructure engineer internship may be required to get your Bachelor’s degree and gain crucial on-the-job experience.
2. Determine a Specialty in your Field
You may be required to select a specialty within your profession as an infrastructure engineer.
Determine the aspect of the infrastructure engineer field you are most comfortable with, and continue to take active actions to advance in your chosen specialty.
3. Obtain an Entry-level Infrastructure Engineer Position
You’ll normally start your career as an entry-level infrastructure engineer after earning a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a similar discipline.
In general, after finishing a four-year Bachelor’s degree in a comparable area, you can become an infrastructure engineer.
Depending on the type of infrastructure engineer career you wish to pursue, you might want to look into Certified Solutions Associate, MCSA certification.
More on How to Become an Infrastructure Engineer
4. Advance your Career as Infrastructure Engineer
There are multiple infrastructure engineer career path levels to advance into after entry-level.
As working as an entry-level infrastructure engineer, it may take up to two years to advance to the next seniority level post.
To advance in your infrastructure engineer career path, each advanced position requires roughly 2 years of experience.
To develop your infrastructure engineering profession, you may need to obtain extra schooling, an advanced degree, such as a Master’s degree in a related field, or unique certifications.
5. Ongoing Education to Advance your Infrastructure Engineer Career Path
To further your infrastructure engineer career, not all industries or companies demand continuing education.
Earning this degree, on the other hand, may help you rise to higher-paying employment more rapidly.
A graduate degree in Computer Science might take up to four years to finish. Graduate degree holders typically earn $154,050 per year, compared to $66,335 for people without this type of degree.
Infrastructure Engineer Career Opportunities
Here are various career opportunities available to infrastructure engineers:
- Senior System Engineer
A senior system engineer is in charge of a team of other systems engineers.
They are required to have strong leadership skills, and experience working in multiple areas of the IT department, to solve various problems.
2. Information Technology Manager
Information technology managers are responsible for managing and coordinating the IT department in order to provide quality services, support, and development to its employees.
They are often in charge of managing multiple groups within their company consisting of people from different departments that they come into contact with on a daily basis.
3. Information Technology Operations Manager
Information technology operations managers are in charge for increasing the efficiency of their technical teams and provide support for larger projects.
4. Senior Software Engineer
Senior software engineers are engineers who have been with a company for several years, usually having gained experience and knowledge by working on multiple projects and giving their input on different technologies.
They have a lot of leadership skills and can contribute to change within the organization through suggestions, decisions, and modifications that can help to workflows.
5. Senior System Administrator
Senior system administrators are information technology professionals with experience and knowledge on how to use systems on a variety of networks, software, and workflows.
They know how to offer various options to their clients and will make recommendations if they feel that a certain product or service is better suited for the job.
More Infrastructure Engineer Career Opportunities
6. Infrastructure Project Manager
Infrastructure project managers are engineers in charge of determining the company’s desired infrastructure and make the necessary changes to implement it.
They sometimes work closely with other departments to oversee their needs and make sure they are being met.
This position is usually held only by senior level infrastructure engineers with a lot of experience.
7. Information Technology Infrastructure Manager
An information technology infrastructure manager has highly advanced skills required for managing high-end technology and large data networks, in order to provide services to employees.
Lots of knowledge and experience are required in this field before becoming a manager.
8. Information Technology Director
An information technology director is a senior level role. They have advanced skills and knowledge that they use to manage full IT departments and make sure they are efficient at providing services and technology for their organization.
They usually supervise other staff members who assist in the technology process.
9. Senior Director Of Information & Technology
A senior director of information & technology is a higher level manager in charge of several departments.
They have advanced knowledge and skills in technology and work closely with other staff members to handle high level projects.
They typically have many years of experience; have held many different managerial roles, and have gained the promotion to a senior director because they are good at managing their team.
10. Director, Technical Operations
A director of technical operations is an information technology professional who acts as the liaison between other departments and the information systems group to ensure that all departments receive adequate technology services.
Challenges faced by Infrastructure Engineer on the Job
Here are some of the challenges infrastructure engineers commonly face on the job:
- Increasing complexity of infrastructure
As the demand for technology increases, so must the infrastructure created to support it.
A lot of older devices will be outdated and replaced with more advanced ones, which in turn makes an organization’s infrastructure more complicated.
This can also be seen with new software or new hardware purchases by the company.
2. Increased demand for Security
Technology is becoming a valuable asset that organizations need to protect.
However, preserving a secure environment around it requires special knowledge on how to handle sensitive data.
If a company does not have an available systems engineer, it will be harder to maintain a security protocol and client/server relationship that protects data from being exposed.
3. Multiple devices to work with daily
As the IT department grows, the number of devices increases and this causes increasing complications for IT professionals.
Although most companies provide help in keeping up with any IT changes, it is still difficult for them to handle all the traffic in their domain due to multiple information systems that need to be updated.
Major Benefits of Infrastructure Engineer Career
There are many benefits in becoming an infrastructure engineer. Some of these include:
- Personal Development
For those interested in advancing their career and technical skills, being an infrastructure engineer offers great personal opportunity.
Technology is constantly changing, so it is necessary for a current infrastructure engineer to stay up with all the latest trends in technology.
To advance your position as an infrastructure engineer, there are a variety of certifications you may be able to gain.
2. Career Advancement
A career in IT can provide great opportunities for advancement. Each position may give you more opportunity to take on new and exciting projects.
There are many different types of career paths that can lead to different roles.
3. Competitive Salary
Your pay will be based on the type of career you choose as an infrastructure engineer as well as where you live. One can earn between $105,000 and $153,000 a year.
4. Job Security
A career in infrastructure engineering will provide stability and job security if you have the right skills and a good work ethic.
With the job market being so dynamic, hiring managers can also be fickle and require continual training to stay relevant and keep their positions.
5. Job Satisfaction
The best way to describe it would be that your role as an infrastructure engineer is extremely satisfying.
Many professionals enjoy their job and that is why they continue to pursue their careers even though it requires a lot of tough work and long hours.
More Benefits of Infrastructure Engineer Career
6. Job Stability
IT careers are exceptionally stable, with additional security measures in place to protect the data they work with.
Having a certification or degree in an IT field also provides additional job stability because people will know that you have an advanced level of knowledge necessary to secure the devices and information they may be working with or storing.
7. Employee Benefits
Employers often offer additional benefits to retain the top talent and reward their most dedicated employees.
As an infrastructure engineer, you will likely receive benefits such as paid vacation and sick leave, insurance, and retirement.
Conclusion
Being an infrastructure engineer is a great career choice if you know what your career path will look like from the start.
Your education, skills, and experience will determine how much money you make and the type of job environment you are in.