The question network administrators hear most often is, "Do you have any openings?" Demand within this field has expanded steadily since PCs started getting connected in the early 1980s. As a result, comfortable salary and benefits packages continue to be plentiful for those with proven experience. The daily work is challenging and always unpredictable (a characteristic that typically defines the people who enjoy this field).

Networking provides enough diversity to satisfy a wide array of nerdy personalities. In fact, succinctly defining network administration is virtually impossible, because there are so many distinct job functions that are performed under that title--sometimes all by the same person. There are network administrators who perform help-desk functions; others who specialize in data security; technical researchers; project and team coordinators; script and program code developers; server hardware configuration specialists; TCP/IP protocol and routing infrastructure designers; and operating-system administrators.

Perhaps the biggest appeal of network management is that it's a largely self-managed job. Sure, large corporations and government organizations with multiple levels of management and bureaucracy employ the lion's share of administrators. Yet day-to-day tasks that fall under the rubric of network administration require a lot of critical, quick decision-making, and the best managers trust their staffs to handle ...

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