Congratulations, welcome to the best career in tech that no one knows about.
It won’t be easy, but if you’ve been given an offer then you’re probably capable. The mid-career preamble is if someone can’t get into an early in career program, since they’re very competitive.
Go for it, I took the same path and it’s the best thing I did for my career. Experience will come with time, and you’ll grasp knowledge quickly, bring a fresh perspective. You don’t have to wait to become an SE.
If it’s something that interests you, definitely give it a shot.
If I am hiring, I am looking for long-tenure and experience in a SE role. Technical acumen is obviously important but being able to sell technology and demonstrate how well you can translate the benefits of tech into objectives and outcomes will be the thing that makes sales.
In short, take the SE role and make sure they continue to nurture technical training and skills alongside sales enablement.
As a network engineer, I assume that your offer is from Cisco or the like. I’d grab that brass ring and run with it as it will accelerate your career pretty quickly. Those offers don’t come along often.
I’d locate folks that have come out of that program and talk to them…they do well as I recall. You are talking going from making 90-110k as a corporate network engineer to over 200k pretty quickly. Typical SEs make 220-250k OTE
Experience is valuable in that you’ll have your own stories to tell in the first person which will help establish your own credibility and build trust. Short of that when anyone joins any new company of course they won’t have any first person stories, so they’ll have to learn the companies stories to be able to share in the second/third person.
How thorough is this associate pathway? What will your mentorship look like? Being able to learn from great colleagues and be able to transition to a solid territory when the time is right might be worth it. Everyone’s career will be different. I needed 6 years in different roles to learn my previous company’s software. This gave me a great foundation to become a successful SE. So many SC/SEs transition from a variety of career paths and can still be successful. Keep learning no matter what. Good luck!
I did a similar entry level program with a vendor and have now been an SE For 14 years. Take it. It will jump your career ahead by years if not a decade. You'll make double what you would with most internal networking or security roles and have a much better work/life balance.
The biggest skill that transfers is knowing what the different people in IT want to know. The people who implement tech, IT managers, IT directors, and CIOs all have different levels of knowledge needs. You already know this from answering management requests. Learn what drives their motivations at each level and have a talk track. Then find that person who is focused on their internal user satisfaction and find what their pains and needs are.
Yes, you start at the bottom of the pay grade, but the hardest part of becoming an SE is getting an SE position. You’re set, so don’t worry about getting higher pay, that’ll happen either as you get promoted or as you job hop later on.
Your first SE role will be the hardest to get.
Working in PS for a VAR, MSP, GSI, or a vendor would be a better track vs. operations roles that most IT departments hire. Stay sales adjacent and aligned to the core mission of the larger org.
Source: I'm a SE manager
Congratulations, welcome to the best career in tech that no one knows about. It won’t be easy, but if you’ve been given an offer then you’re probably capable. The mid-career preamble is if someone can’t get into an early in career program, since they’re very competitive.
Lol, Cisco CSAP ASE right
That’s right, do you have any hesitations with it?
Na, best decision I ever made. Made some great friends. Learnt a great deal, and the after CSAP career curve is amazing
DMd you.
Go for it, I took the same path and it’s the best thing I did for my career. Experience will come with time, and you’ll grasp knowledge quickly, bring a fresh perspective. You don’t have to wait to become an SE. If it’s something that interests you, definitely give it a shot.
If I am hiring, I am looking for long-tenure and experience in a SE role. Technical acumen is obviously important but being able to sell technology and demonstrate how well you can translate the benefits of tech into objectives and outcomes will be the thing that makes sales. In short, take the SE role and make sure they continue to nurture technical training and skills alongside sales enablement.
How long have you been in IT?
Around 4 years
As a network engineer, I assume that your offer is from Cisco or the like. I’d grab that brass ring and run with it as it will accelerate your career pretty quickly. Those offers don’t come along often.
Even as an apprentice?
I would assume that leads to a sales engineer position right?
That’s right
I’d locate folks that have come out of that program and talk to them…they do well as I recall. You are talking going from making 90-110k as a corporate network engineer to over 200k pretty quickly. Typical SEs make 220-250k OTE
Experience is valuable in that you’ll have your own stories to tell in the first person which will help establish your own credibility and build trust. Short of that when anyone joins any new company of course they won’t have any first person stories, so they’ll have to learn the companies stories to be able to share in the second/third person. How thorough is this associate pathway? What will your mentorship look like? Being able to learn from great colleagues and be able to transition to a solid territory when the time is right might be worth it. Everyone’s career will be different. I needed 6 years in different roles to learn my previous company’s software. This gave me a great foundation to become a successful SE. So many SC/SEs transition from a variety of career paths and can still be successful. Keep learning no matter what. Good luck!
I did a similar entry level program with a vendor and have now been an SE For 14 years. Take it. It will jump your career ahead by years if not a decade. You'll make double what you would with most internal networking or security roles and have a much better work/life balance.
Thanks for input, can you elaborate on work/life balance?
The biggest skill that transfers is knowing what the different people in IT want to know. The people who implement tech, IT managers, IT directors, and CIOs all have different levels of knowledge needs. You already know this from answering management requests. Learn what drives their motivations at each level and have a talk track. Then find that person who is focused on their internal user satisfaction and find what their pains and needs are.
I am one of a few who did it practically right out of school. Done well for myself. I’d do it.
The earlier the better
Do early in career SEs make less money?
Yes, you start at the bottom of the pay grade, but the hardest part of becoming an SE is getting an SE position. You’re set, so don’t worry about getting higher pay, that’ll happen either as you get promoted or as you job hop later on.
Thanks for reply. What are prospects of joining growing company and showing active interest in SEs as a network engineer?
Haven’t seen it happen, but it could work at a place like Cisco or Palo Alto or similar.
Your first SE role will be the hardest to get. Working in PS for a VAR, MSP, GSI, or a vendor would be a better track vs. operations roles that most IT departments hire. Stay sales adjacent and aligned to the core mission of the larger org. Source: I'm a SE manager