College does a great job of exposing you to different aspects of the Information Technology (IT) field, but no real specialized instruction. On the other hand, certification focuses on specific skills but doesn’t leave much room for a variety of career choices due to a limited knowledge base. The purpose of colleges of technology (certification schools) is to conduct in-depth learning in specialized disciplines and to develop student's abilities necessary for employment. Colleges of technology, unlike universities or junior colleges, admit the graduates of lower secondary schools. The purpose of universities, as the centers of advanced learning, is to provide students with wide-ranging knowledge and to conduct in-depth teaching and research in specialized a

All of the previous occupational requirements have been software oriented. But in networking, knowledge of both software (networking technologies) and hardware are needed. There are hundreds of technologies used in networking. From filtering IP traffic to allowing different devices to communicate, each process has it’s own designated technology.

Once again, a Bachelors Degree is required, although many of the skills listed can only be picked up on the job or through specialized training.

Network Professionals are responsible for installing, configuring, and operating Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), and remote access services for routed or switched networks. The software behind networking lies within Network Operating Systems (NOS). Network operating systems such as UNIX were designed from the beginning to support networking. In its early forms, Windows did not support networking, so Novell NetWare became the first popular NOS for the personal computer (Windows 95 and Windows for Workgroups were Microsoft's first NOS products). Today, nearly any consumer operating system qualifies as a NOS due to the popularity of the Internet and the obvious need to support IP at a minimum. Below is an excerpt from a job posting for an entry level network professional found on Careerbuilder.com:

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