Ask YC: Any network gurus want a paid holiday?

One of my many hats is maintaining our network and data across our 18-acre campus. This is something I do because I can, not because I'm an expert. We recently had a fiber link go bad that took several days to locate (because it propagated as many different things), and the result was a real wake up call.

So, here's the pitch: You're a network guru that needs a break from the looming winter. We're in a beautiful remote spot in The Bahamas with gorgeous beaches, great diving, snorkeling, fishing, you name it. We'll fly you down (and a guest?), put you up and feed you (we'll even pick you up in a van running biodiesel we made from waste cooking oil). All we ask in return is some sound advice on how to move forward and what tools we should add to our belts. If this sounds too good to pass up, email me: gsiener at ceibahamas.org

Thanks!

but any serious work related to network can probably last more than a few months. perhaps a sabbatical leave will do. :)

Networking classes alone would not give you any value in this case. In fact, they'd give you negative value because the real world never works like the text book, and offering advice that you yourself have not applied in practice is bad form.

I never finished Cisco networking classes either. I never really started them in the first place. I did however help develop the training and certification program for the Ascend/Lucent Certified Technical Expert course. That was after I already had about 8 years of daily hands-on LAN and WAN design and administration (late 90's timeframe). I was able to do that because I had been in the bowels of everything from a local travel agent office network to some of the worlds largest datacenters and NAPs (at the time).

Don't wish for network classes, instead spend some time with actual equipment, a copy of Wireshark, and some time on network admin forums/groups. Go work for a local ISP for even 6 months. You'll learn more about LAN/WAN networking in that time than in most formal network courses.