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Transitioning from Wi-Fi to Mobility Engineer

By Craig Schnarrs, Blog Contributor

It's such a fast paced life these days, everybody is trying to get ahead, and this is great.  Sometimes people take perceived shortcuts, for example that fad diet that promises to help you lose 50 lbs in 3 weeks with no exercise, just take a pill and let the pounds melt off.

That timeshare presentation, that promises you all the glorious vacations, and cruises to exotic places and if you buy right now, it can all be yours for $69, because you deserve it, your special.

Are you hungry, get something off the dollar menu at the local fast food restaurant, it tastes good, it has to be good for you, they wouldn't sell it if it wasn't. They aren't in this for the money, they just want to serve you and there is no effort on your part, just drive thru, instant gratification.

Why go to college for four years? You can get it all done online in just six weeks. This couldn't possibly be a scam, After all, don't you want to get things done in the shortest amount of time.

Why study for a certification, when you can  take the easy way and cheat.. ? that will get you the certification, and alot of people do it. whats the harm in that? plus you will have so much more time to have fun and what could possibly be wrong with that?

I am here to tell you, don't take the perceived easy way,  your only cheating yourself.  Think about it, that fad diet, won't work, because you didn't do the work. You will only end up feeling, defeated and actually eat more.

That timeshare presentation, is not everything they make it out to be. they are there to make money and have no problem blatantly lying to your face. It will sound so sincerely honest, Why?, because if it didn't you wouldn't part with your money.  Those guys are professionals and quite good at getting money out of anyone.

That fast food, sure its convenient, fast and tastes good, but its not designed with your health in mind, and if consumed on a regular basis, your health will surely suffer. ( Trust me on this one.. yours truly needs to practice what he preaches #lol)

Go to college, get that degree, it will benefit you later in life, sure, there are alternatives.  One is, practice this phrase "Would you like fries with that?"

Study for that certification, not so that you can get a piece of paper, that says you passed some multiple choice test. Study so you can understand what your doing and not be frustrated, when something breaks at 2am and your called upon to fix it. Some people spend more time trying to get out of work, than it would take to actually do the work. If you don't learn the material there will be a cost to that.  Stress, and unnecessary overtime, who needs that? just do the work.  You don't have to do it because you like it, do it because if you don't there will be consequences if it's not done. I don't like paying car insurance, but man am I glad I have it when I get into an accident.

If you get good at what you do, people will notice, and you will move up and earn more money, and experience a higher quality of life for you and your family.  If they don't notice, then go to a different job where they will notice. Finally, there is a secret, that will get you farther than anything else in your career. Is it magic? is it hard? Does it require 4 years of school? Nope.

Just be nice, don't be an arrogant, know it all pain in the butt.  Sure it doesn't seem like much.. but you would be surprised how much it helps. People do business with people they know, like and trust. If your ever in a situation where your competing for something and your skill sets are roughly the same. who do you think will get chosen? the pain in the rear, or the pleasant helpful person. Sure, its not always easy to be pleasant, especially if the other person is being rude. but people sometimes have bad days.. and if they come across someone who is pleasant, you might just get that room upgrade, that first class seat, that corner table, the lead on that new project.

Again, this is work, it's called work for a reason, but it's worth it. if you do the work, you will get the results. and that's just that way it works.

Wifi is going through an evolution , sure you could just focus on just wifi, but times have changed and knowing how your design fits into the grand scheme of things is a skill that is highly valued. there are so many things to consider, such as BYOD, granular policy control with security.

There is a saying "fake it , till you make it...", well that really doesn't work in IT , and yes , you can socical engineer yourself into a good job, but will you enjoy it? probably not. it will take the same amount of effort to actually to learn and become an expert at a skill as it does to try and avoid it or play office politics. I Love my job, Wifi is awesome and i can't imagine doing anything else.  I find that by networking with others in my profession and sharing common experiences, really makes me a better Mobility engineer.

What are you doing to evolve your skills? I'm going to the Airheads conference and plan on soaking up as much knowledge as possible . I hope to meet as many new people as possible, so if you see me there, please feel free to say hello.  It's going to be a great time.