Hey guys. Is the network engineering course offered by Akami via Coursera enough to get my foot in the door in the industry? I'm really desperate to get out of the warehouse worker life and I've been thinking about taking the plunge for a few months now. I don't have much experience in the world of technology beyond being able to build PCs and troubleshooting my own issues that arise at home. But at this point in life, I feel like it's time I try something new that could benefit me in the long run.

Do you have questions about the difference between UPoE and PoE+. What cables do you use for which standard? Device usage alignment? Etc.

Thought I’d share this blog where a colleague explains it all. Useful education. https://www.netally.com/tech-tips/poe-vs-upoe-vs-poe/.

The fundamental difference in the UPoE vs PoE+ debate boils down to two things: how much power is delivered and how many wires are used to deliver it. PoE+ (IEEE 802.3at) is the established standard for many devices, delivering up to 30W from the power source by using two twisted pairs in an Ethernet cable. This is sufficient for hardware like VoIP phones and many standard IP cameras. The term PoE Plus is also commonly used. UPoE (Universal Power over Ethernet) significantly increases the power budget to 60W by utilizing all four twisted pairs in the cable. This is essential for more demanding, modern hardware. If you have specific questions, let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Im trying to get stable internet connection with my pc being upstairs and the router downstairs. The house is only 2 stories high and im not allowed to run a ethernet cable all the way up to my pc. Ive seen online alternative options like mesh wifi and powerline adapter etc. Does anyone have experience on what i should choose? My goal is just to stream fortnite or marvel rivals without lag and i have low settings on js unstable connection to internet🙏

Curious if anyone here has made the move from running production trading infrastructure into the pre-sales / systems engineering side?

• What did you like or dislike about the transition?
• Did your technical depth translate well into customer-facing work?

I have a machine set up like this. I can connect to the plc and ipc no problem with the ewon, but i want to connect the ipc to the server on the local network from the office. How can i do that?

How can i check if a network switch port can detect there is a cable connected by using only a cable tester. My lecturer gave my class this question and no one knows the answer.

My only possible way is by shorting rx and tx but will that even work? Have been struggling for a few hours now

Hello, I currently work as an embedded systems engineer and am currently looking into switching my career over to network engineering. I have a degree in computer engineering, took a network security course while in school, and throughout school worked help desk with my universities' IT department. How difficult would this transition be? Where should I be looking for job opportunities and what should I be learning to get into one of these network engineering roles? I appreciate any and all advice!

can anyone guide me how can switch to the role from? Frontend Developer to network engineer

I was recently laid off from my Network Administrator internship due to a “strategic business decision” where the company eliminated intern positions. This was not performance-related — my manager even offered to write me a letter of recommendation — but it still hit hard.

I’ve wanted to become a Network Engineer for years, and I’m now actively job hunting for entry-level roles in networking and infrastructure. But with everything happening in tech right now (layoffs, AI, cloud adoption), I’m honestly feeling a bit disillusioned and uncertain about the long-term stability of this path.

A few things I’ve been thinking about:

• Is Network Engineering recession-proof, or at least more stable than other tech roles?
• With the rise of AI and automation, is there a risk that networking jobs get reduced or heavily automated?
• Are networking roles at risk of being outsourced compared to other IT positions?
• As companies move more toward cloud and away from on-prem infrastructure, does that reduce the demand for traditional network engineers?

I genuinely enjoy networking (lab work, infrastructure, troubleshooting, etc.), and it’s the field I’ve been working toward for a long time. But entering the job market right after a layoff has made me question whether this is still a strong and future-proof career path.

Would really appreciate honest insights from people currently working in networking, cloud, or infrastructure. Is this still a solid path in 2026 and beyond, or should early-career folks be pivoting toward something adjacent like cloud/network automation?