u/chillbilly2424

I’ve been with a large isp my entire career in networking, moving up from NOC 1/2/3/eng all the way to Lead operations engineer.

In my NOC days I was troubleshooting and deploying metro-e circuits ranging from straight layer 2, up to multi-leg ip vpls services. I’ve worked on a wide range from Cisco/juniper to Nokia and all in between.

When I made the jump over to the engineering side of the house it has been mainly access network project work. I’ve built out a robust access network spanning the continental United States, supporting DSL/GPON/XGS-PON and VOIP. There have also been core network augments, bandwidth upgrades, and massive migrations. I wear many hats in my position.

In this position I’ve become the single engineer over seeing all of these moving parts. I’m massively underpaid and seemingly with no room for advancement. To say I’m burnt out is an understatement.

I have 2 AS degrees, one in computer science and the other in advanced network engineering. Hovering at 10 YOE supporting enterprise networks with high availability.

I’m feeling lost on how to leverage my experience out of my current position. I know that the job market is not great with lots of other engineers flooding the market due to layoffs.

Any advice on how to escape?

I’ve been with a large isp my entire career in networking, moving up from NOC 1/2/3/eng all the way to Lead operations engineer.

In my NOC days I was troubleshooting and deploying metro-e circuits ranging from straight layer 2, up to multi-leg ip vpls services. I’ve worked on a wide range from Cisco/juniper to Nokia and all in between.

When I made the jump over to the engineering side of the house it has been mainly access network project work. I’ve built out a robust access network spanning the continental United States, supporting DSL/GPON/XGS-PON and VOIP. There have also been core network augments, bandwidth upgrades, and massive migrations. I wear many hats in my position.

In this position I’ve become the single engineer over seeing all of these moving parts. I’m massively underpaid and seemingly with no room for advancement. To say I’m burnt out is an understatement.

I have 2 AS degrees, one in computer science and the other in advanced network engineering. Hovering at 10 YOE supporting enterprise networks with high availability.

I’m feeling lost on how to leverage my experience out of my current position. I know that the job market is not great with lots of other engineers flooding the market due to layoffs.

Any advice on how to escape?

EDIT: - just want to thank everyone who has had an input so far and any advice that’s been suggested. It’s helped out my mental framework tremendously, to anyone else looking to change roles or careers like me I wish you the best of luck. 🤞